People often feel like they need a gym membership or access to a decent home gym setup to stay fit and healthy, but that is not true. You can find ways to get toned with access to several household items. For the extra savvy homeowner, many household items can contribute to a full-body and gym-based workout.
Paper Plates
Gym-goers are spoiled by things like Valslides and glider discs. A couple of paper plates are just as effective and less expensive. The purpose of any glider is to reduce friction and force muscle engagement throughout a bodyweight exercise.
A lunge is a perfect example of how effective paper plates are to a workout. With your front foot on the paper plate, you will glide your foot forward instead of stepping into the position. The gliding motion is more challenging, so taking things slow is crucial to reducing injury risks.
Water Bottles
The go-to non-weight for home weightlifters is the old-fashioned gallon water jug. A gallon of water weighs about eight lbs. and has the convenience of a handle. Additionally, you can purchase water jugs in various sizes, with the most common being one, three, and five gallons. The jugs should provide enough weight for performing bicep curls or adding additional weight to your lunges and squats.
While a water bottle offers the most convenient weight alternative, make sure to purchase one with a secure cap. If the cap pops off during a workout, you will end up with a significant mess, so best to lift outside.
Beach Towels
While many people enjoy using heavy-duty, thick yoga mats for their exercises, not everyone wants to spend $30 to buy one. Instead of spending your hard-earned money, you can swap the mat for a thick beach towel.
Beyond using the towels for a mat, you can use them as stretch straps. While a towel will not have as much give, they still offer support and resistance.
PVC Pipe
While not every homeowner will have scrap PVC pipe lying around, it is helpful for constructing a slosh tube, or weighted, unbalanced pipe. If you purchase end caps for the pipe, you can fill the pipe with sand or water. How much you fill the pipe is up to you. Depending on the size of your makeshift barbell, you can perform chest presses, squats, and lunges to make your home bodyweight workouts more challenging.
Additionally, you can build almost anything of PVC. Some homeowners have built jungle gyms for aerobic exercises.
Heavy Length of Chain
Have you heard of a battle rope? It is a heavy length of rope that people use to improve strength, stamina, and balance. However, no one said it had to be a rope. If you have a length of heavy chain in your garage, consider using it for a makeshift battle rope.
Backpack
People, especially athletes, use a weighted vest to build muscle and improve agility and speed. Unfortunately, a real weighted vest can get expensive. You can use an old backpack to make your own vest. Also, you can use a variety of canned and baking goods to add weight to the bag for more of a challenge.
You do not need to have a gym membership or a fancy home gym to get in shape. Using a variety of household tools and supplies is enough to create a full-body workout at home.
Have you ever needed to adapt to a home workout? If so, what are your favorite makeshift weights and tools for a good workout? Leave a comment below.