What to build a home gym from without spending a dime

Small plastic bottles

Fill two 0.5 liter plastic bottles with water or sand, and you get two dumbbells with a total weight of about 1 kg. If you need something heavier, choose a larger container. Just look for bottles that taper towards the middle for a more comfortable grip.

With such shells, you can strengthen your arms and shoulders during flexion, extension and wiring of the arms, slightly complicate the exercises for pumping the hips - squats, lunges and strides. They can also be used in abdominal movements.

If you want to put a good load on your hands, it is better to combine work with bottles with push-ups and pull-ups. First, do more difficult exercises, and then "finish off" the muscles with wiring and lifts.

Russian crunches on the press

This exercise is for working out the rectus and oblique abdominal muscles, as well as the hip flexors. Sit on the floor, pick up a bottle of water or sand. Lift your straight legs off the floor, hold the bottle in front of your body. Rotate your body left and right, trying to keep your back straight. Keep your feet flat on the floor until the end of the exercise. Perform 3 sets of 30 seconds of curls.

Trasters

This is a great exercise for building your hips, shoulders, and core muscles. Place your feet shoulder-width apart or slightly wider, turn your socks to the sides, place the bottles on your shoulders. Lower yourself into a deep squat. Keep your back straight and your heels on the floor.

Get out of the squat and squeeze the bottles up over your head. Then lower them back onto your shoulders and back into the squat. Perform the movement intensively, do not linger at the extreme points. Do 5 approaches 15-20 times.

Side plank twists

The exercise will pump the muscles of the core and load the shoulders. Stand on the side plank on your forearm, grab the bottle and extend your arm upward. Direct your gaze to the ceiling. Lower your hand with the bottle and wrap it under your body, and then return it to its original position. Make sure that the body remains firm and tense, and the hips do not go down.

Twist for 30 seconds on one side, then roll over to the other side and repeat. Do three sets in each direction. For more exercises, see our dumbbell workout article.

5 liter bottle with handle

With a five-liter bottle filled with water or sand, you can do almost all the exercises that you did with the kettlebell. Swings and deadlifts will pump the extensors of the back and the back of the thigh, goblet squats and lunges will pump the front side of it, and the deadlift will work the back and biceps.

Alternatively, the five-liter can be grasped with both hands and used in abdominal exercises such as Russian crunches or lumberjack. Or put on the floor and carry straight legs through it, pumping the hip flexors and abs.

Mahi

Strengthens the glutes and back extensors. Grasp the handle of the bottle with both hands, place your feet wider than your shoulders, slightly turn the toes of your feet to the sides. Lean forward with your back straight and slide the container between your legs. With a powerful movement, straighten in the pelvis and swing the bottle forward to the level of the collarbones.

Lower yourself back down to the starting position and repeat. Do 5 sets of 15-20 swings. The main thing is that the plastic handle can withstand, so be careful: do not swing and jerk in front of fragile objects, people and animals.

Woodcutter

This exercise works the hips and buttocks, arms and shoulders. It works especially well for the rectus and oblique abdominal muscles. Grasp the bottom and neck of the bottle with both hands. Lift it up and to the right, while simultaneously expanding the body and lifting the left heel off the floor. Rotate the body to the left while simultaneously going into a squat with a straight back and lowering the bottle to the left knee.

Move powerfully, as if swinging an ax, trying to cut a tree in an oblique direction. Do it 10-15 times, and then switch sides - start over your head on the left, and then lower the bottle to your right knee. Perform 3-5 sets in both directions.

Bench lunges

The exercise pumps the muscles of the hips, buttocks and shoulders, develops a sense of balance, and strengthens the muscles of the core. Take the bottle in your right hand, bend your elbow and hold the shell close to your shoulder. Extend your other hand to the side to help maintain balance.

Lunge back with your left foot, at the bottom point, squeeze the bottle up until your arms are fully extended, return it back and rise from the lunge. Do it 20 times, then take the bottle in your other hand and repeat on your right leg. Do 3-5 sets for each leg.

You can find more exercises in the video below, as well as in our article on training with weights. But it is better not to jerk with the bottle: it is both uncomfortable and the handle can break.

Stick from mop and water packing

If you miss a barbell, try making it out of the box. You can hang two or four bottles of sand or whole packs of water on a mop stick.

The structure will sway and interfere with your exercise, but this is for the best: you can focus on form and move slowly and under control. A great test for your coordination and balance.

With such a projectile, you can pump your pectoral muscles and triceps by performing a bench press and a standing chest press, extensors of the back and back of the thigh (deadlift on straight legs, Romanian deadlift, Good Morning), front surface of the thigh (squats, lunges), lats back muscles (bent over to the chest).

For convenience, we will refer to this projectile as the barbell.

Back Squat

Basic exercise for pumping the hips. Place the barbell on your back, hold it with your hands. Place your feet slightly wider than your shoulders, turn the toes of your feet to the sides. Perform squats below the parallel of your hips to the floor, do not lift your heels, keep your back straight. Do 5 sets of 20-25 times.

Romanian deadlift

Exercise pumps the back of the thigh, glutes and back extensor muscles. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, bend your knees slightly, bring your hips back and bend forward with your back straight. Grab a barbell and straighten fully.

Bending your knees slightly, lower the barbell to the middle of your lower leg and lift it back up. Do not place the equipment on the floor until the end of the exercise. Do 3-5 sets of 20 reps.

Bent over row

Pumps the latissimus dorsi and biceps. Bend your knees slightly and bend to the parallel of the body with the floor or slightly higher, hold the bar in outstretched hands under the chest. Bend your elbows and pull the barbell towards your chest. Lower back and repeat. Keep your back straight, lower your shoulders and bring your shoulder blades together. Do 3-5 sets of 10-15 reps.

You can find more exercises in the video below, as well as in our articles on barbell work.

Chair

On a chair, you can perform exercises for pumping arms - reverse and oblique push-ups, strengthen the hips with the help of steps, jumping onto a chair and squats on one leg. You will put a good load on the back of the thigh and buttocks if you do a glute bridge with one or both legs on a chair, and simply kill the abs by holding the corner, walking and jumping in the plank.

Split squats

Exercise perfectly loads the muscles of the legs, pumps the sense of balance. Turn your back to the chair, step back and place one foot on it. Do squats on one leg, keep your back straight, and do not twist the knee of your supporting leg inward. Do 10 times for one leg, then swap and repeat. Complete 3-5 sets.

Walking back and forth with feet on a chair

Exercise pumps the shoulders and abs. Stand upright with your feet on a chair. From this position, come with your hands close to the chair, gradually bending your legs, and then return back to the lying position. Make sure that the body remains level in the lying position. Tighten your glutes to avoid arching your lower back. Perform 3 sets of 5-10 passes.

Jumping in the bar

The exercise will pump your legs and abs, load your shoulders. Stand upright with your feet on a chair, tighten your abs and buttocks to avoid arching in the lower back. Push your feet off the seat and jump with your feet flat on the floor on either side of the chair. Then, with a jump, bring them back.

Do not bend your lower back, otherwise your back may hurt from the exercise, keep your abs in tension. Do 3 sets of 10 reps or add the exercise to your interval workout.

You can find many good chair exercises in the video below.

Two chairs

If you do not have a horizontal bar and parallel bars, two stable chairs will give you a kind of analogue of this projectile. You can build your biceps and back by doing oblique push-ups to strengthen your chest and triceps.

Deep push-ups

Exercise pumps the triceps and chest. If you want a more challenging option, find a third chair and place your feet on it. Move the chairs apart from each other about the width of your chest. Stand upright, resting your palms on the seat.

Lower yourself into a push-up, bending your elbows as far as joint mobility will allow. Your chest should drop below the level of the seats. Squeeze yourself back and repeat. Keep your body straight at all points of the exercise, do not arch your back, do not spread your elbows to the sides. Do 3-5 approaches 10-15 times.

Back push-ups

This is an analogue of push-ups on the uneven bars - an excellent exercise for pumping triceps and chest. Place your hands on the backs of chairs, cross your legs. Bend your arms to a right angle at the elbows, and then squeeze yourself back. Perform calmly and under control, without jerking.

Make sure that the body moves in a straight path, without leaning too much forward. Move in full range - up to the parallel of the shoulders with the floor. Do as many times as you can. Relax and do 2-4 more approaches.

Australian pull-ups

You can make a low bar with a mop stick and two chairs and pump your back and biceps. Grab the horizontal bar, bend your knees and place your feet on the floor. Lift your pelvis off the floor and extend your body in one line from knees to shoulders.

Pull yourself up until your chest touches the horizontal bar and lower back down. Move slowly to build better muscle. Perform 3-5 sets of 10-15 times.

There are other two-chair workout options in the video below.

Towel and smooth floor

In sports stores, special devices are sold - gliding discs, on which you can slide, complicating strength exercises. If you have an area of smooth flooring in your home, you can make one out of a small towel or dusting rag.

With their help, you will perfectly pump the press, performing the abduction of the legs and arms in the plank, sliding into the opposite plank, "rock climber". You can also strengthen the inner thigh by doing the leg raises while lying or kneeling. If you want to get your hands up and running, try abduction push-ups. But be careful: if the muscles are not strong enough, you can fall face down on the floor.

Reverse bar exit

Exercise loads the glutes, core, and shoulders. Sit on the floor, place your palms next to your pelvis, straighten your legs and place a towel under your heels. Leaning on your hands, lift the pelvis off the floor. Slide your legs forward and fully extend at the hip joint, going into the reverse plank. Squeeze your buttocks, pull your body in one straight line.

Bring the pelvis back, lead it behind the line of the hands, gaining momentum, and slide forward again - into the reverse bar. Do the exercise for 30-60 seconds. Do 3-5 sets.

Breeding legs in a lying position

This exercise will work your shoulders, abs, hip flexors, and adductors. Stand upright, tighten your abs and buttocks, place the socks of your feet on two towels. Spread your legs to the sides and bring them back. Bring your pelvis up and pull your legs closer to your arms. Return to the lying position and repeat the exercise from the beginning.

Make sure that during the convergence of the legs and return to the support position, the lower back does not fall down. Do not raise your head, look at the floor between your hands. Perform 3-5 approaches 15-20 times.

Abduction of hands in push-ups

Great exercise for arms and shoulders. You can do it from your knees, as in the video, or try a more difficult version in support lying on your feet. Stand in an emphasis lying down, tighten the abs and buttocks, tilt the pelvis back so that the lower back is slightly rounded. This will protect your back from bending and you from falling. Place your palms on two towels.

Bend one arm at the elbow, as in a regular push-up, and extend the other forward. Squeeze yourself up, bringing your straight arm back. Repeat on the other hand. Perform 3-5 sets of 10-12 times with each hand.

For more towel exercises, see the video below.

Choose 1–2 exercises for each muscle group and make your own set with home equipment. You can do them in sets and reps, or put together a 10-30 minute HIIT workout. For example, work for 30-40 seconds, do exercises in a row or with a little rest in between.

This training format will pump your body even better: it will not only strengthen your muscles, but also increase your endurance. Exercise two to five times a week, alternate exercises periodically to pump evenly your entire body, and enjoy your workout.