How many of you made a New Years resolution to be more healthy in 2015? It’s a common goal–who doesn’t want to be healthy? A big part of a healthy lifestyle is being physically active. That’s hard here in Upstate NY during the winter–we have a lot of cold, icky days where the wind is blowing and you just feel like holing up inside on the couch.

Never fear, there are ways to keep active in the winter that don’t cost a fortune!

5 Cheap Ways to Workout in Winter

1. Join a gym.

Gyms can be a pricey proposition, so do your research and get creative. This time of year there are frequently specials for new members (cashing in on the folks who are making those New Years resolutions!). Some jobs and/or health insurance policies have benefits include gym membership (or at least a discount). Check with your human resources department or union (if you are in a union shop) to see what is offered. I know my mom, via her Medicare advantage plan can get a membership in a local gym for just $25 a year!

To get creative–think outside the box. Does the highschool, community college/university, local senior center or youth center have a gym? Is it open to the public either for free or for a reasonable fee? It doesn’t cost anything to make a call and find out!

2. Take a class.

There are tons of free or low cost exercise classes out there if you just look for them. Check the bulletin boards, the “community news” section of a local paper, online “events” listings for your town, the public library, community centers or even just ask around–it’s amazing what the local “grapevine” knows. In my small town I know of at least two free yoga classes, I’ve seen offerings for Tai Chi and the community college a couple of towns over offers a wide variety of very reasonably priced classes.

3. Find a place to walk.

Walking is a good exercise for most folks (of course check with your physician!). You’d be amazed at the places that have “walking programs” you can use when it’s too cold or too icy to walk outside. College/Universities with indoor track facilities may have open walking hours–just call the gymnasium and check. My local highschool is open for folks to walk the halls both early–before school and late–after school. You have to fill out a form one time each year, then sign in at the office when you are walking (security you know) but then you have a nice warm, dry, level place to walk. Likewise most large shopping malls have walking programs where they open the doors BEFORE the stores open for the day so people can come in and walk without having to worry about running into the shoppers. Actually you can walk at the mall anytime they are open, there are just more people in the way.

4. Workout to a video.

Yes, you can still buy workout videos (dvd’s). But why buy when you can borrow? The local library is a great resource for exercise videos (think Buns of Steel and Jillian Micheals 30 Day Shred) . They are free (as long as you return them on time) and you can keep switching it up so you don’t get bored. If you have a cable subscription and a DVR you can set it to record workout shows. If you decide to buy, check yard sales and thrift stores–lots of folks purchase workouts and then eventually get rid of them. And again, put the word out among your family and friends–you probably know folks who would give you some old videos/dvds for free just to get them out of the house!

5. Work out with a video game.

Buying a gaming system and an exercise “game” will cost you–but if you already have a system in the house then you may already have an “active” game, or be able to buy an older or used one for a fraction of the cost of new. What kind of games? Well there are actual workout games like Zumba or Shape Up, and then games that by their nature are active, like Just Dance. These games are also a great way for your kids to burn off extra energy when it’s too cold to go out and play.

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Now that you are all ready to workout, what do you wear? Of course the least expensive option is to make do with what you have. Most of us have a pair of shorts or track pants and an old t-shirt tucked away somewhere that we can sweat in. However if you are in the market from some good quality, inexpensive workout (athletic) wear, Walmart asked me to share some of the items that you can pick up in their stores.

Around 6 months ago I told you about some of the fun and functional Avia women’s athletic wear that Walmat stocks. This time I decided to pick up a few things for Yankee Bill to try out. He’s really interested in getting more physically active in 2015, and I thought some new clothes would help encourage him.

I chose the Russell Men’s Drip Power 360 Tee, Russell Men’s Knit Track Pant, Russell Men’s Peformance 1/4 Zip long sleeve and the Russell Men’s Shorts. All of these items have the dri-power 360–that means it’s a special fabric that pulls the sweat/moisture away from your body and to the outside of the garment so that it can evaporate. That means instead of feeling sticky and gross, you can stay dry while working out. My old t-shirt and sweatpants don’t do that.

I learned when we were down at Walmart HQ that these active wear items are benchmarked off of comparable mid level brands for performance and style. What does that mean? Well, they actually head out to your big name brand sporting goods stores and purchase similar items, then the development teams work to ensure that the product Walmart stocks has similar quality, features and style. . . but at Walmart’s low everyday prices.

So if you are inspired to try some of my 5 cheap ways to workout this winter and feel that you need some affordable athletic wear to work out in, check out the reasonably priced items at Walmart. There is plenty to choose from! I highly recommend picking out items with dri-power or “performance” fabric. It should say right on the label what you can expect.