5 Pieces of Exercise Equipment You Have in Your Home
Today Longevity Exercise Physiology Drummoyne, Edgecliff, Marrickville, Bella Vista, Randwick, Lindfield, Balmain and Neutral Bay look at the various objects around the home that you can use as exercise equipment!
By exercising around the house is also another way to get family and friends involved in physical activity, to have someone else to support you. Research has shown that actions of others can have an impact on our own choices
During this time in isolation, people often forget that the objects around the house are often suitable to be able to be used as gym equipment. It’s a cheap and convenient way to perform exercise on the days that you aren’t seeing your Exercise Physiologist. By exercising around the house is also another way to get family and friends involved in physical activity, to have someone else to support you. Research has shown that actions of others can have an impact on our own choices.
Let’s have a look at some of the objects that can be used as equipment:
- Chair/Bench
A chair or bench is a great object that can be utilised around the house to perform different exercises. To ensure you are safe when performing these exercises ensure that the chair is placed against a wall to prevent it from slipping and that you are using a stable chair that is not going to slide e.g not using an office chair with wheels. Some exercises that can be performed using a chair include tricep dips, push ups and squats.
- Cans of food/milk cartons
Food items from within your pantry or fridge can be very useful for certain exercises to help increase strength. Empty bottles can be filled with water for extra weight. To ensure that you are completing these exercises safely, ensure that you pick objects that are the right weight for the chosen exercise. Some exercises that can be performed using items of food include bicep curls, tricep extensions, shoulder press, chest press, lateral and frontal raises. DON’T DROP THEM OTHERWISE THAT WILL MAKE A MESS.
- Stairs/Step
Stairs or steps around your house/apartment are a great exercise to get the heart rate up or use to strengthen the lower limb muscles. Ensure that the stairs are in adequate condition to be able to perform exercise to prevent injuries from occurring. Some exercises that can be performed using a step include, step ups, box jumps, push ups and step to high knee.
- Bands
Any objects that you can use in replacement for a resistance band including a ribbon, rope etc. can be used for a range of exercises. These are good at providing resistance while doing certain exercises. These exercises are good at increasing strength of the lower and upper body muscles as well as core exercises. For example, some exercises include crab walks, glute bridges, leg extensions, pallof press.
- Our own body weight
Our body weight is often disregarded but performing body weight exercises can pose great benefits in increasing strength as well as improving cardiovascular fitness. Using our body weight compared to heavy weights has been shown to have greater improvements on balance and flexibility. Some exercises that can be done only using body weight include, push ups, squats, high knees, star jumps and a plank.
By picking around 4-6 exercises and completing them in a circuit format, 10 reps of each and completing 3 rounds of the circuit, incorporating a mixture of upper and lower body, core, aerobic and mobility exercises. You have created your own personalised exercise session that allows you to perform physical activity from the comfort of your own home without exercise equipment.
Annabel has availability at Neutral Bay now and is happy to answer any questions you have about exercising safely at home! Contact Longevity Personal Training and Exercise Physiology Edgecliff, Pymble, Marrickville, Randwick, Drummoyne, Balmain, Bella Vista, Neutral Bay on 1300 964 002 to book in for a free 15-minute consult.
Written by Annabel Bergman
