Activity Tips – Tools You Can Use from Home for an Effective Workout
By Meaghan Donnelly, ACSM-CPT | August 12, 2020.
What do you have at home? You have a couple things lying around that you can use. For some of them, I bet you didn’t even know.
Cans
Let’s start with cans. Each one of these weighs about a pound, which is excellent for doing upper body exercises. We just have to put in a little more reps and hold them out to the side. We can make modifications to make cans a challenging tool for you to use.
Filled bottles of water (Small and large)
You can also use small filled bottles of water, which will be about 1 pound. A large bottle of water, the kind you find at 7-Eleven or a CVS, weighs about three pounds. So, you already have a bit of progression right there.
Backpack
Backpacks are wonderful because you can change how much they weigh based on what’s inside of them. A favorite backpack of mine holds a couple of books to weigh about 15 pounds. I can put this on my back to do squats, push-up overhead or even as a kettle bell to do some swings or bent over rows. There’s all sorts of things you can do with a backpack because of the weight.
Books
Put them on a ground, not a slippery surface. Put your foot on them to create a challenge in terms of a split squat. You can put your rear foot on them to give you more of a rear-elevated split squat. You can use books to change resistance and challenge your movement.
Paper Plates and Towels
For advanced exercises, paper plates and towels are great for hardwood floors because of their ability to slide. Use the plates or towels underneath your legs to create extra resistance for mountain climbers, lateral lunges, and forward presses. You can also use the paper plate on carpet to do the same thing. Bear in mind that paper plates are an unstable surface, so make sure you have something to hold onto if your balance is not that great.
Chairs
Chairs are helpful to do box squats, triceps dips, elevated push-ups, and elevated mountain climbers. These are great for progressing and regressing exercises. If you find regular push-ups to be easy, elevate your feet on a chair to be more challenging!
Steps
You can use steps to run up and down or walk up and down to get your heart rate up. A step-up can give you extra resistance. Gravity will give you that challenge extra resistance to work out your quads. You can even do lateral step-downs.
