I don't have any home equipment- ideas for home exercise!

So you’re stuck at home with zero exercise equipment…that’s fine! You don’t need an expensive home gym or the latest technology to use as items to keep you active.

Check out our comprehensive list of items and ideas from our experts, that you can find at home to keep your heart pumping!

  • Cans of food as weights

  • Fill a 2L container with water or fill with soil/sand for more weight.

  • Utilize chairs and stairs

  • Use your body! Add in some jumping to workouts to get your heart rate up, add in some holds such as at the bottom of your squats, increasing time under tension can give you a good burn. 

  • Get creative use water bottles, cushions, a bag of apples or potatoes! 

  • Coffee tables, chairs, your bed, stairs and of course, yourself. Push ups (on a coffee table), planks, calf raises and step ups (on stairs) and squats (can’t forget them).

  • There are so many exercise you can do without any equipment at all! However if weights are needed, a sturdy bag filled with rice or canned goods goes a long way. 

  • I remember a lady that did a hills hoist running program a few years ago - walk laps of your property!

  • Use washing baskets.

  • Use yourself! Use a family member! Use the couch! There are so many body weight exercises that can be done without the use of anything at all. 

  • Often for clients that love a good sweat sesh, I pair an exercise on the floor with one standing up together- jumping up and down will get your blood pumping for sure! 

  • If in a group setting make one person the time keeper- everyone else has to continue exercises for the time it takes the timekeeper to complete allocated reps. Community is key- even if it is virtual.  

  • Uni lateral work is my favourite! 

  • Body weight, drink bottles, cans of food, children all make good weights unless they can’t sit still than maybe not the child. 

  • Create some family challenges! Nothing like a bit of competition. Who can do the most steps?

  • You can used time based or repetition based goals to make body weight exercises more challenging e.g. 100s - how long does it take you to do 100 repetitions of a body weight exercise OR pick a circuit of 5 exercises and see how many times you can complete the circuit in 10-15 mins.

  • Add some games - I couldn't believe what a good workout I got from playing games of 4 square and around the world! 

  • If you are doing a strength workout, use your body weight and play around with your tempo! Go slowly, add some pauses, you will certainly feel the difference!

  • Exercises that use your body weight are amazing and I also enjoy getting creative with how I can challenge myself with the use of simple household products whilst completing strengthening exercises e.g. lifting buckets of water with arm exercises, chin ups on the kids swing set and lunges on the trampoline is always a challenge. 

  • Find a backpack/shopping bag to put heavy objects in - weights, books, bags of rice/pasta.

  • Use a towel for isometric exercise.  

  • I love strength work and cant access all the equipment in the gym, so I hold onto my 4 year old daughter (that 20kg weight)!

Mark Simpson