Yoga can be free and done solo; *photo credit: Pexels.com

What you need:

  1. Running Shoes
  2. Smart Phone with headphones
  3. Yoga Matt or Towel
As a recovering New Yorker, I’m used to living across the street from my gym and being motivated by workout classes.  I love Spin, Yoga, Boot Camp Classes, even running on the treadmill.  So when I started Remote Year last August, which meant I was moving to a new international city every month and didn’t know if I’d be near a gym or not, I had to revamp my gym routine.  After 6 months in, I can happily say that I’ve been able to stay in shape and haven’t had to break down and join a gym yet.  Here are some of my tips to help you stay in shape, feel healthy, and save on gym costs.
 
Allot 1 hour every morning for working out before you start your day.  Most of us don’t have to be anywhere until 8, so get up at 6:00, work out until 7:00 and leave yourself an hour to shower and get ready.  (Choose your wardrobe the night before or earlier that week; it saves a lot of decision making and wasted time.)

Running can be done anywhere, for free, and on your own *photo credit: pexels.com

No matter what form of shape you’re in, you can start off slow and work your way up.  The point is to break a sweat and to get both the blood and metabolism going before you begin your work day.  Lucky for us, there are free apps that allow us to keep on track and measure our progress.  Once you start a workout, it becomes easier and easier.  For example, I can get in the habit of running every morning for 30-45 minutes and in no time it’ll seem like the easy workout.  Switching over to a floor exercise body weight workout then seems hard… but do enough of that and it becomes easy while the run seems more difficult.  Mix it up to keep your body guessing.

Body Weight Workouts don’t require equipment; *photo credit: pexels.com

My favorite workout is a 30 minute run followed by a 15 minute body weight workout (no gym equipment needed) followed by a 10 minute daily yoga stretch and meditation.  All of that is under an hour and I can stay in shape, check out my new surroundings as I travel, and feel healthy.  If you can’t run for 30 minutes, jog a block, then walk a block, and repeat… or simply walk until you feel comfortable increasing the pace.  (If you are in a place where you can’t run or walk outside, stick to the body weight workouts and yoga.)  After your run, get back to your hotel room or apartment and roll out your yoga matt (or towel) and follow the workouts below:

3 Free Apps:
Map My Run:  Track your run’s distance and time; mix it up and add intervals every other day.  Try to increase pace and/or distance. Listen to music while you run or walk, or even listen to a free podcast- the time will fly by.
Freeletics: BodyWeight:  Choose the workouts that don’t require equipment (like Dione and Aphrodite).  If you have a yoga matt, excellent.  If not, roll out a thick towel to use under your hands and feet during the burpies and under your back during the sit ups.  I wear my sneakers, even on the yoga matt, since a lot of the exercises have you bounce up into jumping jacks.
Daily Yoga: download a free yoga track like Quick Yoga Fix’s ‘Yoga for Runners’ or Health Enhancer’s ‘Quick Stress Relief’.  Both of these are 10 minutes. Either follow along with the video or just use the photos to remind you of the poses.  Put on meditative music to help calm you down and clear your mind for the 10 minutes of stretching.
 
Afterwards, hydrate with two glasses of water, eat an apple or orange, and hop in the shower.
 
This simple wake-up routine will keep you in shape, hydrated, and regular by getting some natural fiber in your system before you start your day.