You know you should be exercising, and you want to get fit- start battling that beer belly, get rid of that baby weight once and for all. But gyms are expensive, and money’s tight. Even if you could afford to join a gym, you feel so out of shape you’d be embarrassed to be seen there. And you’re reluctant to invest in pricey exercise equipment when you haven’t been exercising- you worry you won’t use it. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways you can start getting in shape with minimal or no expense, whether you want to get out of the house to exercise or find something you can do inside. Whatever you choose, make sure that you consult your health professional and have a physical before you start exercising.

Finding a Place to Walk

Walking is an appealing exercise for beginners, because you already know how to do it! It can be a particularly good choice for moms, since you can keep your baby or toddler with you (and pushing the stroller burns more calories). Starting an exercise program can be as easy as lacing up your sneakers and heading out for a walk around the block; the biggest challenge with walking can be finding a place to walk where you don’t wind up cold, wet through, or playing dodge-the-traffic.

Your Neighborhood is the most obvious place to start. If your neighborhood has sidewalks or low traffic, and often has decent weather, you’re in luck. Remember, though, that if your neighborhood isn’t great for walking, there’s no law to stop you from driving to some other neighborhood, parking your car, and walking there.

School Tracks can also be a good outdoor option if you’d rather not walk in your own neighborhood. Usually located around the football field, many public high school and middle school tracks, as well as some college and university tracks, are open to the public when school is not in session and there’s no team practicing there. Often, hours when the public can use the track will be posted on the gate to the area; if they’re not, you can call the school and ask about using the track.

The Mall is an option that might not seem obvious, but haven’t you ever gotten to the end of a long day shopping and decided you’d burned enough calories to justify an ice cream sundae at the food court? Many malls have special mall walker clubs, with perks that often include access to the mall before it opens for shopping; find out if yours is one of them. If there’s no mall walking club, you can still walk there informally on your own or with a few friends, or you can contact the management of your mall about starting a club. The biggest advantage of mall walking is that it’s climate-controlled, and it never rains or snows in the mall.

Choosing Exercise Videos/DVDs

If you have a little space in your home to work with (or can create some by shifting the coffee table) in front of a TV with a VCR or DVD player, exercise videos can be an embarrassment-free way to try aerobics, and often strength training as well. You can rent exercise videos to try them out before purchasing a few or, better still, you can check them out at your local library. Make sure to select a video with an all-over workout; avoid those that promise spot-toning of some body part. Check to see what equipment the video requires and if you have it available; a step workout won’t do you much good unless you own your own step. The length of exercise videos varies, so choose a length that will work for you; do try, though, to find a video which includes both cardio (aerobics) and strength training.

The most important factor in choosing an exercise video or DVD is your own taste. Find something you’re comfortable with, with exercises you enjoy, music you like, and an instructor who doesn’t make you want to crawl out a nearby window just to get away. Some of the newer fitness DVDs have features that older videos weren’t able to offer, like allowing the viewer to choose from different intensity levels and sequences.

Do-It-Yourself Cardio

Exercise videos aren’t the only option for cardio you can do on your own, at home, without special equipment, and they’re not right for everyone. If you have no spaces large enough to swing a cat in, you may find the workouts hard to follow, or perhaps you have plenty of room but can’t stand the perky instructors or get bored to tears. If you prefer, you can perform simple cardio moves, in very little space, on your own while you watch TV or listen to your favorite music.

Watching some exercise videos or going to a class or two (see below for tips on finding cheap classes) can help you get ideas for moves that you can do, like jumping jacks, marching in place, heel touches, kicks, and hamstring curls. Vary the intensity level of your moves, mixing high-intensity moves like jumping jacks- if you are comfortable with high intensity- with low-intensity moves like marching or hamstring curls. And don’t be afraid to make up your own moves or just dance to the music.

Finding Low-Cost Exercise Classes

If you’re sociable or get bored easily with your workouts, you might want to take an exercise class, and there are a lot of classes geared to or welcoming of beginners. While gyms can be very expensive, you might be able to take a class at a reasonable price through a church, school, community center, or public rec center. Make some phone calls and ask around among your friends. Remember that an exercise class doesn’t have to be a lifelong commitment; depending on how the class is structured and charged for, you could attend just for a few weeks to shake things up, just for two or three sessions to get ideas for how to work out at home, or just during the winter months if you usually like to exercise outdoors.

Starting Strength Training

To get fit, you’ll need to do strength training as well as cardio. Exercise videos often provide both, but if you’re getting your cardio from walking or dancing you’ll need to work in some strength training. Watching exercise videos or DVDs or attending a few classes will give you ideas for exercises, and popular magazines are often filled with them as well. Below are some simple upper body ideas to get you started, and all you’ll need is a sturdy chair and hand weights. Most women who have not been working out will find three and five pounds good weights to get started with; men will probably be comfortable starting with heavier weights. Start with two sets of no more than ten repetitions (fewer if it hurts) and build up gradually.

Chest Fly: Lie on your back with your knees bent and hold one of your heavier weights in each hand, with your arms straight up in front of you. Slowly lower your arms almost to the ground, then raise them again. Repeat.

Seated Row: Sit in a sturdy wooden chair with no armrests. With one weight in each hand, place your feet flat on the floor and lean forward, keeping your back straight, until your chest almost rests on your knees. Keeping your arms slightly bent, slowly raise them straight out to your sides as far as is comfortable, then slowly lower them.

Bicep Curl: Stand with your feet slightly apart, holding one weight in each hand with your palms facing outward. Slowly raise the weights until you nearly touch your shoulders, keeping your torso and upper arms still. Lower slowly and repeat.

Triceps Press: Standing with your feet slightly apart, raise your arms over your head and use both hands to grasp one weight. Keep your elbows close to your ears and your upper arms still as you bend your elbows, lowing the weight behind your head until it nearly touches your back. Slowly straighten your arms back up, and repeat.

Deltoid Raises: Stand with your feet slightly apart, holding one lighter weight in each hand. Slowly raise your arms out to your sides, keeping your arms straight but not locking your elbows, until your hands are just below your shoulders. To prevent injury, do not raise the weight higher than your shoulder. Slowly lower, and repeat.