Being stuck at home does not have to mean missing out on your gym workout. It’s even more important, during these trying times, to stay physically active in order to keep stress at bay, boost your immunity, stay energized, and maintain a healthy weight. You can still get a great workout at home with easy DIY weights.
Home Workout Challenge with DIY Weights
Maintaining your gym routine when space is limited at home and you have no access to your preferred equipment can be a challenge. Investing in a few pieces of exercise equipment for home use is always a good idea, but the most popular home workout products are either out-of-stock or on back-order for weeks, if not months.
But even without specialized equipment, you can still enjoy a great workout and its benefits. Here are some great ideas for DIY weights to help get you through this lockdown period.
DIY Dumbbells
A great alternative to heavy weights are one-gallon jugs, such as those used for water or laundry detergent. A gallon of liquid equals more or less 8 pounds – you can easily adjust the weight of your “weights” using this gauge.
Soup cans, water bottles, and any plastic jar that you can easily grip with one hand will make do as lighter weights. Check the container to figure out how much volume of liquid it holds. And stay away from glass bottles and jars to avoid accidents and injury – a medical emergency that requires a visit to the hospital should be avoided as much as possible while the world is still struggling to contain this pandemic.
For another excellent DIY weight, fill up a heavy-duty garbage bag or resealable food storage bags (depending on the weight you prefer) with sand or soil. Use duct tape or zip ties to secure your “sandbag.”
Cast-iron skillets also have enough heft to serve the same purpose as dumbbells. A 12.5-inch skillet typically weighs between 8 and 10 pounds.
DIY Battle Rope
A lawn, a tree, and a garden hose – if you have all three, then you’re all set to perform your usual battle rope exercises. A 50-foot hose will give you the length you need, and just loop it around a tree or any study pole.
DIY Resistance Bands
Suspenders or multipurpose elastic ropes (those that are usually used to secure bicycles, with hooks on both ends) are great substitutes for resistance bands. If you don’t have these lying around the house, there’s a good chance that they’re readily available online, or at your local supermarket or hardware store.
DIY Weight Bar
The weight bar, sans the weights, is often used for balancing and mobility exercises. A great alternative is a PVC pipe, a broom handle, or a mop handle. If you can get your hands on a PVC pipe (pun intended), you can also fill it up with sand or water for added weight and a greater challenge.
DIY Medicine Ball
This is a no-brainer. Use a basketball or soccer ball for your medicine ball workouts. A soft kids ball will work great for your thigh and leg squeezes.
DIY Sled
For sled pushes, you can use a loaded wheelbarrow. Or on a smooth floor indoors, clear out enough space, and stack books on a towel.
DIY Pull-Up Bar
Fit together a few pieces of steel pipes and secure your DIY pull-up bar over a suitable, load-bearing I-beam.
Strength-Training Workouts You Can Do At Home
Using your own bodyweight for strength-training is, of course, the simplest alternative to your usual strength-training workouts at the gym. While you don’t have access to your gym’s power rack, weight bench, lat pull-down machine, leg press machine, pec fly machine, crossover machine, and cables and pulleys, you can just perform some basic bodyweight exercises.
Do squats, lunges, push-ups, planks, and dips; increase the challenge by performing push-ups and planks with one hand/arm. Make your workout more intense by turning it into a circuit-style routine.
And if you run out of ideas, the internet will provide you with countless home workout videos.
DIY Weights – Final Thoughts
Gym equipment are designed to ensure proper execution and safety. Building your own home gym, even if it’s very modest with only a few basic pieces of equipment, is always a great idea. But if it’s not possible for you to get some basic gym equipment for home use, DIY weights will work just as well to help you stick to your strength-training routine.
Don’t let lockdown blues get to you. Stay active and stay in shape! It’s even more important now than ever before to stay healthy and strong, so use some of the abundant free time you have to exercise.
