When Jessica Moorhouse was in her 20s, her fitness routine was guided by workout videotapes borrowed from her father and a trusty pair of running shoes she used to circle her block.
"Sometimes you have to get creative when the money is not there," said the Toronto-based personal finance expert and author of "Everything but Money."
For Canadians who have made a workout routine their New Year's resolution, her experience is timely proof that there are ways to get moving without draining your bank account.
The first step in establishing an affordable routine is exploring what kind of exercise might work for you and your budget, fitness and finance experts say.
For many people, a gym membership is the answer. They can cost hundreds of dollars a year but give purchasers access to an array of equipment, classes, amenities and a social environment that might encourage them to push themselves.
Before buying a membership, Moorhouse said to inquire about free trial classes many gyms offer to give people a feel for their facility and whether it will meet their needs.
"You may think you want to do that gym, but there's other things to consider such as ... the environment; what's the vibe, what are the people like," she said. "You don't want to waste your money and sign up for something and then you're like, 'Oh shoot, this is a bad idea.'"
The cheapest gym memberships tend to be offered by local community centres or a YMCA, but Moorhouse has found their equipment often isn't as new or expansive as boutique gyms that will charge more.
She's also heard of people finding discounts for gyms on Groupon or through ClassPass, a company selling a monthly membership that can be used across thousands of gyms.
Once you've chosen where you want to work out, ask about discounts for new members, said Amy Witt, owner of the DeltaTrain gym in Toronto.
"We do your first month heavily discounted because it's really hard to tell what the training program is like or what a gym is like by doing one class," she said. "You might have gone on an off day or something like that, so we always recommend trying it for at least a month."
If you find that a membership offering unlimited visits every month is too much money or commitment, many gyms sell passes for single visits or sets of classes.
You can supplement such visits or classes with other exercise or even opt for a routine you can do completely in your home.
"You can get a great workout with just dumbbells," Witt said. "You can also get a really great workout with just your body weight."
Equipment can be purchased for lower prices at Fitness Depot or the Treadmill Factory, where Hannah Kovacs said gyms go to buy gear at near wholesale prices.
The owner of Halifax-based fitness studio Move East is also a fan of looking for second-hand gear on Facebook Marketplace or other online resale sites.
If you need a guide to teach you what movements to do with your equipment, Kovacs said to look online for personal trainers offering free or low-cost workout videos or studios that sell digital access to routines.
You can also do a few sessions with a personal trainer to learn what exercises may work for you.
Personal training sessions start at about $90, but Kovacs sees many people hire these professionals to work with a small group of three to eight people, bringing down the cost to between $35 and $50 per person.
Moorhouse suggests looking for personal training groups on social media, where you can also find groups that run together or do park fitness sessions.
She stressed whatever workout option you go with, it needs to fit your cash flow.
People who opt to do at-home workouts with equipment they buy should save a little money from each paycheque to reach their goal until they can purchase gear.
Those who buy memberships need to plan for regular payments.
Moorhouse, who has moved on from taped workouts and running to more intense F45 classes, gets charged by her gym every two weeks, so she calculates in advance how much to put aside to comfortably make payments.
"If this is a goal of yours that you really want to prioritize, it's got to be a line item in your budget," she said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 9, 2025.
Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press
