Top 10 Fitness Life Hacks (When You Have Little or No Equipment)

We all have those days when the motivation to train is there, but you have little or no equipment to use. With creativity and some easy-to-find equipment, you can turn a minimal day of fitness into a fun challenge. Here are some ideas when you want to go hard but have nothing:

1. Find a park or playground: Unless you live in the boonies, you are likely pretty close to a school or park that has a playground for local children. I have found this my go-to choice for adding in extra exercises to a workout when travelling.

If you can, jog to the playground and get after it. Monkey bars can be used for pull-ups. Benches can be used for dips. I typically go with one of the favorite PT workouts (pyramids, super sets, max rep sets or others) when given an outdoor pull-up bar with room to run.

More great ideas for workouts.

2. Make a sandbaby: If you do not have a sandbag, you can make your own for about $5. Purchase a 50-pound bag of sand for a children's sandbox. Place a small slit to let out about 10 pounds of sand, fold the bag over itself and start duct-taping. Use nearly a full roll of duct tape on the sandbaby. You soon will have a 40-pound weight that you can use for the inside of a ruck or make an ideal log PT substitute. You can even do the Sandbaby Murph, which is a series of log PT events like push presses, sit-ups, squats and lunges holding the sandbaby. Walking with it on your head is another good way to build your neck muscles if your future will be carrying boats on your head.

3. Swing set: Depending on your circumstances, you may have a child with you who loves the playground.  Aside from the #1 fitness hack of this post, you also can do a lot with a swing set. You can squat between each oscillation of the swing while pushing your kid. Many people up the ante and do burpees while pushing their child in the swing.

The swing also can be used for a TRX substitute. You can use the swing for exercises nearly the same way you can use the TRX suspension trainer (TRX Atomic Push-ups, TRX squat/rows, TRX rollouts, biceps curls and triceps extensions.) The TRX itself is a killer fitness life hack. I always carry one in my luggage when travelling and leave it in my car for easy access anywhere.

4. Stretch, foam roller, lacrosse ball: Somedays, especially after a long travel day in planes, trains and automobiles, you need a day to stretch. If you forgot your foam roller, pack a lacrosse or tennis ball and work out some of those tight spots in your legs, glutes and lower back. But an easy warmup of walking or jogging for 5-10 minutes, followed by 10-15 minutes of pure stretching, is something you should try daily. Give 10 minutes a day of stretching a try for one month and notice the difference, especially if you have a job where you travel often or sit throughout the day. Stretching will be a life hack for you. Just Stretch and work on Mobility:

5. Commute cardio: This situation may not work for all people, but if you can find safe, alternate ways to arrive at work like walking, jogging or biking, you can knock out your workout both before and after work. Many triathletes get their running or biking done using this method. I recommend using sidewalks when possible or avoiding traffic for safety purposes. You may want to shower at work, so ensure that's an option for you.

6. When in doubt, ruck: We all have luggage backpacks. If you use your backpack for rucking, you always can have a source of controlled weight at your disposal for a variety of exercises. Walking up and down stairs, finding bleachers at a high school track/football field or hills make for exceptional leg days, especially when wearing a backpack (or weight vest). Burn more calories rucking!  What is a ruck you ask?

7. Extra equipment lying around: Some of us have things in our yard that have not made it to the dump like old tires, logs, pallets and other awkwardly weighted items. The tire has become a classic use of creativity for the tactical athlete and mainstream athletes as well. Flipping a large tire can be a replacement for barbell lifts like deadlifts, hang cleans, power cleans and push presses. Depending on the size, you also can use them for box jumps and a sledgehammer swing (either up/down or side to side).

8. Logs: If you have a log in the yard, you know it is work lifting it. You either can do one-person log lifts (lifting one side) to mimic deadlifts, squats, hang cleans and push presses, or find a buddy and add in teamwork drills like push presses, squats, lunges and sit-ups. And if you have a pile of wood, grabbing an ax and going to town making smaller logs is a useful fitness life hack and gives you wood for your fire pit or fireplaces in your home.

9. Stairs and stuff: Looking for a leg workout but have no weights? A flight of stairs and a weight vest, backpack or any weighted piece of gear is all you need. First of all, just walking up and down steps or running up and walking down is a great leg/cardio mix. Add in weights -- carried by hand or on your head or shoulders -- and you have created a challenging leg and cardio workout that will push very advanced athletes.

10. Finally, a deck of cards: I remember being on a submarine and doing a deck of cards. Get creative with what you do for face cards or numbers. Different suits can be a variety of exercises from push-ups, burpees, pull-ups, sit-ups and flutter kicks. You are limited only by your ability or imagination. 

There are many ways to keep training even when you have nothing. It just takes some imagination and some "want to." Enjoy.

Stew Smith is a former Navy SEAL and fitness author certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Visit his Fitness eBook store if you're looking to start a workout program to create a healthy lifestyle. Send your fitness questions to stew@stewsmith.com.

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