I’ll be up in the gym, just working on my fitness!

I am excited that I have two plans for the “fitness” part of next month’s resolutions. First off, I follow a blog called Money Saving Mom. They advertised a deal with Gold’s Gym for a 7-Day Free VIP Membership! This includes a free preliminary fitness evaluation and 7 days free use of Gold’s Gym. There are also group fitness classes (such as kick-boxing, pilates, etc.) you can sign up for. I signed up, made a fitness evaluation appointment for September 1st, and printed out my coupon to take with me. Now, if I am going to be honest, I do not have extra in the monthly budget to be able to afford a gym membership. Especially when running, my Yoga DVDs, and 3lb. weights are free. I am taking advantage of the offer though, because 1) it’s free, 2) the fitness evaluation will give me a jump-start to what I need to do to start exercising regularly and show what my beginning stats are, and 3) see how I like Gold’s Gym for a possible future membership when I have some of my debt paid off. (Most of my local friends who have gym memberships go to 24-Hour Fitness, so I am curious to see what Gold's Gym is like.)

My second plan is the Couch to 5K Challenge. It is a 9-week running program that "has been designed to get just about anyone from the couch to running 5 kilometers or 30 minutes in just 9 weeks." By alternating running and walking, and slowly building up to the eventual 5K, a lot of people have found success by gradually warming up to the idea of running. I have always toyed around with the idea of beginning to run, as it’s free, something I can do in the mornings before work, and it’s a stress-reliever. (Which I desperately need!) I was just nervous because I have never run before. I am a walker. I only run if I’m trying to get to the other side of the street before the crosswalk timer ends or something scary is chasing me. So the C25K Challenge got me excited…I could do this!