Now raise your hand if you’ve been missing your usual gym and workout routine and have been trying to think of creative ways to continue to stay active. After all, physical activity is a big part of boosting your physical and mental health, especially during times like this. So how does one get a workout in during this age of Coronavirus right at home?
Before beginning your at home workout, keep in mind that it’s always important to refuel with recovery recipes! Chocolate milk is the ultimate drink to refuel with, but you can also make these smoothie and parfait recipes to have after your workout, so prep or make them beforehand!
Replenish those muscles with protein and boost your energy with carbs in one shot.
Give your body a boost of antioxidants post-workout.
Cool down after your workout with a refreshing and refueling parfait snack.
Your first thought may be to hit up Amazon and stock up on new workout items and equipment for your home, but before you spend a lot of money and hit “Buy Now”, take inventory of your own home first. You most likely already have a home gym that you didn’t even know about. All it takes is a little creativity to DIY your own home gym with items from your pantry and around the house!
*Use empty milk jugs and fill them with water if you want them to be weights.
FREE WEIGHTS OR KETTLEBELLS
Grab those canned goods, water bottles, gallon jugs of milk and club-size detergents because those can all double as free weights and kettlebells. The best part? It saves space in your recycling bin and gives you a proactive way to reuse empty containers by just refilling them with water, sand or dried grains/beans.
Recommended Exercises: Curls, presses, rows, flys, deadlifts and swings
MEDICINE BALL
Swap your weighted medicine ball for any kind of sporting good ball. A basketball, soccer ball or volleyaball can all be used instead. Use the ball to challenge your balance in planks, adding some weight to your squats or upping your ab game.
Recommended Exercises: Wall balls, planks on the ball, push-ups with the ball, swings and abs
SANDBAG
Pull out that old duffle bag or backpack from the bottom of your closet and fill it up with bags of dried beans, grains, or even cans that you have in your pantry. Use it for strength and resistance training exercises.
Recommended Exercises: Squats, running with bag, curls, deadlifts and slams (don’t use with cans)
BARBELL
Grab a broom or any long stick to use in place of a barbell. While you won’t be able to add weight, a broom can make exercises challenging while trying to balance the broom in your drills.
Recommended Exercises: Deadlifts, curls, presses, extensions and abs
WEIGHT BENCH
You don’t need a special weight bench to workout. A simple chair or even your couch can take the place of a bench to do most exercises.
Recommended Exercises: Dips, push-ups, sit-ups, chest presses, miliatry presses, chest fly, bicep curls and tricep extensions
FITNESS OR BOSU BALL
If you’re looking to challenge your balance, grab some pillows and stack them up. You can stand on them to do balance training, or use them in place of a fitness ball for ab work.
Recommended Exercises: Single leg balance, leg lifts, step ups, high knees and crunches
GET THE FAMILY INVOLVED
Your homemade gym can also make the best gym class for kids while they do home schooling. Parents playing along keeps kids motivated. Here are a few activities you can do with the kids to stay fit as a family:
AGILITY TRAINING
Kids love anything that involves getting on the ground, jumping and running. Turn these drills into challenges and races, or just have a fun parent vs. kid “mini Olympics” event.
1) Take two empty milk containers and set them about 6 feet away from each other like cones. Have the kids go back and forth between the “cones” with the following drills:
- Shuttle runs (run to one cone, touch it, then run to the other one)
- Speed skaters (while facing forward, glide side to side towards each one)
- Crab walks (walk on your hands and feet while lifting hips)
- Bear crawls (walk out to a plank, then walk feet to the hands)
- Broad jumps (jump from one cone to the other)
2) Set up 4-6 empty milk containers about a foot apart in a single line
- Slalom (zig zag between the cones)
- High knee jumps (jump with high knees to the next cone)
- Skip between cones
- High knee run up the line, then backwards
- Jump side to side over each cone
