USING HOUSEHOLD OBJECTS FOR TRAINING

At CaliUnity we always like to push the envelope and look at the more unorthodox and more methods of training, to make the experience as fun, efficient and enriching for our members as we can! As members, you can also find these unusual training methods at home with household objects, if you’re looking to fit in a quick training session, or to expand your training routine!

You can use household objects for any session. If you can’t get out of the house for whatever reason, household objects are always at your fingertips, and provide a different training approach.

Here are just some of the suggestions for you to try at home for yourself! Feel free to ask us about any of the exercises or pieces of equipment listed here next time you’re in the gym!

A wall – you can use any wall in your home or outside as part of your training. Wall walks will help build movement patterns and strength for handstands. A wall also provides support for handstands if you’re just starting to learn them, and can provide a safe guard for you to help build up your handstands. Wall sits can help improve your squat and static leg strength as well as your endurance.

Chairs and a sofa – Chairs or a sofa are great for tricep dips or skull crushers. You can perform incline or elevated press ups too. You can even place two chairs apart from one another and put a broom handle in between to perform aussie pull ups. Or from the backs of two chairs you can perform regular dips, if there’s enough height and stability – make sure your chairs are weighted down and secure first! You can also use them as a solid base for any hip, leg or ankle stretching simply by placing one foot on the chair to elevate it. You can also use a chair or sofa as a great base to stretch your shoulders by kneeling on the floor and bending down so that you’re looking at the floor, placing your elbows on the seat of the chair and lowering yourself down really opens out the chest.

A Towel – A towel is great on a hard floor surface for using as a slider. This will help destabilize whatever body part the towel is under. Fantastic for core work particularly, mountain climbers are a prime example. You can also perform plenty of other core exercises including pikes, lizard push ups or bear crawls with the towel under your feet or your hands. Experiment with what provides the best work for you, but be careful and be safe – try things as a warm up before diving right in.

A large ball (a football or basketball) – With a ball, you can perform Russian twists holding it, really focusing on that rotation element. You can place the ball on the floor with one hand atop it, and the other hand on the floor for a staggered press up, then just roll the ball over to the opposite side and repeat.

A backpack to fill with weight (e.g. books) – This is perfect to add weight or resistance to any exercise. Just strap the bag on either front or back and fill with whatever you have lying around. Just remember to weight the bag, with bathroom or suitcase scales, to know what you’re working with so you can track your progress.

A broom handle /weighted broom handle – A perfect tool for working on form for overhead squats, back squats, shoulder press, chest press, etc. The list goes on and on. A broom handle can also be used to help with stretching or mobility work too. You can add weight one end to replicate a mace or sledgehammer or add weight to both ends to replicate a barbell. Combined with chairs it can be used as a bar to pull against. A broom handle really can be the most versatile tool in ones’ training arsenal.

A Hammer – A hammer is a great tool for strengthening the wrists. The weight being at one end means you have to focus on the control through the wrist rotation and momentum very carefully. Grab the handle with a good solid grip and rotate slowly with control, from side to side letting the hammer head drop to it’s max range on each side. You can also do the same going forwards and backwards.

With all of these pieces of equipment you can put together a varied and exciting workout. I’ve provided an example below that you can adapt or use however you like;

Wrist work - Hammer
Press ups – weighted backpack
Aussie pull ups – two chairs and a broom handle
Bulgarian Split Squats – chair for single foot elevation and weighted backpack
Tricep Dips - chair
Bicep curls to bar – two chairs and a broom handle
Back squats – weighted backpack
Lizard press ups - towel
Pikes – towel
Mountain climbers – towel
Seated in and outs – a broom handle over and under outstretched feet
Russian twists – a ball
Plank tucks – a ball under the tops of your feet, roll along and up to your elbows and back
Wall walks – a wall
Wall sit hold – a wall

Make use of those household objects and get started! Tag us @caliunity on so we can see what you get up to!