Don’t have dumbbells at home? Just grab a rucksack or shoulder bag, fill it with heavy stuff and you’re all set to do some bicep curls. — dpa
Gyms are closed in many places to help slow the spread of Covid-19, and getting fitness equipment delivered to your home can be expensive and take months to arrive.
But it’s still possible to stay fit at home without having to wait or spend a lot of money.
“Actually, you can maintain a certain basic level of fitness at no cost at all,” says personal trainer Jan-Magnus Bahmann, noting that you probably have a number of potential fitness devices already.
You can use a dining chair, for instance, to support your hands or feet while you train your leg or arm muscles.
You can do dips for your triceps, or Bulgarian split squats – a difficult exercise for your legs and buttocks.
Alternatively, you can use the couch for support, he says.
A toolbox with a handle can serve as a kettlebell.
You can use it to strengthen your shoulder muscles with lateral and front raises.
Pails with an adjustable carrying handle can be used for this as well.
Your dining table can double as a piece of fitness equipment too; it’s especially suitable for upper body training.
“A lot of people initially have trouble doing enough press-ups to work out their chest muscles adequately,” explains Bahmann.
“But you can prop yourself up by resting your hands on the edge of the table, your body diagonal to the floor, thereby reducing the radius of movement and making the exercise easier,” he says.
Having worked up a sweat at the dining table and then wiped it off with a rag, you can make a smooth transition to the next exercise.
Rags, according to Bahmann, happen to be a rarely used, but very effective aid for training your abdominal muscles.
Place a rag under each foot.
This allows your feet to slide on smooth floors – tiled or parquet, for instance – for exercises such as mountain climbers.
For this exercise, you drop into a press-up position and alternately bring your knees towards your chest as if you were climbing a mountain.
This works out abdominal and back muscles, among others.
A rucksack or shoulder bag can also serve as a piece of workout equipment.
They have the advantage of being weight-adjustable, points out Bahmann.
Fill them with heavy objects, and they can be used to train your arms – with bicep curls, for instance. – dpa
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