How to Be Creative When Working Out At Home

There are plenty of benefits that come with working out at home such as saving money on gym memberships, finding an increase in time, and having a personal workout  space. But a benefit that people tend to skip over is creativity.

One of the interesting things about working out at home is that you don’t have access to the same equipment that you would find in a gym. At least not exactly the same. (and for those of you who have a home gym stocked with equipment, this may not apply. Although the fact that you got a gym in your house should be celebrated!)

By having this problem, the lack of access to perfectly designed equipment, you are priming yourself to get creative because you have problems to solve.

That’s when the creativity begins. You will be faced with questions such as, “How will I add resistance to my exercises?”,” How will I do step ups without a box?”, and “What can I use instead of dumbbells?”.

The creative solutions that you’ll come up with will certainly help you have a better workout at home.

To begin to exercise your brain increase your creative muscle, you have to start to look at things in a new way. Suddenly you won’t find yourself without the equipment that you need but a new purpose for the things that you already have.

Some of the common creative reuses include:

The Coffee Table – You can use this for step ups, incline or decline pushups, or any other exercise where you need something higher than the floor. If you have a thing about your shoes on your table surfaces, you might want to try an ice cooler or stable chair.

The Backpack – This is one of the most versatile pieces that you can use. Fill it with books to for resisted curls or wear it to add some resistance to your air squat.  If you find yourself traveling, the suitcase can be used in the same fashion.

The Chair – The chair can be used like the coffee table but it can also be used for exercises such as tricep dips.

The Couch – You could use the arm of a couch to do full extension crunches or use its weight to anchor your feet  for crunches when you need a partner but don’t have one.

The Mattress – You can place a mattress against a wall and use it as a makeshift heavy bag. (Thank you Rocky Balboa for that one)

These are just some ideas that have helped us in the past. You may find that you are far more creative than we are.

We encourage you to try working out at home.  If you ever find yourself up against a problem, don’t give up. Exercise your brain and your body and use your creativity to come up with a solution for a better workout.

Put the creativity to use and try this HIIT workout at home: Total Bodyweight HIIT Workout