Try mulch, basketballs, couch cushions and more to boost your home workout

The coronavirus isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, which makes maintaining a workable fitness routine important. While states such as Georgia and Oklahoma began reopening fitness facilities on May 1, states such as California and Colorado are opting to keep gyms closed for now. And some folks might not be ready to return to fitness facilities in states that have opened them; even before the pandemic, gyms were petri dishes of invisible germs.

So, for those who are still trying to break a sweat in quarantine, we asked five coaches to share their favorite athome fitness hacks to keep their clients active and engaged while using items they might have around the house or might be able to borrow. Try these fun tips to boost the intensity of your workout; perhaps they’ll inspire you to think of other ideas.

Movement: Push-ups

Use: Basketball Basketball push-ups are a great way to build core strength and advanced upper body muscles, says Jess Allen, a certified strength and conditioning coach through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Elevate one hand on the basketball and keep your other hand on the ground. Complete the pushup and then roll the basketball to place it beneath the opposite hand.

Movement: Goblet squats

Use: Cinder blocks

Heather Hart, a certified exercise physiologist through the American College of Sports Medicine and co-owner of Hart Strength and Endurance Coaching, says rectangular cinder blocks are one of her favorite household tools. Because each weighs 25 to 35 pounds, she recommends using both hands to grip the block in front of your chest for a modified goblet squat. Pro tip: Wear gloves; the concrete can be rough on skin.

Movement: Farmers carry

Use: Bucket

Any CrossFitter can attest to the fullbody workout of the farmers carry, in which the athlete grips heavy objects in each hand while quickly walking a predetermined distance. If you don’t have dumbbells or kettlebells, Allen suggests using buckets. You can fill them with sand, ice salt, gravel or even canned goods. If you have only one bucket, switch hands on your way back to work both sides evenly.

Movement: Pullups

Use: Sturdy table

Without any equipment, pullups are a tough exercise to mimic – unless you have a very sturdy table. If so, Courtney Donmoyer, co-founder of Ferux Athlete, suggests using it for modified pullups. Crawl underneath the table and lie flat on your back. Reach up to the edge and grip it like a pullup bar. Pull your chest to the table’s edge while leaving your heels on the ground.

Movement: Planks

Use: Bag of mulch Embrace the ab burn with planks but dial it up a notch with this trick from Allen. Snag one of those bags of mulch lying in the corner of your garage and use it for plank drag-throughs. Set the bag on the ground and get into the plank