Exercising in the basement is convenient when you either can't make it to the gym or simply do not want to join one. Knowing what to do is more than half the battle. Your goal is to give all of your major muscle groups a solid workout. This requires the use of key household items designed for other purposes. With most exercise, you can use your body for resistance.
Step 1
Use a sturdy chair to do decline pushups. Position the chair with the back legs touching a wall to prevent it from slipping out. Stand with your back to the chair, bend down and place your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart on the floor. Place your feet side by side on the chair, lift your hips and form a straight line from your shoulders to your heels. Keep your abs tight, and lower yourself by bending your elbows. Stop when your chest is right above the floor, push yourself back up and repeat.
Step 2
Grab two 1-gallon water jugs to do lateral raises. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, and hold the jugs right in front of your hips. Lift the jugs laterally to your sides until your arms parallel the floor. Lower the jugs and repeat.
Step 3
Fasten C-clamps to an open floor joist to do pullups. Position the clamps about shoulder-width apart and make sure there is enough room between the joist and clamp to fit your hands. Stand to the side on a step stool, then reach over and grasp a clamp in each hand. Remove your feet from the stool, bend your knees and cross your lower legs behind your body. Pull yourself up as high as possible, slowly lower yourself down and repeat.
Step 4
Perform a set of dips with two chairs. Place the chairs face to face and slightly wider apart than the length of your legs. Stand with your back to one chair, bend down and place your hands on the front and place your heels up on the other. Your arms should be straight at this point. Lower yourself by bending your elbows, and stop when your upper arms parallel the floor. Push back up steadily and repeat. Place one or two jugs on your thighs to increase the resistance.
Step 5
Execute a set of lunges with two jugs. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, and hold the jugs at your sides with your palms facing in. Take a long step forward with your right foot, and lower yourself by bending your knees. Stop when your right thigh parallels the floor and the left knee is right above the floor. Step back to the starting position, repeat with your left leg and continue to alternate back and forth.
Step 6
Hang from the clamps to do leg raises for your abs. Keep your upper body still and raise your legs up in front of your body until they parallel the floor. Lower them back down slowly and repeat. If this is too intense, bend your knees as you lift your legs.
Tips and Warnings
- If you are looking to make an investment, rubber resistance bands are popular home training tools and they are inexpensive. They allow you to do a number of conventional exercises, such as chest presses, shoulder presses, back rows, triceps extensions, biceps curls and squats. A full, gallon water jug weighs about 8 lbs. Empty some of the water to reduce the weight. Increase the weight by emptying the jug completely and adding sand or small gravel. In both cases, place the jugs on a scale to determine the weight. By adjusting the width of the C-clamps, you can change the emphasis on your muscles. For example, by moving the clamps closer, you will target more of your mid back. Decline pushups predominately work the upper chest. Add other pushup variations into your routines like conventional pushups on the floor and incline pushups with your hands on the chair to achieve more muscle recruitment. If cardio is on your agenda, invest in a jump rope if your ceiling is high enough. You also have the option of using stairs. Run up and down the whole case, or simply step up and down on one or two steps.
- Get approval from your health-care provider before starting a workout program.
Things You'll Need
- 2 chairs
- 2 large C-clamps
- 2, 1-gallon water jugs
- Step stool
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