So the holiday break is over! After months of family parties filled with food, drinks, and couch sitting— you’ve vowed to get back to reality and crush your 2020 fitness goals because #NewDecadeNewYou .

A gym membership though? Investing in a Peloton bike? Signing up for an expensive workout class? Buying new workout clothes? Quite the upfront financial investment! And it really doesn’t help if one of your other resolutions was to SAVE money.

So instead of hitting up Lululemon and signing your soul over to Equinox and then realizing this works out really well because now you can’t afford to eat. (Which actually does NOT work out well, you need to still eat if you’re gonna lose weight/gain muscle and actually KEEP IT THAT WAY. Trust me, I’m a dietitian) I have offered up some much more affordable ways to A. Upgrade your workout wear B. Get fit and C. Save your money!

Let’s get one thing straight—

You do not NEED to upgrade your workout wardrobe in order to workout. I am just a fan of this because I think it makes the whole process fun, and therefore motivating. So if you’re not in the market for some new workout attire, skip down to the part where I talk about affordable ways to get and stay fit!

The other reason I am a fan of doing this is because it helps shift your mindset to love your body HOW IT IS RIGHT NOW. I promise you that your motivation and long term results will be so much better if you’re not a slave to the short term results. Someone who loves their body as is will see setbacks (which will happen unless you’re a robot) in a different light than someone who is unhappy with their body.

Someone who accepts and loves their body will not mind when they overeat, skip a workout, or gain a pound or two and will shrug it off, learn from it, and KEEP GOING. Someone who doesn’t will see their mistakes as total failures, feel hopeless, and either take more extreme measures to counteract their unsatisfactory results/behavior (which isn’t sustainable long term) or give up!

SO back to my original point— finding cute workout clothes that fit well, help you move well, and make you feel cute = a huge step in the right direction for loving your body. K, stepping off my soapbox now.

If you’re into it, I rounded up some great places to shop for affordable workout clothes to jumpstart your 2020 fitness journey and look cute doing it!

My FAV workout set that I purchased at American Eagle this past year…. Maybe cleaning my apartment more often should be added to my 2020 resolutions…

Where to shop for cute and affordable workout clothes:

Target

I mean Target really does have everything! Check out their JoyLab label for adorable and trendy workout wear that’s totally affordable!

Fabletics

So I have used both ShoeDazzle and JustFab (Fabletics’ sister companies) But I have actually never used Fabletics! HOWEVER I hear so many great reviews from people, and love how the subscription model that these companies use! With Fabletics It’s a monthly membership where you get charged $49.95 per month and usually you can get at least a full outfit (depending what you buy)! You can also skip the month if you don’t want to get charged that month. Also it’s a great way to spruce up your workout wear monthly (AKA not binge purchasing hundreds of dollars at once) and get a full outfit for cheap!

90 Degree by Reflex

THE ultimate affordable workout attire. You can even shop some of their stuff on Amazon which makes it oh-so convenient! On their website they have more variety and you can even shop by fabric and color! Definitely check them out their stuff is SO cute and quality!

Aerie

OK I have to be honest, the quality for the price is literally unbeatable IMO. I am well-versed in cheap leggings and theirs are affordable, adorable, and SO COMFY! Peep the fun leopard set I got this past year pictured above that I absolutely LOVE.

Kohls

Kohl’s is great because you can shop Nike/Champion/Reebok/Adidas and other trusted labels made for Kohl’s so you’re getting that trusted brand quality for a lot cheaper!

Old Navy

I love Old Navy’s activewear line! Some seriously cute tees/tanks/ and full workout sets! And it’s Old Navy so it’s obvious very inexpensive to begin with plus they’re pretty much always having a sale.

TJ Maxx/Marshalls

They’ve got allll the good/high quality brands for SO much less (because that’s their thing) and their workout clothes are no exception!

Walking to get iced coffee is considered cardio, right?

Now onto part 2 of this post…

How to get and STAY fit— for cheap!

So now that you’re feeling motivated, looking cute, and ready to actually exercise— here are some affordable and effective ways to get a good workout without feeling like you’re wasting money!

Join an AFFORDABLE gym. Yes, these exist. Some examples are Planet Fitness, Cardinal Fitness, LA Fitness, Gold’s Gym, Youfit Health Clubs, 24 Hour Fitness, Anytime Fitness. Some of these have prices as low as $10 per month! Some are a bit pricier depending on what part of the country you live in.
*Tip- some gyms have free “buddy” passes- so if you and your roommate, sister, husband, whoever both want to join and will be going together, it could be even cheaper to just do one membership! (My husband and I did this when we lived near a Planet Fitness) Also a lot of these do free one-day or one-week passes (a lot of non-chain/local gyms do too!) So you could also just gym hop around using free passes if you want to put off actually spending money!
Set up a home gym! For smaller equipment (yoga mats, dumbbells, kettlebells, etc) Target and TJ Maxx/Marshalls are my favorite places to go (or Amazon if you don’t live near one of those) For bigger equipment like treadmills, stationary bikes, weight machines, etc) Overstock, Walmart, and, Sears Outlet, Bed Bath and Beyond are good places to shop to get a good price. Yes, some of these things are still expensive, BUT unlike a gym membership— you actually get to keep the equipment at the end of the day and you can use it whenever you want. So in the long term, a cheaper and more beneficial option than a gym membership.
*Tip- When buying the more expensive equipment, do a monthly payment plan to pay it off- now instead of paying $60 per month for a gym membership, you’re paying $40 per month (until it’s paid off) for an elliptical that you get to keep! And nobody is going to hound you or charge you cancellation fee at the end of all of it.
Learn equipment-free exercises you can do at home! Not all of us have the space for an at-home gym setup (hi yes, I live in an 800 square foot apartment so I feel you) So learning these equipment free exercises can be a FREE way to workout when you live in a small space! I mean we know the obvious ones: Going for a run around the block, sit-ups, squats, dancing, walking… But get to know some super effective ones that you enjoy/ work for your body! (Google some and try them out) Once you know which ones you enjoy, write down a plan/schedule and try your best to stick to it.
*Tip: For example, I learned that my body just is not made to do certain ab exercises (cough crunches cough) but there are other ones that really work for me (bicycles, jacknives, planks). I also discovered I can’t just work out. I need something to entertain me. So I developed my own workout plan that involves cardio (running or walking) 2-3x week, and strength training 3x week that I do while either watching Netflix or listening to music/podcasts! Yes I literally catch up on my shows while doing my ab workouts and let me tell you it’s actually enjoyable! Oh also the me I am referring to is me pre-wedding. Post wedding me has not been consistent at working out, but I am totally OK with it and will get back into it when I’m ready! Please give yourself the same patience.
Download an app! There are tons of apps out there that are either free or have a very low monthly fee that can substitute as a personal trainer or workout class that you can do in the comfort of your own home! Some of my favorites are: Sworkit, Sweat, Aaptiv, 8Fit, Asics Studio, Nike Training Club
*Tip: A lot of these apps come with a free trial if they are paid, so just remember that if you try it out and don’t like it enough to commit to paying monthly, you will get automatically charged if you don’t cancel the subscription!! Set a calendar reminder for yourself so you don’t forget to unsubscribe before they charge you! (to cancel just delete the app on your phone and your phone will prompt you to either keep the subscription or cancel it)

I hope this post was helpful for anyone trying to get fit, stay fit, and not go totally bankrupt in the process! Girl, you got this and 2020 will be your year!