Expert personal trainer, Johnny Harrison, gives us his top tips on adapting things to use in a home environment.
Some people may have gym equipment at home, but many won’t. Here are some tips to keep your workouts varied, whether you have gym equipment not.
We have lots of items at home that can be used to exercise with, using a bit of imagination.
Some of the best workouts I’ve had with clients at home or in the office have been with what they have lying around. Here are some ideas:
Water Bottles
One gallon of water weighs roughly eight pounds. So, if you have two gallons of water on hand, you can easily substitute them for traditional dumbbell exercises. Not to mention, some water bottle handles make them easy to grip, curl, and swing. Just make sure you use water bottles with a screw-on cap. If you use ones with a snap cap, and it pops off, you’ll have a mess on your hands.
Use big drums for step-ups holding the water in different positions and with different amounts of water. This is not only effective training but functional too.
Length of Rope
You don’t have to buy a suspension trainer if you have a length of rope on hand. Even relatively lightweight rope will do. Simply throw your rope over a sturdy tree branch, grasp each end, and get to work doing assisted pull-ups, suspension planks, and pushups. Test it first.
You can use different heights and let gravity add or reduce your load.
Couch Cushion
Couch cushions (and pillows in general), are nice and squishy, making them the perfect alternative to expensive balance tools. They’re more difficult to stand on and perform exercises on because your body has to work harder to maintain stability due to the movement of the foam.
Granted, actual balance tools generally introduce a greater level of instability to each exercise, but that doesn’t mean cushions aren’t a good alternative.
Try doing pushups on a cushion, or split squats with one foot on the cushion, and one foot on the floor. You will build muscle and also improve your motor skills. Please don’t let your leg slide and do the splits.
Backpack
The original weighted vest was a backpack. Do you remember lugging around what seemed like 20 pounds of books as a kid?
Simply fill a backpack with books or canned foods, strap it on your back (bonus points if your backpack has a cross-chest strap you can clasp for added support), and wear it around your house, while doing chores, or to add weight to bodyweight exercises, such as squats, lunges, and pushups. You can even take the backpack off and grasp the straps to perform curls, shoulder presses, or makeshift kettlebell swings.
I have used a weighted vest before to show clients how easy life is after losing that weight. Doing daily tasks for 20 minutes while weighted will make life seem much easier.
The import thing is that you are exercising, and it is very rewarding knowing you’ve used 20 minutes well and you have also used your brain and imagination.
The items above will give you a workout that is totally different from one in the gym and that can be a really good thing.
Enjoy.