Create a Free Home Gym Using Items You Already Have

For those on a budget or who simply don’t have the time to visit the gym, creating your own version at home can be a great idea. Before you start adding up how much it’s going to cost for all the equipment you’ll need, consider putting together one using items you already own for free. Most fitness fanatics know you can do nearly a full work-out with just a wall, and with a few more items you can quickly put build much everything you need for your own gym.

Grocery Weights

If you only intend to do dumbbell workouts or are just starting out to build up your strength, find something that weighs a couple of kilograms. It could be full washing power bottles, large cans of meat or bi empty bottles that you fill with water. Ensure you’ve got two of them for balance and that they can be held comfortably. Then these can be used for all sorts of high-rep exercises, such as lunges, bicep curls, squats and more.

Homemade Foam Rollers

Foam rollers have become a trendy piece of fitness equipment in recent years and they do have many uses for stretching, yoga exercises and more. Rather than splash out for something that’s essentially a tube of foam, roll a thick dry towel up well and tightly insert a rolling pin into the centre. This should work just as well if you’ve secured it tightly and you can still use both the items later when needed.

Ladder Exercises

Ladder drills are a great way to improve agility and burn plenty of calories when done at a high intensity. It’s best if you have a garden (though you’ll probably only own a ladder if that’s the case anyway). Lay down your ladder and run or jump through each individual square, mixing it up to test different muscles. A quality step ladder that’s properly secured can also be used for step exercises, again best done outside.

Chair Squats and Dips

A solid dining room or kitchen chair is often the optimum height for doing squats, depending on your size. Begin by sitting on the chair with a straight back and arms out in front before slowly standing and lowering yourself back down, but just hovering above the seat, for a simple squat. Alternatively, to work those triceps, use the seat as you would a bench at the gym, lowering your body but not letting your elbows bend more than 90 degrees.

TV Fitness Games

For this last idea, all you need is a working TV, your favourite programme and enough space to do a press up. We’ve all heard of TV and film drinking games and this is the same, but replacing taking a shot with doing a set of exercises. For example, with the Big Bang Theory drinking game simply swap any time Raj whispers or Penny says ‘sweetie’ from taking a sip of your drink to doing ten press-ups, sit-ups or burpees. The possibilities are endless.

Get fit and save money by creating your own home gym from household items and let us know if you have any more ideas for DIY equipment.

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