Doing a workout at home brings a lot of convenience and comfort. You don’t have to go out and drive to the gym; you can do workouts anytime, and no costly gym memberships. Unfortunately, many of us do not have access to gym equipment and tools to help us achieve an active lifestyle. If you are one of these people, don’t worry, the answer to your problem may be just lying around your house. There is still room for creativity and resourcefulness when doing workouts. We can use some objects around the house as an alternative to our gym equipment. Here are a few examples.
Gliders
Gliders are discs that are almost identical to frisbees. It provides a smooth gliding surface which is great for upper and lower extremity workouts and the core. An example of an exercise using this tool is gliding while in a plank or half-plank position. Alternatively, you can use paper plates, cloth, and even socks. Paper plates are advisable on a carpeted floor, while cloth or socks is good for tiled flooring.
Kettlebell
A kettlebell is a metal ball with an attached handle that adds weights and resistance, a good tool for strengthening exercises. The obvious gym equipment alternative for this is a kettle filled with water as resistance. Other alternatives include a duffle bag with handles, a tote bag, a water container, or a milk jug.
Dumbbell
Dumbbells are another tool for weight training. There are many forms of dumbbells, like the ones with fixed weights and dumbbells with adjustable weights and plates. We can also do weight exercises with water bottles and canned goods. If these are not challenging enough, you can progress to water containers or milk jugs.
Medicine Ball
A medicine or exercise ball is a weighted ball used for rehabilitation and strength exercise. Examples of exercises using this tool are doing Russian twists while holding weights and goblet squats. If you don’t have this tool, you can use a basketball or a soccer ball. For an additional challenge, a small bag of rice or a backpack with weights like books can be an alternative.
Resistance Bands or Rubber Tubing
Both tools are elastic bands made of rubber or similar materials for strengthening exercises. Elastic bandages are a good substitute for this tool. If the resistance of the bandage is not enough, you can fold it or add additional layers. Other alternatives can be towels, belts, or robe ties. Although these are not elastic, they can still give resistance and help activate our muscles when doing exercises.
