Our current health crisis has changed all aspects of our lives, fitness, and workout routines included. One of my favorite things about going to a gym or studio is that all the machinery and equipment is provided. Those amenities are out of reach for the time being, leaving me to either browse Amazon or opt for minimal prop workouts. Maybe your go-to gym is closed for the time being, or you’re working from home day-after-day, just looking to get yourself moving somehow. However, we don’t have to shell out money or stop doing your favorite exercises—with a little improvising you can get a great at-home sweat in. Here are a few creative ways to use items you already have at home as weights.
- Water bottles
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Recycle plastic water bottles by refilling them with water or rice to work out with. To turn them into an even heavier weight set, you can fill them with pebbles, marbles, or sand.
- Wine bottles
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Any kind of full bottle works (creamer, beverages, honey) as a weight, but thinking about wine while working out does make the whole process a bit more bearable for me.
- Canned food
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Dust off those pickled beet cans that have been sitting in the back of your pantry for way too long and put them to actual use. If you only have small cans, tape two together to make them a bit heavier.
- Bags of rice or beans
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Depending on the size of your bag, you can even tape the ends to make a wrist weight for added resistance for your workouts. Or you can chisel your arms with a 20lb bag.
- Detergent bottles
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Looking for motivation to work out and do laundry? Maybe using a detergent bottle as a dumbbell will be an incentive to get through some on my overflowing hamper.
Hard times are upon us, but that doesn’t mean you have to lose those sculpted arms you’ve been working on. Time to get your sweat on!