There's no price tag that can be put on the cost of good health, but why not pinch a few pennies where possible?

Right now, the warm weather offers the perfect time to stay in shape without shelling out gym membership fees.

While local fitness facilities can offer a little bit more as far as equipment, Bryan Leader, night supervisor at Finger Lakes Health and Fitness Center said the same cardio workout can be done running outside on a sidewalk as is done on a treadmill.

“It's just a little more stress on the legs and knees (running on pavement),” he said noting that certain equipment at the gym reduces the stress of running. “Like the elliptical ... that's basically stress free.”

The cost of joining Finger Lakes Health and Fitness Center is $200 per year, Leader said, although membership declines in the summer months.

Steve Komanecky, fitness director at the YMCA in Auburn, said membership, which costs $396 a year, tends to stay the same throughout the summer months, but the usage of the building goes down.

He said it doesn't matter where the exercise takes place, but that the more important thing is staying motivated, which the summer months tend to do to people.

“It keeps you interested in exercise,” Komanecky said. “It's something different. So many people get so used to the same old routine.”

“Who doesn't want to be outside?” Leader added. “I like to be in the pool or lake swimming for my cardio, and (the water) offers weight resistance.”

At the Cayuga Community College's Nature Trails, John Mastropietro has found that he can simulate the stress-reducing elements of a treadmill by running in the grassy field just off the trail behind East Middle School.

“I do it just to run on a soft surface,” said Mastropietro because he has knee problems.

He runs daily at the nature trails when the weather is warm. A member of the YMCA, Mastropietro said he probably won't head back down there until October or later. As a private tennis instructor, teaching pro and coach at Moravia High School, as well as his day job working with insurance, he said he's been active all his life.

“If you don't keep moving, you stop moving,” Mastropietro believes.

The nature trails not only offer paths through the woods to run or walk, but they also provide a station to leg-flex, body-flex and body-pull. Directions are provided on how to do each exercise and how many repetitions to do ranging from stage 1 to the more challenging stage 3.

Leader said the trails are a good place to get an all around workout similar to that available at a gym. Leader also said he believes the best type of workout, which can be done anywhere, are those with intervals.

“Maybe run for one minute, than walk fast, jog. That's the best for cardio,” he explained. “You need to switch it up so you don't get used to the same routine.”

Komanecky said the most obvious and easiest way to achieve an outdoor workout is to simply go for a walk.

“Walking outdoors can offer a different experience than walking on a treadmill,” he said. “The muscles do need to do something different to keep challenging the body. It's a nice change for the muscle fibers.”

Walking around the perimeter of Hoopes Park, Judy Wellington said she does her workout there about three times a week. It is convenient being that she lives nearby, and being outdoors is appealing to her.

“I enjoy watching the ducks and the squirrels,” she said.

Wellington recently began this routine again due to the warm weather. In the past, she had been a gym member, but walking outdoors isn't only more enjoyable for her, she said it reduces some of the guilt.

“If I don't go (walking) one day, I don't feel like I spent the money (on a gym membership) that I'm not using,” she said. “To me, this is just as relaxing as going to the spa.”

Hoopes Park is in close proximity to Wellington's home, which makes it easy for her, but there are a number of other places for those looking to kick it up outdoors.

Casey Park is another place offering a nice path that changes in gradient, which increase the resistance while running or walking. There are also chin-up bars half way around that can be utilized.

Emerson Park is another location that, with the swimming area, can offer a full-body workout.

Leader said people can find workouts even without heading beyond the backyard.

“Pushing the lawnmower or doing house work can also provide quite a workout,” he said.

Komanecky said biking is another one of the best, easy-on-the-joints forms of exercising, whether on a stationary bike, or outside, which has the advantage of providing a range of scenery.

Hop on the bike, take the dog for a walk, run through the neighborhood or wash the car; finding a free workout just takes looking at things a little differently and some creativity.

Staff writer Laura Boyce can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 236 or at laura.boyce@lee.net