Household objects you can use in your workouts

SO you’ve decided to skip the expensive gym membership and now you are wondering how you will access equipment to assist with your workout without having to fork out thousands of dollars.

Not to worry, personal trainer and fitness expert Gisel Harrow says that your house has more than enough furniture and accessories that can double as gym equipment.

Here are a few household items Harrow says you can use in place of expensive exercise equipment.

The stairs

You can walk or run up and down the stairs for several minutes. This can burn calories and increase cardiovascular fitness, build your leg muscles, and keep your lower body toned.

The wall

You can use the wall to do push-ups to tone the upper body and arms. You can also use it to work your quads, glutes, and to do stretches to improve flexibility.

A chair

Use a chair to do dips for working you triceps, for incline push-ups, and seated leg raises.

Water/detergent bottles

Keep identical water or detergent bottles and fill them up with water. You can then use these as dumb-bells for resistance to build and tone your muscles.

Your couch

You can use the couch to work on your glutes. To complete this particular exercise, you should first lie face-up on the floor and rest your heels on the edge of your couch. This is your starting position. Now squeeze through the glutes and raise your hips, creating a straight line from shoulders to knees. Lower back to starting position then repeat a few times.

Mop or broom

Hold a mop or broom over your head with your arms in a ‘V’ position. Lean to your right and bend your right elbow to your hip while engaging your core. Repeat on your left side. Do one set of thirty repetitions.

The counter

You can use your counter, or if you have a concrete washstand, to do push-ups.

To achieve this, stand facing the counter with your hand arms’ length away. Now lean forward and place your hands on the counter edge, shoulder-width apart. You should be in an upright plank position. Now lower your chest towards the counter to do a push-up. As you come down, bring your right knee forward, engaging your abs. Pause and then repeat for one set of 30 repetitions on each side.

Even if you had no gym equipment or any of the household items listed above, Harrow said that you should never underestimate your body.

“You already have the best piece of gym equipment with you wherever you go — your body. You can use your body weight for all types of strengthening and toning exercises. You can find tonnes of yoga, pilates, and kick-boxing routines online, as well as other exercise moves you can do easily at home such as burpees, squats, push-ups, and high knees,” Harrow advised.

— PENDA HONEYGHAN