Can I get stronger without going to the gym?

Participants were asked to do 3 sets of 12 repetitions every day for 4 weeks.

(If you’d like to print these out, download this PDF.)

Exercise 1: Toothbrush Squats

• Stand with feet shoulder width apart,
• make sure that ankles, knees and hips are in alignment,
• sit back and down like you’re sitting in an imaginary chair,
• keep your head facing forward,
• lower until your thighs are as parallel to the floor as possible,
• press your weight into your heels,
• do not let your knees go over the front of your toes,
• hold at the bottom and then return to starting position,
• a convenient time to do this is while brushing your teeth,
• to progress this exercise make the squats slower and the hold at the bottom longer,
• alternatively replace the toothbrush with a heavier object e.g. a bag of porridge or pet food.

Exercise 2: Hoover or Shopping Bag Walking Lunges

• Step forward with first leg,
• land on heel and then forefoot,
• lower body by flexing knee and hip of front leg until knee of rear leg is almost in contact with floor,
• do not let your front knee go over the front of your toes,
• keep knees and feet pointing forward,
• keep torso upright during lunge,
• repeat by alternating lunge with opposite legs,
• a convenient time to do this is while hoovering or brushing the floor
• to progress this exercise make the lunges slower and the hold at the bottom longer,
• alternatively do this exercise whilst carrying a shopping bag in each hand.

Exercise 3: Cleaning Calf Raises

• Stand tall with your abdominal (stomach) muscles pulled in and
• your feet hip width apart (or slightly narrower),
• raise your heels so that you're on your tiptoes,
• hold the position and then lower your heels to the floor,
• ensure that the lift comes from the whole width of your foot and not the little toe or inside of the foot,
• a convenient time to do this exercise is while dusting, cleaning windows or reaching for high objects during cooking
• to progress this exercise make the raises slower and the hold at the top longer,
• alternatively do this from the bottom stair, starting and finishing with your heel lower than your toes,
• finally add a weight in your hands to increase the difficulty of this exercise.

Exercise 4: Cooking Bicep Curls

• Stand up straight with a weight in each hand at arms length,
• keep your elbows close to your torso and rotate the palms of your hands until they are facing forward- this is your starting position,
• keep the position of your elbows stationary and curl your arms until the weights are close to shoulder level,
• hold in this position and then lower slowly back down,
• this can be done at any time using various house-hold objects such as tins/ cans and bottles of water,
• this exercise can be done standing or sitting,
• to progress this exercise make the curls slower and the hold at the top longer,
• alternatively increase the weight in your hands to increase the difficulty of this exercise.

Exercise 5: Towel Tricep Extensions

• Pick up a towel with one hand at the end of the towel and position the arm so the towel hangs down your back and the arm is bent,
• your forearm should be behind your head with the elbow pointing upwards,
• grasp the other end of the towel behind your lower back with your free hand,
• make sure your feet are hip width apart and your posture upright,
• stretch out the top arm fully, the other arm offers the resistance,
• the upper part of the top arm should remain stationary,
• hold at the top against resistance and then relax the arm back down,
• switch arms after each set of 12,
• this exercise can be done using a bath or tea/ hand towel
• to progress this exercise make the extensions slower and the hold at the top longer,
• alternatively increase the resistance from the bottom hand,
• this exercise can also be done with a weight in the top hand instead of a towel to offer resistance.

Exercise 6: Wall/ Door Frame Press-up

• Stand facing a wall or door frame with your feet hip width apart about 2 feet away from the wall,
• place your palms slightly wider than shoulder-width apart on the wall,
• you should be able to keep your arms straight with your palms flat against the wall,
• keep your body straight and slowly bend your elbows, lowering your chest to the wall, until your upper arms are close to parallel with the wall,
• hold in this position and then press up until your arms are straight again,
• to progress this exercise make the presses slower and the hold at the wall longer,
• alternatively move your feet further away from the wall to increase the difficulty of this exercise,
• finally, this exercise can be done one-hand at a time as an advanced progression but only if you are confident doing this.

Exercise 7: Washing Basket Oblique Twists

• Stand up straight with feet roughly hip distance apart and soft knees,
• hold your washing basket, or other similar weighted object in both hands with your arms at your sides and hands positioned just above your waist,
• twist the basket around your body to one side while keeping your lower body fixed and your hips facing forward,
• repeat by twisting to the other side
• to progress this exercise make the twists slower and the hold at the end longer,
• alternatively increase the weight of the object to increase the difficulty of this exercise,
• finally, if you take the object further away from your body this will progress the exercise.

Exercise 8: Broom Deadlift

Hold a broom or mop horizontally, and stand just behind it with feet shoulder width apart,

• squat down (see exercise 1) and grasp the handle with hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart,
• keep your back straight and eyes looking forward,
• keep the back rigid and arms straight,
• lift the broom or mop using the legs, keeping your arms straight,
• once you are upright, complete the exercise by raising the shoulders slightly,
• return the broom to the ground slowly and carefully
• to progress this exercise make the lift slower and the hold at the top longer,
• alternatively use a heavier object to perform the exercise- 2 objects can be used (1 in each hand) but these will need to be evenly weighted.

(If you’d like to print these out, download this PDF.)