You can build muscle without weights, equipment, or a gym membership. Have you ever heard the statement: “Where there is a will, there is a way”? There is a way to build your body with your own body weight and with things around your house, garage or garden.

Let me first tell you a little about myself when I was 15 years old. Without going into boring details, let me say that my family was quite poor. But I became very interested in getting in shape. I was a short, skinny kid who was teased quite a bit. I remember seeing ads in magazines for Charles Atlas. He was one of the first men to become known as a muscle man. I was inspired by this man because he was also molested before I built his body. I asked my mom and dad for weight lifting equipment, but they said they couldn’t afford it. Frustrated, I started looking around the house for ways I could strengthen my scrawny muscles. I saw an ad in a magazine advertising a bullfighter. This was a device that had high-tension wires running through the ends of a pole-like device, about three feet long. You can use the cables or the ends of the device to perform various exercises. Since I didn’t have the money to order one, I took an old bicycle tire pump and bicycle inner tube to make my own homemade bullworker. I folded the inner tube and stretched it around the tire pump. I did all the exercises that I could have done with a real bullfighter.

Another thing I would do is use some old swing posts, which were in my backyard. Some of you are old enough to remember the old-style swing sets with the thick, round poles. I would do presses, curls, and bench presses with these. I found some old hardcover books in the house. I would take a heavy book in each hand and fly with these. We never read them anyway. I would also take a box full of these books and press them a bunch of times. My point is; I would find any way I could think of to build my muscles. I used my imagination.

Let’s not forget that there are several exercises without weights that you can do to train. How about some good old-fashioned push-ups? You can do wide grip pushups for the outer chest, close grip pushups for the inner chest and triceps. One of my favorites is the foot-elevated close-grip push-up. You can put your feet on a chair, bench, bed, etc. Talk about intense triceps training! I still do this sometimes. A pushup is basically a reverse bench press. However, be sure to push up to failure, that is, until you can no longer perform another repetition.

What about pull-ups? If you have a doorway that allows you to hang from the doorway, you can do pull-ups (pull-ups) or you can place two chairs about four feet apart. Lay out a stick, broom, mop, or thick stick and rest each end on a chair. Lie down on the floor, grab your hands on the pole or whatever you’re wearing a little wider than shoulder width, and get up as many times as you can. This will strengthen your back and biceps. Let’s not forget about sit-ups, lunges, chair raises, etc.

Another way to exercise is to use paint buckets or other buckets, preferably full for extra weight. Using the grab handles, you can do presses, push-ups, lateral raises (for wide shoulders), wrist curls, tricep presses, incline rows, etc. Use your imagination; just make sure you keep safety in mind.

Yes, you can work all parts of the body without weights. I’ve done it and you can too. I still work out without weights from time to time in motels when I travel, visit people out of town, and even when my car broke down once. Where there is a will, there is a way.