Walk it Out: Online Fitness Communities

Becky Luigart-Stayner

Walking is the ideal thrifty exercise; invest in good walking shoes and walk anywhere for $0 in monthly membership fees, with no basic training required. Since the weather is getting warmer, it's easier than ever to incorporate walking into your weekly fitness regimens. If I have errands to run within a 1 mile radius of the house, like picking up prescriptions, going to the post office, grabbing some milk at the grocery store, I will put on my tiny backpack and hoof it. Never underestimate the power of having time away all your electronic reminders and communications, the scent of wood and grass, and enjoying the dimensionality of the color green in contrast to a white computer screen. 

If the thought of walking a long distance feels daunting, incorporate it into your everyday schedule, eg:get off one bus stop before your usual stop on your daily commute and walk the extra block. If the weather isn't ideal, or if you are sensitive to dust, pollen, and other allergens in the environment, there are many walking groups that get together and make use of running tracks in a local university and shopping malls.

I realize not everyone lives in a walkable neighborhood, and that walking alone can get...well...lonely sometimes. That's why I I want to highlight online fitness communities which bring a sense of companionship and accomplishment to exercise. MapMyWALK.com is one such online tool, which can not only be used by individuals, but provides mapping tool for community groups and public health professionals to design walking routes tailored to different fitness levels.  The site boasts millions of existing members and millions of existing routes in their system.

Design a running/jogging/hiking/walking/bicycling map route around your workplace, campus, or home by entering in an address, and using a Google Maps interface to outline your route. You can incorporate off road trails onto your map and view it from "street view" or "satellite view" to see local landmarks. Once you have created a route, you will know exactly how many miles (or kilometers) it is, and be able to log trips which will help keep track of your total miles traveled and total calories burned. For a more detailed tutorial of how to use MapMyWALK click here.

You can save your personal route for future walks, or share it to your friends via Facebook Timeline or Twitter, or join an existing community group with existing maps to choose from. There are over 20,000 listed community walking events, and local races to further motivate you to set distance goals for yourself. An app (of course) exists for MapMyWALK for $1.99 but is not completely necessary.

5 Ways to Workout for Less

I was taking another look at the FSA eligible medical benefits from a previous post "What Medical Expenses are Tax Deductible?" when I noticed something odd.

According to the list, gym memberships and health club memberships are never FSA eligible, however diet pills and diet programs are eligible but only with a doctors prescription. In other words, the government doesn't believe exercise is worth giving you a tax deduction, until your health problems become so serious that a doctor has to prescribe you exercise! Millions of Americans can prevent chronic diseases such as Type II diabetes and various cardiovascular diseases if they had stuck to a consistent diet and exercise regimen in the first place.

Per year, Americans spend close to $19 billion in gym memberships and many memberships go unused. Thus, I have resolved to get through 2011 without joining a gym, but still managing to stay in shape. Here are some ways to work-out while avoiding the gym:

1. Utilize household chores
According to livestrong.com, vaccuuming burns165 calories per hour for an average, 145-pound person.
Try incorporating squats with an overhead press while lifting groceries into the cupboard. It allows you to tone muscles in your arms, shoulders, glutes, and quadriceps. Sweeping hardwood floor allows you to work out your chest and shoulders, as does painting a room. In fact, every time you go to sit in a chair, if you stand back up without letting your butt hit the ground, you can easily incorporate 50 squats into your day without hitting the gym.