Skip to main content

13 Household Items That Double as Exercise Equipment in Quarantine

Finding the motivation to workout is an exercise in itself, especially in today’s social climate. The gyms are closed and personal trainers are non-essential, meaning those looking to get and stay in shape have started crafting their own at-home workout regimens. Excuse the cliche, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

You could look into building a home gym, but sometimes it’s hard to justify the price tag on the equipment. Thankfully, there are creative and cost-effective solutions for getting your sweat on without gear. If you look around, you might find that you have a surprising amount of useful and free items that can double as workout instruments.

Now, we’re not talking about filling your beer glass and counting every pull as a rep of curls (if only it were that easy). However, you’re headed in the right direction.

You might not realize it, but over the years, you’ve been secretly collected up serviceable weights from grocery and hardware stores. A heavy cinder block or a box of books for squats and deadlifts? Maybe a full gallon of milk for bicep curls or shoulder press?

We’re going to press through some common household items that double as exercise equipment to help further your at-home fitness routine and keep you in shape during quarantine.

Couches and Chairs

As with pushups, sit-ups, and squats, using your own weight as a piece of exercise equipment is one of the most effective methods for a swole-worthy at-home workout. One way to maximize this workout method is to make use of your living room couch or dining chairs as a workout bench to round out your routine with challenging tricep dips, ab workouts, and even some vein-popping shoulder drills. We found this Instagram post from Red Bull to be mighty inspiring.

household items home workout fitness
Shestock/Getty Images

Buckets and Jugs

A 5-gallon jug or bucket is a great tool to have around the house if you need to wash your car or mix some soil, but it can also be a practical workout instrument when filled with something heavy like water, rocks, sand, or dirt. They make for great makeshift dumbbells and kettlebells for arm workouts, and can also be used in tandem with a pole or sturdy stick to imitate a barbell for exercises such as squats, bench press, and more.

Garbage Bags

If you’re really looking to maximize your household item workout, a trash bag full of water is easily one of the most effective tools for creating a tough, heavy-duty workout at home. There aren’t many “workouts,” per se, but manually lugging it around the backyard is a full-body workout you’ll wake up feeling the next morning.

Kids

Swinging your kid around is something that brings us closer together with our favorite little people in the world, however, it’s also one helluva workout. Considering all the time you have at home with them in quarantine, it might be time to start turning playtime with the kiddos into an at-home exercise. You can lay on the ground and use your kid as weights for bench press, have them lay on your back while you do push-ups, sit them on your shoulders and do some squats, or maybe have a kid on each arm for some whacky, laughter-filled kid-dle bell swings.

home fitness plank kids
Cavan Images/Alamy Stock Photo

Towels

Towels are one of the best household items to use as exercise equipment simply because they’re so versatile and easy to use. They make sure a suitable alternative to resistance bands to add more difficulty to your at-home pushups and planks, as well as a makeshift core disk glider for added performance when strengthening your core. Larger beach towels are serviceable yoga and stretching mats, too. Though a good yoga towel and yoga mat don’t cost too much.

Cans of Food

Aluminum food cans are great to have in the house for when food supplies begin to run dry but they also make for a great tool to use as small weights for high-repetition workouts. We’re talking exercises that boost your muscular endurance, correct muscle imbalances, and ultimately tone your muscles more effectively. Some of these toning exercises include bicep curl pulses and tricep kickbacks, among others.

Water Bottles

Similarly to cans of food, a full insulated water bottle can also be a suitable tool for light endurance exercises, especially if you have a larger reusable water bottle that can provide more weight if necessary.

Tote Bags

Similarly, a durable tote bag is another vessel that can be filled with heavier items like books or cans of food to mimic exercise equipment. It might seem awkward at first, but you’ll quickly be surprised at how tough it is to maneuver. In fact, it acts as a resistance band in a sense that it requires your muscles to move slower in a more compact, concentrated manner. This is another great option for curls, deadlifts, and dumbbell presses.

man holding tote bag
Tascha Rassadornyindee/EyeEm/Getty Images

Stairs

If your house has a flight of stairs then you have a leg up on everyone else for calisthenics and cardio workouts. Walking or running upstairs is a sure-fire way to maximize your endurance, burn fat, and effectively train and strengthen your legs. We recommend trying out this 20-minute stair exercise for when you need a sweat break when working from home.

Frying Pan

You might be thinking, “How in the world can a frying pan be used as fitness equipment?” There are actually quite a few exercises you can do with a pan to enhance your faux at-home gym, including tricep extensions and surprisingly difficult front raises. If you have a heavy cast-iron skillet, use that for added weight.

Backpack

When your daily runs and high-activity cardio workouts become less challenging, you can look at using your backpack as a weighted vest to add some extra weight to your load. Simply fill it up with something heavy yet unobtrusive for your workout, and feel the burn of the added baggage.

man packing backpack
Portra/Getty Images

Shovel

A shovel can be used in many ways to maximize your at-home workouts, with the most obvious being digging holes or moving dirt or gravel from one place to another. However, one of our favorite uses for a shovel is unilateral training and core strengthening. Hold the shovel over your head with one arm during core workouts or squats to add extra difficulty to your exercise while also helping isolate and correct muscle imbalances.

Wheelbarrow

As we mentioned earlier, manual labor is one of the best methods for getting a successful workout. You might as well get some chores done around the house while you’re at it. A wheelbarrow is a versatile form of fitness equipment that you can fill with rocks, sand, soil, and more to obtain an extreme full-body workout while simultaneously completing your home improvement goals outside.

Helpful tip: whenever you are filling an empty bag or bucket with something to use as equipment, make sure you’re weighing your bag out so you can set goals to reach as your strength increases.

Editors' Recommendations

Bryan Holt
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Bryan Holt is a writer, editor, designer, and multimedia storyteller based in Portland, Oregon. He is a graduate from the…
Echelon vs Peloton: Which Connected Workout Equipment is King?
Peloton home gym

Whether you are a new indoor cyclist or you've been riding inside for many years, buying an at-home indoor bike is an investment in your health and your home gym. But before you impulse buy a Peloton and join the vast community of those who love the brand, it's worth looking into the various Peloton alternatives out there. After all, Echelon manufactures a number of bike models that continue to be one of Peloton's biggest competitors.

There are a number of factors to consider when evaluating each of the brands of indoor exercise bikes. The first is the bike setup itself as well as the pedal system the bike comes equipped with. Other considerations include the screen and class subscription services for each bike. Finally, the price of the bike as well as the options that are available are important to consider. Some bikes have an extra fee or price to upgrade things like the screen size or even the type of pedals that are used. Fortunately, we've mapped out all of the pros and cons that each bike presents.
Bike Setups
Peloton bikes have a slightly smaller frame that measures 48" by 24" and the bike does get delivered and set up in your home for a hassle-free experience. You can ride the same day it gets dropped off. They'll even pick it up for you if you decide the Peloton isn't for you after giving it a 30-day trial. The original bike weighs 135 pounds while the Bike+ model is slightly heavier at 140 pounds.

Read more
Bowflex Home Gym Revolution Review: Convenient Equipment for Your Home Workout
bowflex home gym revolution review 1

Health and fitness are undeniably important. Many men carry out dedicated efforts to maintain a consistent exercise regimen. It can, however, often feel like an ongoing chore. Joining a gym sounds good enough -- until you consider the tedious process it entails. After you change clothes, you must drive to the location, check in, and put your things in a locker. Hopefully you have a trainer, or a plan. Otherwise you end up wandering the floor, waiting for equipment to become available. Once you finish actually working out, you need to shower, change, and finally drive home. Your time is just as valuable as your wellness, is it not? There’s an obvious answer.
Related Guides

Weight training Guide
Best Full-Body Workouts
Best Bowflex Deals

Read more
Looking for Freedom in Quarantine? Try Riding a Bike
riding a bike during coronavirus pandemic self quarantine shelter in place man on the parking with face mask

Exercising outdoors is the best thing you can do for your physical and mental health, and riding a bike is a great way to clear your head while working out. There's nothing quite like that burst of vitamin D alongside that endorphin rush one gets from a great bike ride. With most of us going back into quarantine for the winter and the sun setting earlier in the day than we're used to, this winter will surely be hard on our physical and emotional wellbeing. Many of us are doing everything from home: Working, teaching children, cooking, exercising ... the list goes on. Getting outside those same four walls even for a few minutes a day is incredibly important if you want to keep your sanity.

During the chaos of the last few weeks, I’ve been riding my bike nearly every day, definitely more than I expected. Over the last few years, I’ve done some mega routes, including the Pacific to the Atlantic and Cabo to Anchorage, but hopping in the saddle is different now. It’s a safe break from reality, a responsible way to exercise, and frankly, a little bit of freedom. 

Read more