Health and fitness guru Laura Hulley shares fun ways to get active without having to sign up for a gym membership.

Having worked in a gym for almost a decade, I am a massive advocate of the environment and its endless benefits. Everyone has a different back story and reason for stepping into a gym, and they experience different benefits and payoffs.

On the other hand, I understand not everyone thrives in a gym environment and that it can be quite daunting to walk through those doors, let alone workout in front of strangers. Also, if you travel for work, it may be a challenge to form a routine around the gym unless you are a member of a chain and can access a franchise in different locations.

So here are some fun and different ways to get active without a gym membership.

1. Join a sports team
Joining a sports team comes with its commitments, but social teams are usually fairly flexible and easy-going on training nights and game days. For example, with most rugby teams, you can attend one training a week, or even just game day (if you’re lucky) and you can have a run around on the field with your mates. Sports teams are also ideal for meeting new people and filling your social cup. Often, when you’re out on the field or court, you don’t realise you are doing a workout as you’re part of a team and focused on the game and doing your best for your teammates.

2. Take up an active hobby
The options are endless for finding a hobby that gets you up and active. If you enjoy water sports, give kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, rowing or swimming a go. Given that we are heading into winter, you may not be keen to hit the water on a frosty morning, so an indoor heated swimming pool might be a good option if you’re a water bug.

If you prefer to be on land, cycling is a great way to stay fit and is a good low-impact option if you’re carrying any injuries. If you don’t have a bike or don’t live somewhere that lends itself to cycling, you could always get a cheap stationary bike, park it up in your garage and clock up the kilometres from the comfort of your home.

Walking or running are the cheapest and most accessible active hobbies. If you find running too difficult or jarring, walking is a great option, and something you can do anywhere after a day on the road. Once again, if you don’t want to venture outdoors, you can pick up a cheap treadmill and pop it in your garage, hiding from the elements while you work up a sweat.

3. Do chores around the house
This may sound like a stretch, but believe it or not, it all really adds up. Weight loss and calorie burning don’t just come from exercising; they come from NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis).

In layman’s terms, this is all the energy we expend from day-to-day activities. Things like gardening, mowing the lawns, vacuuming, housework, renovation/DIY projects – these productive activities around the home also help us to stay fit, burn calories and lose weight. We can tick off our jobs list and get a workout – two birds, one stone!

4. Try a new exercise class
The beauty of group fitness classes is that you can pick and choose when you go, and there isn’t the financial commitment that there is with a gym membership. There are now group fitness classes to suit all ages, interests and fitness levels, from boot camps to pilates, martial arts, aerial, boxing and everything in between.

Most clubs offering group fitness training allow you to join classes sporadically or regularly – meaning you can come and go as you please and work around your work and life commitments. For example, one week you could go to boxing on a Monday night; the next week you could go to boot camp on a Wednesday night and just pay as you go.

At the end of the day, you need to find a style of exercise you enjoy because if you like what you’re doing and it doesn’t feel like a chore, you are more likely to stick to it. It’s important to give different types of active hobbies, classes and workouts a go before you write them off – you might surprise yourself and enjoy something you were sure that you wouldn’t.

Right now, I have a seven-month-old, so going to the gym is not really an option for me as I can’t take him with me. So, I purchased a boxing bag and do short boxing workouts in my garage while he is sleeping. We also go out for daily walks as he enjoys being outside and it’s important for me to get a break from the house and some fresh air. Before I had a child, I would be at the gym six days a week and loved it. But as situations change, we must pivot and adapt and do what works around our schedule and life commitments.

As truckers, you often work long and unpredictable hours, so you need to find hobbies and exercise routines that are flexible and can mould around your changeable lifestyle.