Save £545 on Gym Memberships with Argos Home Exercise Equipment
Put into figures, the people of the UK apparently waste a humungous £30,000 in their life on their monthly direct debits. And you know what that likely means? Unused gym memberships. The My Favourite Voucher Codes team can hold their hands up and openly admit to skipping a gym session every now and then (okay, maybe it’s just me). And whilst our reasons shift from lacking motivation to that intense feeling of intimidation when locking eyes with the local body builder, it doesn’t change the fact we’re wasting an average of £45.43 a month on gym memberships we’re not using.
Buy Argos Home Exercise Equipment to Get Your Total Body Workout
That’s why we’re considering the alternatives. Why not invest in a few one-off payments and kit out your own home gym with the help of retailers like Argos. And we’re not talking buying your own treadmill, bike or cross trainer either. That would be excessive. You know us, we like to work out without exercising our wallet. With our guide, find the home gym equipment you need to get your total body workout and spend less than you would on your yearly gym membership.
From burning off fat to toning, we’re going to talk you through all the equipment and exercises you need to do to ensure you’ll get the results you want and feel fitter. All without flashing too much cash and, more importantly, stepping foot in a sweaty gym.
Arms and Shoulders Exercises at Home
When working out this area, it is key is you do a range of exercises that work all the muscles in your arm to ensure both your biceps and triceps are working, as well as your shoulders. We’ve come up with some of the best ones, with the help of weights as well as some you can do from home without buying any fancy equipment.
The Exercises:
- Bicep Curls: Hold your weight palm facing up, arm at a right angle and bring the weight up to meet your shoulder.
- Overhead Tricep Extensions: Combat saggy underarms and either hold a dumbbell or kettlebell above your head, slowly easing the weight low behind your head and then back up again.
- Chair Dips: Palms facing forward over the edge of the chair, dip down and allow your arms to bend, pushing back up until your arms are straight and fully extended. Repeat.
- Plank: Rest your forearms on the floor and balance on the tip of your toes with a straight back. Hold for as long as you can, and you’ll engage your core muscles, too.
The Equipment:
You can buy pairs of dumbbells with the ability to change and add on discs to increase and decrease the weight. These are advisable to get the most out of your set and up the challenge as you get stronger. You can now save £5 on the EverLast Vinyl Dumbbell set and buy for £24.99, lifting up to 20kg. Kettlebells start from 4kg at Argos and have starting prices of under £10.
Costing around £34.99, this is less than a month’s average gym membership.
Legs and Bum for Lower Body Work Outs
You know those kettlebells you bought earlier? Well they’re great for upgrading from a standard squat, too.
The Exercises:
- Squat forms should see feet a shoulders width apart with your feet turned slightly out. As you go down into your squat, your back should remain straight and knees shouldn’t go beyond your toes.
- Add Kettlebells: Hold the kettlebell to your chest and ensure you put lots of welly into pushing back up and squeezing into your bottom.
- Lunges: Hold the kettlebell in the same way as you take deep lunges. Step one foot forward and bend low so your back knee is nearly touching the floor.
The Equipment:
Whilst you may go for a lighter weight to start with for arm exercises, as you’re not actually lifting the weight during these leg and bum exercises, consider upping your weight so that you really benefit from more of a challenging squat and lunge. Starting at 4kg and working up to as much as 24kg, buy kettlebells for between £9.99 and £35.99.
Consider this month two of your gym membership at £35.99.
Abdominal and Core Strength Exercises for Stomach Muscles
We’ve all heard of the dreaded crunches that engage muscles we didn’t even know existed, let alone had felt before. But if you want those washboard abs, you’re going to have to start familiarising yourself. From sit ups to crunches, incorporating a gym ball can make these standard exercises more challenging. Ensures your core is fully engaged whilst focusing on keeping your balance.
The Exercises:
- Standard Crunch: Feet flat on the ground and knees bent up, arms crossed over across your chest. Lift, rolling up from your shoulder blades up and hold it before easing back down.
- Elevated Leg Crunch: Balance your legs on the gym ball and practice a normal crunch.
- Reverse Crunch: Grip the ball between your legs and roll back so you bottom lifts off the ground.
- Side Crunches: Lean on your side against the ball and do a crunch, curving at your waist as you curl your upper body into the exercise.
- Ball Jackknife: Resembling a mountain climber, place palms on the floor and extend arms, balancing feet up on the gym ball. Bend at the knees, rolling the ball with the movement and back again.
The Equipment:
Costing as little as £7.99 for an Opti gym ball from Argos, this could revolutionise the way you exercise, working to engage as you need to control and balance whilst exercising on the ball. Wild thought, this addition might even make it fun.
No need to even fork out the full price of a gym membership, these gym balls come at a similar price to one of your group classes.
Cardio Total Body Workouts
It’s time to get that heartbeat racing. Whilst a bike or treadmill might be a great option right about now, remember we’re trying to keep expenses low.
The Exercises:
- Running: One way to get your heart rate up is to run. With the help of a stepper, you can reap the benefits of a treadmill without the high price tag and work out both arms and legs.
- Resistance Bands: Go on a run with a twist. In a pair, wrap the resistant band around your front so your partner can hold on either side from behind, then run with them pulling you back.
- Total Body Workout: Put together all the exercises we’ve given you to music and up the pace for a high intensity workout. You’ll be breathless and sweaty in no time.
The Equipment:
A great alternative to the treadmill is a stepper. Costing a small fraction of the price of a treadmill, you can buy the Opti Mini Stepper for £39.99, reduced by £6. Costing close to an average gym membership per month, this one-off payment will see you through your exercise regime for years to come. Complete with resistance cords, you can work not only your legs but your arms at the same time with the option to remove. You can also buy sets of resistance bands for as little as £14.99.
Coming to £54.98, consider this a particularly energetic month at the gym.
With the help of dumbbells, kettlebells, a gym ball and many of these other items, you’ll be able to discover hundreds of exercises to work into your routine. All for a one-off total of just over £100. In terms of your monthly direct debit to the gym, this costs the equivalent of 3 months at the gym and one class. With gym memberships on average costing £545 a year, it’s less than a third of the price for exercise equipment you can use again and again without leaving the house.
Here at My Favourite Voucher Codes, we’re cancelling our gym memberships as we speak and arranging a work trip to Argos to pick up some kettlebells. We’ll see you on the flipside, when we’re slimmer, trimmer and likely about £45.43 up a month.
Posted By: Alice Marshall - My Favourite Voucher Codes - 22nd June 2018