Sometimes, you're stuck at home (or at a friend's house, or on vacation) and you need to get a workout in...but you don't have your trusty workout essentials. What are you gonna do?
Fortunately, we've got your back. If you don't have dumbbells or TRX bands or even a place to work out at home, you can still get in a KILLER workout. Today, we're revealing our tips and tricks for turning common household items into workout gear. Trust us - you'll never look at your home the same way again!
We LOVE pilates because you can get an insane workout from just moving your bodyweight. But if you're feeling like trying something just a lil extra...adding in some DIY equipment can make an easy workout WAY MORE intense - no matter where you are 🔥
1. Milk, fruit juice, or large water jugs
These kind of drinks are HEAVY. We know this from lugging them from our cars into our fridges, right? Use that weight as a kettlebell next time you are strength training at home!
2. Water bottles or soup cans
Did you know that a typical water bottle weighs at least a pound and a half? Soup cans are lighter, weighing a little over a pound. Whenever you need super light weights - think high-rep workouts, for example, or one of Cassey's workouts (like this apartment-friendly arm-toning one) - either is a good choice.
We love our super large water bottles, which holds enough water to hydrate you after even the toughest of home workouts!
3. A fully loaded laundry basket or bag
Basically, if you've been procrastinating on laundry, now's your chance: Use your basket for deadlifts before you throw it in the wash or take it to the laundromat. If that won't work for you, pick up a bag of sugar or flour or any pantry staple. This can be used as a larger weight for squats, deadlifts, or as a medicine ball. We'd recommend bagging your bags so you don't end up with a kitchen mess all over your house!
4. A towel, blanket, or sweatshirt
In any exercise where you would use a yoga strap - for example, stretching out tight shoulders or hamstrings - grab a towel, sweatshirt, or a blanket and use that as your makeshift yoga strap. It does the same thing!
5. A couch cushion
Grab a nice, squishy cushion from your couch (or any pillow you have on hand) and use it to practice your balance. We're used to walking on flat, stable surfaces, right? Taking some time to try a few standing exercises while standing on a cushion forces your body to work harder to maintain stability. It might seem weird, but trust us: When you step off the cushion and try to balance, it'll be that much easier.
6. Towels or paper plates
Use a folded towel to slide your feet over a smooth floor to make your planks EVEN MORE intense. You can use also use paper plates instead if you have carpet floors!7. One word: STAIRS
You don't need a step-up bench when you have actual steps, right? Running up and down your apartment stairs or any stairs in or near your home is a CRAZY workout in and of itself! You can also use stairs to do incline or decline push-ups - perfect if you're looking for variety!
8. A wall
Use your wall. Leverage that solid surface for wall-sits (torturous, we know) as well as a starting point to launch yourself into inverted poses like headstands! You can also use a wall for posture work to help make your cool-down stretches SUPER effective.
9. A backpack
Put on a backpack. Fill one up with water bottles and soup cans, then squat and lunge your way around your home! The added weight will increase the resistance and, therefore, up the intensity of these basic workout movements. Your heart will be racing in no time!
10. A sturdy chair
Grab a sturdy chair. Use one for step-ups, inclined pushups, anchoring sit-ups, and more. We like to use them for tricep dips, too - here's a video that shows exactly how to do that!
11. A door frame
Tap a door frame. It may sound silly, but there are lots of workout movements that require a jump at the end (uhh, like burpees!). When you're doing these types of moves, jump up and touch the top of your doorframe every rep to make sure you're really getting the height you need.
See? With just a little bit of creativity, ANYTHING can be used as workout equipment (which means that your gym can be positively ANYWHERE!). Whether you're seeking to add a little intensity to bodyweight exercises or want to work on your form in a specific way, these household items can really help make a home workout go the extra mile.
Have you tried using any of these for a home workout? Which one is your favorite?
Comments
These tip I will definitely try they look helpful to do when I’m at my house and board