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[rydra_wong]

A lot of strength training involves equipment. Which is not necessarily a bad thing in itself (my yearning for a clubbell, let me show you it), but it can be off-putting if you don't have the money to spare, or don't want to have to invest money before you try something.

So I thought we ought to start pooling tips on strength training options that don't require any expenditure. I am nothing if not predictable, so to get the ball rolling: linkspam!

If you happen to have a sledgehammer lying around, you could try Shovelglove, reviewed in this comm here.

(If you've got a sledgehammer and an old tyre, you can really rock out: just Google "sledgehammer workout" for an amazingly wide range of ways to hit the tyre with the sledgehammer. I suspect this also has therapeutic value.)

Stumptuous offers No weights? No problem!, a guide to strength training with things that you may have around the house (or be able to make from things around the house), including tips on making your own sandbag or medicine ball.

ETA: I was reminded by yeloson's comment -- if you've got a mop or broom handle, then as well as the exercises he suggests, you can also put it across your shoulders to practice squat form, not to mention using it for "shoulder dislocations", and doing broomstick twists to work on spine mobility.

About.com's Exercising on the Cheap has some ideas on making your own weights.

Then there are the time-honoured bodyweight exercises. Some people only ever do bodyweight exercises, and get ridiculously strong that way (gubernatrix demonstrates a pretty hardcore bodyweight workout).

There are a huge range of possible exercises (Exrx's directory lists bodyweight exercises for many body parts).

But someone who's building a basic routine could start by thinking about:

push-ups (including knee push-ups or wall/counter push-ups)
"horizontal pull-ups" (a.k.a. inverted rows -- try doing it lying under a sturdy table and grabbing the edge; to make it easier, bend your knees and put your feet on the floor, so you're getting some assistance from your legs)
bench dips (using a bench or a chair or a window-ledge or a countertop or a step on your stairs)
planks (elbow planks, side plank ...)
bodyweight squats (if you get bored or it gets too easy, check out 18 Bodyweight Squat Variations; me, if I want to kill my legs with bodyweight only, I work on Bulgarian split squats)

Okay, your turn. What are your favourite resources/recs/links/exercises/re-purposed household items for free strength training?

Comments

[yeloson]

1.Bricks

You can usually find a couple of loose bricks almost anywhere.

Any exercise you do with bricks is almost guaranteed to do something for your grip strength since they're not exactly built for good carrying.

A common martial art trick is to hold the bricks, do forms that have your arms out wide or above your head.

You can hold the brick lengthwise and do curls -just- with your wrists. (be careful if you tend towards RSI/Carpal tunnel- more work might aggravate it).

2. Pole training

Broom, mop, long bamboo. Whatever. Hold it with one hand forward, almost like a spear. Adjust your grip towards the center if it's heavy, or as far back as possible if it's too light. Now draw circles... slowly.

The second exercise is keeping the far tip in the same place, while making circles with your gripping arm.

Both are pretty intense.

[rydra_wong]

You can hold the brick lengthwise and do curls -just- with your wrists.

Ooh. Wrist curls and grip work. Now where can I find a brick? *plots*

And the pole training sounds fantastic; I'll have to give that a go with my trusty broom handle ...