Walking is #1 Cheap Workout

"How to Get Your Exercise without Breaking the Bank" - Subhead for Denver Post Story

"Cheap Workouts" is title of the front-page feature of today's Denver Post "Fitness" section. The #1 suggestion is walking -- not Nordic Walking -- but just plain walking. "The only equipment you need is a comfortable pair of shoes and the right clothing for the weather," wrote Greg Henry, who assembled the list. As well we all know, when you add to that a pair of poles, the fitness dividend increases.

His #2 is climbing stairs, during which he reports a 200-pound person can burn "nearly 400 calories" in 30 minutes. I don't weigh 200 pounds, so I'd need to climb for more than 30 minutes for that 400-calorie burn -- after which I'd probably loony from going up and down the same set of stairs. His #3 is to "run the steps at your local arena or neighborhood hill." Cheap? Yes. but potentially painful too, considering that many Nordic Walkers are former runners who have trashed their knees, current runners who train with poles so as to preserve their knees a bit longer or never-were runners who couldn't or wouldn't run even on the flat, let alone up and down stadium stairs or hills.

His #4 suggestion is to "score guest passes at health clubs." How many you can person possibly score somewhere not too inconvenient to home or work? "Join a YMCA, park district or municipal recreation center" is the #5 suggestion. Good idea -- and certainly cheaper than a private health and fitness center.

The writer's #6, #8 and #10 refer to inexpensive ways to find or use equipment from simple handweights to expensive home apparatus, while #7 and #9 involve exercise tapes, DVDs, Internet resources and television exercise shows.

All these tips are helpful, but when it comes to a combination of the cheap factor, the ease factor and the effectiveness factor, Nordic Walking continues to stand out. In my book, Henry's #1 is indeed #1.