Who says you need expensive workout equipment to exercise? You can workout at home using your furniture as equipment, and get in great shape without costing a dime!

Furniture Sliders

You don’t have to go to a weight loss boot camp to get fit, those discs you buy to move heavy furniture around are actually excellent workout equipment. Available at most drug stores and furniture stores, these discs range from 2” to 5” in diameter, and make it extremely easy to move heavy furniture in your home. Your TV, sofa, and refrigerator can glide easily over carpet or solid floors without straining your back.

These furniture sliders also help you move your body over the same surfaces. Place each foot a slider, preferably on carpet. Then, do jumping jacks, except you slide. Slide your legs out until you are in the jumping jack position, then slide them back together. Talk about a workout!

Next, place your hands on the sliders, and get into a pushup position. Push your hands out in front of you, supporting your weight, and stretch out as far as you can, balancing on only your toes and hands. Then, slide back. The further out and back you can slide, the better your workout will be.

Stairs

You know that stair-stepper at the gym? Yeah, you have one at home. It’s called stairs. Sure, the stair-stepper can be adjusted for tension, simulating higher steps. To do this at home, climb up the steps 2 at a time. Bend the knee of the upper leg deeply, as if you were doing a runner’s stretch, then ease back into a standing position and climb up the step.

Another good use of stairs is to climb and descend them backwards. This tightens up your glutes. Just be careful to hold onto something so that you don’t fall.

Step Aerobics

You can use thick phonebooks to make your own step for step aerobics. Wrap the books up snugly with duct tape so that the pages don’t slide around.

Soup Cans

Many people have found that soup cans make excellent weights. Most cans weigh about a pound apiece, and are great for beginners. As you advance, you can add cans to a tote and do your weight lifting that way. Plus, you have a snack handy afterward!

Use the cans when you do bicep curls. Believe it or not, you’ll feel it the next day, if you are not in very good shape right now. Then, hold the can in your hand, and point your elbow to the ceiling with your hand down behind your shoulder. Keeping your elbow pointing up, slowly straighten your arm until your hand is pointing up. Then slowly lower it to the starting point. As you advance, switch to a tote with several cans for this exercise. It helps to eliminate that flabby arm problem that plagues so many women.

There are many more exercises you can do using furniture and household items. Basically, if you can work out in a gym, you can work out at home, too.