Hey welcome back everybody to this week’s edition of 2-Minute Tuesdays. Now this week, we are talking to those of you who are wanting to get your resistance training in, but you don’t have any weights at your house such as dumbbells or kettlebells. How can you still work on your strength and your muscle function despite not having typical gym equipment?
1) Use Household Items
Our first tip to help you get your resistance training in without equipment is to use household items. There are a lot of items around your house, such laundry detergent, jars of food and other canned goods, and large containers of vinegar that can be a wonderful substitute for using traditional gym equipment. Even consider using a laundry bag full of clothes and other items to hold onto and challenge your body. The possibilities are endless when you put your mind to it!
Action Step: Take inventory of what is in your house that may be usable. Do you have a backpack you could load up with books? Do you have bags of lawn fertilizer you could carry? What about cans of paint, or empty paint cans you could put items into? Look throughout your house and you will likely find a plethora of options to use for resistance.
Related: Tips for at-home cardio if you don’t like running
2) Utilize Bodyweight Isometrics
Our second tip to help you get your resistance training in without equipment is to utilize bodyweight isometrics. Isometric exercises, i.e. exercise where you are not moving, can be extremely challenging when done with only bodyweight, so consider implementing some of them. For example, you could try doing an isometric push-up, an isometric squat, and a plank as a simple total-body circuit.
Action Step: One thing to implement to increase the challenge of bodyweight isometrics is to pretend as if you are trying to move 1,000 pounds when you are doing the isometric. If you just focus on trying to hold the specific position, that can feel easy at times, so if you would like to up the challenge, pretend like you are trying to move a large weight but are unable to do so.
Related: Stuck at home? We have workout tips for you!
3) Use Towels or Belts For Isometrics
Our third tip to help you get your resistance training in without equipment is to use towels or belts, or something else non-stretchy, for isometrics. During our Facebook Live workouts, we have been implementing a number of towel exercises for all areas of the body. It is incredible how challenging these exercises can be when performed correctly. If you want to take your isometrics game up a notch, consider adding in a towel or belt to push or pull against!
Action Step: Get a large bath towel or a longer belt to use and for different isometric exercises such as rows, pulldowns, split squats, curls, and triceps extensions. Looking for more ideas on how to use towels or belts in your workouts? Check out our daily Facebook Live workouts!