Perhaps youre a student, trying to make it on a student budget. Or, youre a stay-at-home mother with little cash to spare. Or youre just getting started in your career and you dont have much in the way of disposable income. No matter what your situation, know that there are inexpensive ways to exercise for weight loss.

To begin with, one of the most cost-effective ways to exercise is simply by walking. It requires no special equipmentother than a good pair of athletic shoes. You can do it virtually anywherein a park, on a hiking trail, or around your neighborhood. Walking is also one of the best methods of cardiovascular exercise around. If youre able to increase your pace from three-and-a-half to four-and-a-half miles an hour, you can expend 50 percent more calories. That means that, in a half hour of walking, you could burn more than 200 extra calories.

Another low-cost way to exercise is to work out with an exercise videotape or DVD. These tapes and DVDs can cost less than $20, but they can provide you with a years worth of exercise routines. Assuming you already have a VCR or DVD player, you wont have to invest in any expensive equipment. You can also do the exercises in the privacy of your own home, so you dont have to worry about how youre dressed. Also, a number of television stations run exercise programsthe only money thats required is paying your monthly cable bill, an expense you might already have.

Yet another way to exercise without putting out a great deal of money is to ride a bicycle. While you will have to invest in a bike, you might be able to pick one up at a low price by buying second-hand through a newspaper ad or through a used bike shop. Once youve bought your bike, you wont have to invest any additional money in your exercise routine.

A number of magazines offer regular exercise features. These can be quite good and may even offer full-body workouts. By investing a mere $3.00 in a magazine, you might be able to find a fitness routine that you can use the entire year through. If you want to be really frugal, you can simply check out a fitness magazine from your local library and Xerox the exercise pages for future use.

One no-cost way to exercise is to dance. You dont even need any trainingyou can simply get up out of your seat and begin to move. Turn on a radio station with dance music and let yourself go. You might also consider checking out dance CDs and audiocassette tapes from your neighborhood library.

You can also pick up free exercise tips from the Internet. Youll find that many exercise experts offer their own websites which are filled with valuable information. Your doctor can also help you in developing an exercise routine thats right for you.

As you can see, it doesnt take a great deal of cash in order to exercise. And physicians say that, with regular exercise, you should be able to lose weight. By investing just a little bit of money up front, you can achieve as good a workout as you would be able to get at an expensive gym.