If you think lacking a gym membership or expensive home fitness equipment is an excuse for slacking on your strength training, think again. You can effectively build muscle through a variety of exercises in your own home. Even if you can't afford an expensive home gym, hand weights, household objects, resistance bands, stability balls and even your own body weight are all tools you can use to build muscle, strengthen bones and improve your overall fitness level. Consult your doctor before beginning any new exercise regimen.
Hand Weight Exercises
Light hand weights are inexpensive and versatile tools for muscle-building exercises. Unlike traditional weights, hand weights do not include multiple pieces for adding or removing weight; they are easy to store and simple to use. Hand weights are most often included in upper-body exercises because they are easy to hold. Hand weights are useful for simulating exercises that, in a gym setting, usually require a full weight bench; chest presses and dumbbell rows are as effective with hand weights and a simple bench or flat floor as they are with gym weights and a weight bench. Depending on your level of fitness, the University of California-Berkeley's Foundations of Wellness newsletter recommends performing standard biceps curls, triceps kick-backs or chest flies using 3-, 5- or 10-pound weights.
Resistance Band Exercises
Resistance bands use tension rather than weight in order to build muscles. Resistance bands are usually wide straps of flexible latex that can be secured to solid objects or looped to shorter sizes to provide varying levels of resistance. Resistance bands are useful for performing exercises that would otherwise require a leg press or hip abductor machine. A resistance band looped around the bottom of your feet and pulled taut in your hands provides tension for an at-home leg press; looped around your ankle and then secured to a door knob, a resistance band offers tension for a series of hip abductions, flexions and adductions. Resistance bands may also replace your hand weights; loop the band several times to create the right amount of tension and stand on it while your perform biceps curls or triceps kick-backs, the Sports Injury Clinic website advises.
Stability Ball Exercises
Stability balls are lightweight, inflatable rubber or vinyl balls that provide height and mobility for a variety of home exercises to build muscle. Also called exercise balls, stability balls are particular effective for building your core or abdominal muscles. You can enhance many standard abdominal exercises by using a stability ball, the Mayo Clinic notes. Increase the challenge of a standard plank by placing your feet on a stability ball rather than flat on the floor; for even more of a challenge, alternate lifting each foot and engaging your stomach muscles to stabilize your body. Stability balls also replace the need for expense ab-roller machines; perform ab roll-outs and roll-backs with your hands on a stability ball and maintaining your balance and form by engaging your abdominal muscles.
Equipment-Free Exercises
Your own body weight is your most accessible piece of muscle building equipment. Classic exercises like crunches and push-ups engage large and small muscle groups to support your body weight throughout the movement, the Berkeley newsletter explains. Target your lower body with moves like walking lunges or squats; if you have access to the edge of a table or chair, build the muscles of your arms with dips in which you drop your hips to just above the floor, then lift yourself back up by pushing on the table with your hands.
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