7 Unconventional Workout Techniques & Tips

For whatever reason, some of us just aren’t able to go to the gym everyday. Maybe you’re dirt-poor at the moment and a gym membership seems like a luxury you really can’t afford. Possibly you’re a student and you don’t yet have the funds to be able to go.

Perhaps you’re a workaholic and can’t fit a workout into your busy schedule. Maybe you’re even a dedicated stay at home mum or dad and don’t have the time to run off the gym whenever you want.

Fortunately for you, there’s a whole bunch of exercises that you can indulge in at home! As well as a few handy tips for getting healthy around the house. We’ll guide you through a few of them now in our first ‘Unconventional Workout Techniques and Tips’ article. Hopefully the first of many:

1. Chair/Bench/Couch/Stool

The opportunities for working out using furniture are fairly plentiful, you can do several exercises on chairs such as a dip or even use two chairs and dip with your feet up on one.

Bench lunges can also be accomplished on a chair, as well as deep decline press ups. All of these exercises are really useful and you can essentially get all of the core workouts done in the comfort of your home.

Small stools and chairs can be used for step-ups, as long as they’re sturdy and not likely to break. Another great use for a stool is leg dips, using the makeshift weights we’ll detail in the next section.

2. Cans/Milk Jugs

Cans filled with dense liquid are great for fitness beginners, they’ll help tone your arms up and cost you nothing (assuming you’d have bought them anyway to eat).

Milk jugs are another great household item that can be used for weight training. They can be bought in several sized and can easily be filled with water or sand to achieve the weight that you want.

Might be a good idea to stick some masking tape or something similar around them once you’ve sorted out how much you want in, though. Don’t want any nasty accidents now, do we?

3. Rope

Chances are you’ll have something rope-like laying around the house. Maybe a sturdy long belt from a housecoat or perhaps an actual skipping rope that one of your children has.

Skipping is an excellent workout and so much can be accomplished by just skipping. Harvard Health Publications have said that if you weigh 185 lbs you can burn 444 calories in just half an hour of skipping.

You’d be a fool not to include something as simple as this into your household workout routine.

4. Preparing Meals/Portion Size Control

If you’re spending a lot of time at home it can sometimes be tempting to just pig out and eat a whole bunch of food in one go.

To stop yourself succumbing to this temptation spend a little of your time quickly drawing up a schedule. This will reinforce your will and give you a better chance of not eating out of boredom. Instead, try some of your new found workout techniques?

Another handy tip to control your eating is to get smaller plates/knives/forks. This means you’ll start off with a smaller portion to begin with and will actually eat it slower.

Eating slowly is a great way of filling yourself up and has a tonne of benefits.

5. Being a Book Worm Doesn’t Equate to Laziness

I read a lot of books, I have one whole wall in my house dedicated to several bookshelves. This doesn’t mean I’m lazy or a book-ish slob though. A good hard book can actually be a great workout tool

Similar to the makeshift weights mentioned earlier you can use them for all kinds of exercises. They can fill in as weights for everything from your lats to your triceps to your biceps.

Another great idea is to use a large, heavy and flat book as a weight whilst your doing crunches. This will help improve your core muscles immensely.

6. Bungee Cord

Strange, I know, but if you have any bungee cords laying around they’re brilliant for exercises such as bicep curls.

Ensure that they’re strong and not going to deteriorate and snap on you first, then simple grip each end with your hands and place the middle under your foot.

Pull up slowly making sure that it’s taut and it takes you a fair bit of effort to pull up. As long as you don’t let go and smack yourself in the face with one end, a bungee cord is a great way to get fit.

7. Homemade Medicine Ball

This one sounds even stranger than the last, but it’s effective and really cheap if you have the materials. Simply take an old football or basketball, cut it open and pour sand inside.

Stuff it and then secure the hole with masking tape (or something similar). For the best results it’s probably a good idea to wrap masking tape or duct tape around the whole ball. That way there’s no chance of leakage.

Unconventional Workout Techniques and Tips

That’s it for this article. Look out for more in the future though as I’d love to write more of these if we get a good response. Feel free to comment with your own ideas and we can get a great community built article put together.