Health club memberships.
Personal training.
Nutritional counseling.
Massage therapy.
Health products.
All of this and more.
For little to no financial investment.
What Is Wellness Hacking?
You’ve probably seen the word hacking thrown around in different context such as life and travel hacking.
Hacking refers to the art and science of free and discounted items or services.
A way to take fair advantage of offers, perks, and systems for your own personal benefit. I’m not talking about gaming or cheating the system, I’m talking about understanding the system so that you rightfully take advantage of it for your benefit.
In the same way that those who understand the tax code utilize it and benefit from it, the same holds true for wellness hacking. It’s a matter of understanding different systems, what you can and can’t do, what works and what doesn’t.
Leveling The Playing Field
Just because your financial resources are limited, doesn’t mean your health and happiness has to suffer because of it.
Your financial resources will no longer handicap you or hold you back from losing weight, increasing your energy, motivation, and confidence. It will no longer stop you from taking advantage of health services such as personal training to show you what exercises to do and how to do them correctly so that you lose weight, nutritional coaching so that you know how and what to eat to lose weight, and massage therapy to help soothe sore and tight muscles.
If you’re willing to put in just a little time and effort, you can begin taking full advantage of all the resources that are available to you right now and begin boosting your health & fitness levels.
Health Club Memberships
If there’s one thing I know about health clubs, having worked for several of them myself, is that they want nothing more than to get you in the door. The whole idea is that if they can get you in, then they have a chance to close you on a membership. It’s a system that works wonderfully in their favor.
Most, if not all health clubs, offer anywhere between a 7-14 day free membership to try out their facility.
HACK…
Identify 2 to 4 health clubs near you.
Call and ask for a free membership to try out their facility. ALWAYS push for 14 days unless of course they’re offering you more days.
Depending on how many health clubs you have near you and agree to give you a free trial membership, you’ll rack up months, if not a full year of free health club access with no money out of your pocket.
Personal Training
Personal training is a great service to utilize but can get pricey. With so much new equipment and machines available, it’s a good idea to know which ones do what and how to use them so that you don’t injure yourself and maximize your health and fitness goals.
HACK…
When you receive your trial membership from whatever health club you decided on, ask the sales manager who helped you if they offer free personal training consultations. Most, if not all of them do.
If you’re told they do not, then over the next few days when using the facility, approach a personal trainer after they’re done their session. Let them know you saw them training and liked their style. Ask if they would be willing to offer you a free initial training session. In my 15 years of providing personal training services, I’ve never turned down one of these requests.
Sometimes the health club cannot issue these free consultations but the personal trainers themselves have the liberty to agree to such an agreement.
Nutritional Guidance
With any health and fitness goal, especially weight loss, what and how you’re eating is what will determine your success. Working out 7 days a week and running 30 miles will have you stronger and running marathons, but it won’t do much to change your weight and body fat.
One of the biggest mistakes I see people make all the time is assuming that they’re eating well and healthy with no professional assessment to validate whether or not they are.
Here’s how to score your very own personal nutritionist at no cost to you.
HACK…
There are more nutritionists and dietitians out there than you’re probably aware of. Many who are well qualified, just getting started, and still unknown. How do you find these?
Google Nutritionist and/or Dietitian. It doesn’t matter if they’re in your same city/state or not. When your search comes up, go to the fifth Google search page and begin contacting (call, email or both) the listings you see.
Your message is this:
Hi Debbie,
I came across your site and really enjoyed it. I read through your material and it completely resonates with me. Your style and approach to health and nutrition is exactly what I’m looking for.
I would love to work with you and pay your fee which I have no doubt is worth it, unfortunately I am financially unable to do so at this time. I’ve always been a hard worker and determined so I figured I would reach out.
While I may not be able to afford your services, I am committed to making health changes in my life. I know that with your assistance, I can and will get there. I’m curious if you’d be willing to work with me if I promise to follow everything it is you give me so that I not only achieve, but exceed all of my health and fitness goals, all of which you can document and use as a case study and testimonial for your services.
Thanks so much for your time and consideration.
Regardless of your decision, I will continue to enjoy and support your work.
Kindly,
If after 7 days you still haven’t received any type of response, send one last friendly follow up email. You’ll be surprised how a little persistence can pay huge dividends. The goal is to get one YES.
Massage Therapy
Nothing feels better than a good deep tissue massage to work out all the sore and tight muscles in your body. Not just from exercising either, but from long periods of sitting at a desk driving, traveling, lifting and move stuff, and of course stress. All of these take a toll on your body and it’s your muscles that often pay the price.
Massages play a big role in contributing to your overall wellness.
They also have a tendency to be expensive and a service that insurance companies don’t cover.
HACK…
Massage schools all over the country offer lowered rates, anywhere between $25 to $35 an hour, for a massage that’s given by one of their students. This is a heck of a deal considering massages are typically priced anywhere between $80 to $120 an hour from a professional masseuse .
To find a massage school near you, check out Natural Healers for a listing of massage schools to call and ask about student massage rates.
Health Products
Multivitamins, protein powder and bars, heart rate monitor, running shoes, athletic gear – all products I use and advise that my clients and members use as well.
Proper recover after a great workout or run is important, so is the use of proper equipment such as running shoes for optimal performance, maximal results, and remaining injury free.
HACK…
There are several multi-level marketing companies out there that provide great products regardless of whether or not you want to get involved in the business aspect of it, which can be very lucrative.
Find one you like, such as Advocare, and pay the small start-up fee to become a “distributor”. Even if you don’t end up selling their products, you still get anywhere from 20-50% off of all products depending on the company.
BONUS HACK
If you’re an active Twitter user, anytime you buy and use a new product, whether it’s a protein powder, a new supplement, running shoes, athletic gear, whatever it may be, make it a point to rave about the product on Twitter and including the product maker in the message (assuming of course there’s reason to rave).
When you do so, you’re bringing awareness of the product and its benefits to your followers and by including the product maker in your message, you’re letting them know as well that you’re using their product AND letting others know how great you think it is.
My girlfriend Kristen did this with a product she uses regularly. The product maker ended up reaching out to her directly, asking for her address so that they could send her coupons for several free items all because of her Tweet.
Use this same tactic with other social media platforms as well such as Facebook and Instagram.
It may not always work, but it’s certainly worth a try.
Get Some
Your health and taking good care of yourself can get expensive, something that’s always bothered me.
Your health and well being shouldn’t be depending on financial resources and while resources such as running, push ups, squats, and making healthy choices requires no money to do – professional advice, guidance, and steps for better wellness such as taking vitamins and getting massages does cost money.
With a little time, effort, and some wellness hacking, you’ll have all it is you need at your fingertips for little to nothing to get you healthy, happy, and feeling your best.
Cheers!
Featured Image: Mission Beach, CA
Thank you so much for sharing all of this helpful advice! I will definitely have to try out the massage hack!