Social Summer Fitness: Free & Low-Cost Shape-Ups

As of June 21st, it's officially summer again! For many of us, that means scrambling to get back into bikini (or Speedo)-worthy shape. Wouldn't it be great to be able to find that same motivation to stay fit all year long, avoiding the dreaded pre-summer crash diets and crazy workouts?

One of the things that deters many people from working out as they should is the high price of membership at many gyms, yoga studios, sports clubs, even of building an affordable home gym. But staying in shape doesn't have to be expensive or grueling; we've found Shoestring-style solutions to help you get fit for summer and stay fit through the rest of the year. The experts we spoke to agree: the best way to stay fit is to find a way to exercise with a friend, with your mom, with a virtual pal, with your brother or with your dog. Relying on a support system can keep you slim and motivated!

STAY IN SHAPE SOCIALLY

The Gumshoes are primarily blue-blooded Bostonians, so we turned to one of our own, Justin Obey, co-founder of Social Boston Sports, to help shed some light on low-cost fitness and ways to stay motivated all year long, no matter your location. Social Boston Sports (SBS) is a competitive-yet-relaxed group of about 7,000 Boston-area post-grads looking for ways to continue the lifestyle they enjoyed while participating in college intramurals. With no annual fee, SBS is a wallet-friendly alternative to an expensive gym: members can skip the sweaty elliptical in lieu of a friendly yet athletic game of kickball, dodgeball, or a group run around the city. The great part about SBS is that members can relax and get to know their fellow athletes at social events hosted all year. For example, hit up the free Monday night run at 6:30 and return to a local bar with your fellow members to mix and mingle!

While there's nothing quite like Social Boston Sports, Justin knows that other cities offer similar programs, such as NYC Social Sports Club. Wherever you hail from, chances are there is a social sports program near you. Usually cheaper than a gym membership, social sports clubs keep you motivated by providing you with a network of equally-enthusiastic pals for support during the games. There's no substitute for staying in shape with a friend; the best way to enhance your workout is to experience it with others.

Even if you aren't near a club specifically designed to marry your workout with social interaction, there are plenty of ways to work out and stay fit with friends and family that will bust your abs but keep your bank account intact.

FIND A FRIEND, HEAD TO THE WEB

If the schedule of a social fitness group doesn't vibe with yours, there are plenty of ways to get a great workout from your own living room. Invite your friends and neighbors over for free (or nearly-free) workouts that you can follow from your desktop or TV.

Pop Pilates
Check out this YouTube channel offering free, intense, and professional ten minute pilates videos. Do one, do three, do thirty; there's no way not to feel the burn when you follow these workouts. Sponsored by OGorgeous.com, the Pop Pilates channel is lead by a realistic and encouraging coach. We tried the Bikini Bod Workout, and absolutely felt it the next day! Best part: pilates doesn't take much equipment: throw down your yoga mat, put on some sweats, and you're good to go.

If you're having a hard time convincing your friends to feel the burn with you, there are plenty of social media sites that allow you to build your own virtual support system of equally-motivated people who are ready to support you and cheer you on!

DailyBurn
Personal trainers are expensive, thankfully DailyBurn is not. With a free membership option as well as a more personalized one for a low monthly fee, DailyBurn is an interactive site that keeps you motivated and on-track via your computer and your iPhone. In the Locker Room, you can enter your daily calorie and water intake, and DailyBurn will advise you to adjust your habits according to your body type and fitness goals. You can also create personalized workouts or choose from many available programs as the site sends email reminders or alerts to remind you to tie up those running shoes. We love that DailyBurn is more than just a site to track your progress: you can interact with other users, called "Motivators," who keep you accountable to your goals. Starting a low-key, virtual relationship with Motivators is easy and undeniably helpful.

The Shredheads
Kristin and Bill, the founders of The Shredheads, swear by Jillian Michaels' 30-Day Shred DVD workout, readily available on Amazon. Their Twitter feed and blog allow you to interact with other Shredheads, offer and receive motivation, and share your amazing progress with a super-supportive and enthusiastic community of virtual friends with similar weight-loss and workout goals. Check out the "Meet your Shredheads" section of the site to see real pictures of real people who obtained real results (how often can you confidently find that online?), and start blogging along with them to stay in perfect mental and physical shape.

WORKOUTS IN THE WATER

We all know about the benefits of heading to the community pool — the low cost, the chance to support your town, the opportunity to meet people — but did you know that while you cool off at home or at the park you could be working out as well? Pool workouts can go beyond the boring backstroke with a little creativity and some good-natured partners in crime.

Myscha Theriault of the lifestyle website WeBeSharin.com has a fun and virtually-free way to get a great workout in the water using something you may not expect: pool noodles! Available for as cheap as $2.99, pool noodles are a fabulous water aerobics tool. Warm up with a couple laps and then try out these exercises, shared by Theriault, for a twist on the water workout. You can head to the local pool with friends, or get the family in the backyard before a barbeque and work out together!

If you're feeling hesitant about working out in the pool, Kristy DiSicipio, a certified personal trainer and an area group fitness manager of Equinox, promises that a water workout will provide nothing but benefits. She loves how any sort of activity in the pool, be it noodle exercises, yoga, pilates, or even jogging, allows for "resistance of water around the body" while simultaneously giving you the benefit of having "very low impact on the joints." Pool exercises aren’t "just for old people," she laughs, "Some of my hardest workouts have been in the water versus being on land."

FITNESS WITH FIDO

Craig Kelley of DogExplorer.com shares some awesome ways to get in shape with your pet that go beyond the whole "take a walk" spiel we've all heard a million times. You can always get your pooch on the leash and take him for a hike, walk, or run, depending on his size and your location. However, another way to incorporate the dog in your workout is to enroll your dog in clubs and training classes for agility and Frisbee skills. Kelley tells us that "agility involves both dog and owner moving briskly as a team to navigate a range of obstacles... it's a cheap way of changing from a sedentary lifestyle to one of athletic activity; it’s a lot of fun and emotionally rewarding." You can even grab a pedometer (use the built-in one on your iPod, or download one to your smart phone for a few bucks), to track how many steps you take on your walk and throughout the whole day. Turn it into a competition with friends for who strides the most!

Copyright 2010 Shoestring, LLC. Photo by Frederico Stevanin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net