There’s no denying it – we’re all spending a lot more time at home than we bargained for lately. This means less time outdoors to get our bodies moving, and likely even less time at the gym to work our hungry muscles. 
Being stuck at home isn’t a death sentence for your exercise regime – it’s simply a good time to get creative with the stuff in your house and use everyday items to your advantage. 

Here are some ideas on how to turn your household objects into your very own home gym. 

Chairs

Traditionally used for doing the opposite of exercising, typical dining chairs or any other sturdy chair (that isn’t on wheels) sitting around your house will do nicely. Chairs are the ultimate multipurpose tool for home workouts. You can use them to perform tricep dips, step ups, both incline and decline push-ups, and box squats.

Towels 

A common household item (we hope), towels can make great replacements for sliders to use on a hard and smooth ground surface. Simply place two hand towels under each foot, knee, or hand to increase the difficulty of exercises such as knee tucks, mountain climbers, lunges, and most exercises involving your core. Towels can also act as a great way to do bodyweight rows by feeding it through a secure object such as door handles and using either side of the towel to pull your body. 

Laundry detergent & cans 

No weights? No worries. Open your pantry and grab a few cans of any foodstuffs you have laying around to act as mini dumbbells for curls and presses. If you want something a little more ambitious, you can use liquid laundry detergent bottles with handles. Filled with water, they can usually weigh up to 5-6kg and act as neat little kettlebells for your favourite workouts. 

Stairs 

If you have stairs inside or outside your house, you’ve hit the home gym jackpot. Stairs have a huge range of exercise uses such as cardio (running up and down them), incline exercises such as push ups, tricep dips, box jumps…you get the idea! 

Backpack

Dig out your old backpack or steal your kids’ and fill it with heavy (and non-fragile) objects to act as a weighted vest and add some extra oomph to your workout. You can fill it with cans of whatever you have in your cupboard, bottles of water, bags of flour (if you dare) and perform your favourite bodyweight exercises at any challenge level you’re up to.