Garage Sale Mobile Tips

Garage sales are great places for those who want to get fit. No, I’m not talking about the benefits of walking from sale to sale and toting your new-found treasures as a form of exercise –although it certainly counts – but the great deals you can get on exercise-related equipment. How many people do you know that have unused exercise equipment sitting around their homes? Right, now think of how many people there must be trying to sell off unused equipment by having a garage sale – often at prices far below the bought-new price.

• exercise machines of all shapes and sizes, including older exercise bikes. If it still works, it can still get you in shape, even if it does date back to the 1980s.
• exercise DVDs and videos. Check them over to make sure they’re not scratched before you shell out your cash.
• exercise-related books: the actual exercise regimens never go out of date, even if the pages are a bit dog-eared and the models demonstrating the routines are wearing hideous leg warmers.
• balls of all types. From Swiss exercise balls to little squash balls, as long as they’re still inflated/inflatable, they’re bound to be a bargain.
• weights. Dumbbells never go out of date. If you’re really lucky, you can find some from a reputable brand that can easily be added to. 
• workout wear made from fleece.
• specialty shoes, such as football boots. This especially applies to children’s sports shoes.
• any specialist sports gear, including golf clubs, hockey sticks, tennis racquets, etc. Finding a good deal at a garage sale might even trigger a new sporting interest.
• reflective gear for running and walking in the dark

• Used general-purpose exercise trainers. If a pair of running shoes look a bit down at heel and have signs of wear and tear on the sole, they won’t give your joints the protection they need. The imprints made by other people’s feet will feel weird. Only buy used trainers if they’re hardly worn.
• Videos, tapes and LPs that you don’t have players for anymore. Sure, you have memories of doing the Jane Fonda workout ages ago and you’ve decided to go retro for your workout, but if you can’t play it, you’re wasting your time.
• Lycra clothing. If it’s been worn a lot, it will have stretched and sagged irreparably. You may be lucky, but you may not. Avoid anything with holes in. The same applies to swimwear – never buy used swimwear in a pale colour, as it will become see-through as soon as it gets wet.
• Sweat bands: These are probably packed with someone else’s sweat and grime. Ick.
• Half-used protein supplements. If you really can’t resist it, make sure you (a) read the package carefully and see exactly what the supplement’s supposed to do, (b) check the use-by date.