Toning up with household objects. :)

mommy2ans
mommy2ans Posts: 93 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I want to start toning as I try to lose weight. I haven't done any toning because i am beyond freaked out that i am going to turn all of my fat into muscle and still have larger body parts than i want. Ha! Anyhoo, i want to start tonight but don't have any weights, resistance bands, etc. What can I used at home to help tone and what suggestions do you have for basic leg and arm toning exercises? If i do them every night when should i expect to see results? Especially the under part of my arms, they are SO flabby!

Thanks guys and gals!
«134

Replies

  • LilynEdensmom
    LilynEdensmom Posts: 612 Member
    You can use soup cans or gallon water jugs as weights...When my youngest was born I used her lol I'd hold her while doing squats and lunges (she was only 5 pounds)
  • LReneeWalker
    LReneeWalker Posts: 213 Member
    cans of veggies are great hand weights. Also save old milk gallons, put water in them for heavier weights. Not sure what to use for legs (other than babies lol). You can even use your own body weight for resistance, using the furniture to do sits ups, etc.
  • dolldreams
    dolldreams Posts: 245 Member
    Use a broomstick, shower rod or curtain rod.

    Hold it above your head or out in front of your body with your arms shoulder width apart then do squats.
  • docktorfokse
    docktorfokse Posts: 473 Member
    Please tell me you guys aren't serious.
  • dolldreams
    dolldreams Posts: 245 Member
    Please tell me you guys aren't serious.

    Why wouldn't we be?
  • LilynEdensmom
    LilynEdensmom Posts: 612 Member
    Please tell me you guys aren't serious.

    I'm serious

    ...As a pretty much single mom, I don't have the time or the money to spend buying a home gym or going to a gym...
  • dolldreams
    dolldreams Posts: 245 Member
    Please tell me you guys aren't serious.

    I'm serious

    ...As a pretty much single mom, I don't have the time or the money to spend buying a home gym or going to a gym...

    Not only that but sometimes people don't have the space to have workout equipment laying around. When I was in the Army, my barracks room was the size of a cracker jack box and I had no space for weights or any other type of fitness equipment. I used to work out in my room using water bottles.
  • dolldreams
    dolldreams Posts: 245 Member
    I want to start toning as I try to lose weight. I haven't done any toning because i am beyond freaked out that i am going to turn all of my fat into muscle and still have larger body parts than i want. Ha! Anyhoo, i want to start tonight but don't have any weights, resistance bands, etc. What can I used at home to help tone and what suggestions do you have for basic leg and arm toning exercises? If i do them every night when should i expect to see results? Especially the under part of my arms, they are SO flabby!

    Thanks guys and gals!

    And op, you aren't going to turn all of your fat into muscle. Think about how hard those body builders work to look the way they do. If you aren't working that hard and whatever else they do, you aren't going to get all muscular all of the sudden.
  • docktorfokse
    docktorfokse Posts: 473 Member
    You guys really don't think the equivalent of lifting nothing will build muscle, do you?

    Am I getting trolled?
  • Papillon22
    Papillon22 Posts: 1,160 Member
    Do a search on bodyweight exercises, and you'll find examples like this one:

    http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/tipsandtricks/a/basictraining.htm

    I've bought resistance bands for about 15 dollars, and they are great as well.
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
    check out nerdfitness.com for their beginner body weight workout. Scroll down below it and you will even find how to use your table to start working toward chin-ups and pull ups.
  • mommy2ans
    mommy2ans Posts: 93 Member
    You guys really don't think the equivalent of lifting nothing will build muscle, do you?

    Am I getting trolled?

    Why are you so rude? A can of soup is more than i'm doing now, which is nothing...so it can't be worse.
  • DominiqueSmall
    DominiqueSmall Posts: 495 Member
    I want to start toning as I try to lose weight. I haven't done any toning because i am beyond freaked out that i am going to turn all of my fat into muscle and still have larger body parts than i want. Ha! Anyhoo, i want to start tonight but don't have any weights, resistance bands, etc. What can I used at home to help tone and what suggestions do you have for basic leg and arm toning exercises? If i do them every night when should i expect to see results? Especially the under part of my arms, they are SO flabby!

    Thanks guys and gals!

    I currently use two cans of black beans. I'
  • ShawnaRaeDunn
    ShawnaRaeDunn Posts: 59 Member
    I was using cans of soup. Then found weights at Walmart for only a few dollars each. I started light, 3lbs dumb bells first, the 5lbs. And for anyone that makes fun of using cans of soup (like I saw posted on here:huh: ) using and doing something is better than doing nothing. Please feel free to add me as a friend. Really good at motivation!:bigsmile:
  • docktorfokse
    docktorfokse Posts: 473 Member
    "Toning" is just a combination of low bodyfat and higher muscle mass. Lifting soup cans and water bottles will just fatigue your muscles without giving them enough of a load to actually grow.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    Use a food scale. Weight your food, eat at a deficit, lose fat, and expose the muscle underneath. That's what "toning" is.

    To preserve lean muscle mass, add in strength training. Pick up heavy things and put them down again, 5-10 times each. If you can easily do more than that, you're wasting your time.
  • dolldreams
    dolldreams Posts: 245 Member
    You guys really don't think the equivalent of lifting nothing will build muscle, do you?

    Am I getting trolled?

    Lifting body weight and household objects is not lifting nothing. People built muscle before there was fitness equipment and gallon jugs of water do weigh something.
  • MelMena
    MelMena Posts: 152 Member
    Some people pick things up and put things down that weigh a LOT and some people pick things up and put things down that weigh a LITTLE. Point is they are picking things up and putting them down.
  • Hellcatinheels
    Hellcatinheels Posts: 14
    Another single mom here! I've done the soup cans, and the squats holding my kids (my 3 year old thinks it's hilarious). I've also tied a scarf in a loop to put around my lower legs for doing side steps squats. Textbooks make pretty okay weights, as do jugs of vinegar (not going to be dangerous if it spills, unlike when my friend used a jug of bleach). The broomstick/shower curtain rod is a great trick. Also to consider: baskets of laundry (use holding out in front of you as you would a medicine ball), dvds bound together with a scarf or belt, unplugged lamps (as free weights), and use chairs/couches etc as a counter balance (like when doing tricep dips) or a sturdy kids chair as a step (if they don't have a sturdy stepstool). HTH!
  • docktorfokse
    docktorfokse Posts: 473 Member
    You guys really don't think the equivalent of lifting nothing will build muscle, do you?

    Am I getting trolled?

    Lifting body weight and household objects is not lifting nothing. People built muscle before there was fitness equipment and gallon jugs of water do weigh something.
    I'm sure the original gladiators lifted things a lot heavier than water bottles.
  • MrsCon40
    MrsCon40 Posts: 2,351 Member
    Your own bodyweight is the most effective and free thing you have at your disposal. Soup cans weigh less than your purse. You carry your purse all day but you're not toned.

    Reduce body fat with a caloric deficit. Eat plenty of protein to help preserve the muscles you have so when you lose the fat there is still some muscle to expose underneath.

    Save up to buy a weight set off Craigslist or join a gym.
  • coyoteo
    coyoteo Posts: 532 Member
    A vibrator? No, seriously, orgasms burn lots of calories....and if you do unique positions it could be a good muscle workout. But really, I just did body weight resistance stuff at first. Or, as a good friend of mine says, "find something heavy and lift it"...the couch, your spouse, a tire....
  • Jorra
    Jorra Posts: 3,338 Member
    Textbooks are finally good for something! Get a hardcover college-level science textbook or two.
  • Trechechus
    Trechechus Posts: 2,819 Member
    http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/
  • dolldreams
    dolldreams Posts: 245 Member
    You guys really don't think the equivalent of lifting nothing will build muscle, do you?

    Am I getting trolled?

    Lifting body weight and household objects is not lifting nothing. People built muscle before there was fitness equipment and gallon jugs of water do weigh something.
    I'm sure the original gladiators lifted things a lot heavier than water bottles.

    Well, gee, I don't think she said she wants to look like a gladiator. :huh:
  • darlilama
    darlilama Posts: 794 Member
    You guys really don't think the equivalent of lifting nothing will build muscle, do you?

    Am I getting trolled?


    I believe she stated "tone", not "build". I don't know what she looks like, but if she's never done anything starting with 1 or 2 lbs is better than doing nothing and I applaud her for her effort. My profile pic shows miniscule biceps to some... but you didn't see where I STARTED from! I'm quite proud of my little bumps. I hope to make them bigger - and yes, I do use "real" weights.
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
    Dumbbells at target are really not expensive....
  • MelMena
    MelMena Posts: 152 Member
    You guys really don't think the equivalent of lifting nothing will build muscle, do you?

    Am I getting trolled?


    I believe she stated "tone", not "build". I don't know what she looks like, but if she's never done anything starting with 1 or 2 lbs is better than doing nothing and I applaud her for her effort. My profile pic shows miniscule biceps to some... but you didn't see where I STARTED from! I'm quite proud of my little bumps. I hope to make them bigger - and yes, I do use "real" weights.

    Maybe not "real" enough for some people. :grumble:

    I'm from the school of thought that I would rather see someone putting some kind of effort into MOVING instead of saying eff it and sitting on the couch.
  • mommy2ans
    mommy2ans Posts: 93 Member
    Dumbbells at target are really not expensive....

    Girl i am SO broke :) Hopefully I can get some in a few weeks though ;)
  • dawnberndtson
    dawnberndtson Posts: 7
    You guys really don't think the equivalent of lifting nothing will build muscle, do you?

    Am I getting trolled?

    Why are you so rude? A can of soup is more than i'm doing now, which is nothing...so it can't be worse.

    I like the idea of using household items and then working to other things. Not everyone is trying to bulk up, some of us just want to tone and smooth trouble areas. And doing "something" is always better than nothing. =)

Categories