Women are breaking away from their regular fitness training routines and experimenting with different types of exercise, according to one health expert.

Research analysts Mintel reported last week that 23 per cent of consumers cancelled gym memberships in 2009, with a further six per cent planning to do so in the future.

However, Joanna Knight, editor at Women's Fitness, said that women were not just looking for ways to save money.

"Women are trying to find new ways of exercising which energise and excite them more than their regular gym routines have previously," she explained.

Ms Knight added that she believed fitness was a highly personal thing, and while some people preferred to work out at the gym others were happy to use other measures to get fit such as home gym equipment and workout DVDs.

Women who lead active lifestyles can reduce their risk of developing breast cancer by up to 18 per cent, research from the Journal of the American Medical Association has found.