This post is brought to you by our friends at Modernize.com–we love their awesome tricks and ideas!
If you don’t want to shell out the big bucks when it comes to working out, all you need to do is get resourceful. Sure, sometimes it’s nice to use an elaborate machine or a treadmill with a TV screen—but you certainly don’t need thousands of dollars worth of equipment to stay in tip-top shape. In fact, some of your best workout tools may already be lying around your house. Here are just some of the home gym ideas and inspiration from Modernize.
DIY Farmer’s Walk Bar
Contrary to what the presence of complex machines in every fitness center would imply, sometimes working out your core is as simple as picking up weighted objects and walking with them. You can make a DIY farmer’s walk bar with recycled wood and metal bolts. This great strength-building exercise isn’t complicated—just be sure to make comfortable handles that are easy to grip to prevent injury.
Chair
You don’t even need to build your own equipment to get a versatile workout—a chair or bench will do. There are countless ways to exercise with a chair, ranging from as simple as sitting in the chair and balancing on your hands to build core and arm strength, to doing a plank knee cross using the chair instead of the floor. Make sure to grab a sturdy chair that won’t slide out from underneath you while your muscles are in a compromising position. If working out is as simple as grabbing a chair and learning a few moves, you have no excuses!
DIY Sandbag
This concept is technically as easy as filling up a duffel bag with sand, but if you want a no-mess sandbag, there are just a couple more steps. Fill a trash bag with sand or dirt (which you can find at your local home improvement store), tie it off, wrap it securely in duct tape, and then place it inside the duffel bag. Use your sand bags for curls, bench presses, and whatever other methods give you the best workout.
DIY Roller
Foam rollers increase your range of motion and can even help your body recover from injury. They’re low impact but still challenging, which makes them great workout tools. You can make a DIY roller out of a foam mat (a yoga mat will do), a PVC pipe, and duct tape (learn this here). Making it yourself costs about a third of the price of buying one, and it could last just as long, if not longer.
Milk Jug Weights
There’s hardly a more classic DIY workout than using milk jug weights. Just fill empty milk or water gallon jugs with sand and lift away! If you want to start out small, grab half-gallon jugs and do what feels best for you. The built-in handles on milk jugs make them perfect for most exercises that require free weights. You can even try one-handed pushups if you’re feeling ambitious.
This proves you don’t need a gym membership to stay hungry and fit!
Love this! Great ideas!