How to Workout Without Pills With Only a Weight Bench

If you think you need a pill to get in shape, think again. You can get fit by performing a consistent set of exercises on a weight bench, using gravity and your body weight to provide the weight and resistance you need to strengthen core muscle groups, particularly since diet pills can vary in their effectiveness and may be unsafe to use, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Things You'll Need

  • Weight bench
  • Clean gallon jugs
  • Scale
  • Permanent marker
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Instructions

    • 1

      Work out your biceps and triceps on your weight bench with plastic milk jugs, emptied of milk and filled with water. Use the milk jugs to replicate free weights if you don't have them. Experiment with different levels of water to obtain different weights. Mark the jugs in permanent ink at the spots that, when filled with water, will yield common weights like 2, 3 and 5 pounds; a gallon container full of water weighs about 8.3 pounds.

    • 2

      Sit up straight at the end of your weight bench with your legs together in front of you so that your feet are flat on the floor. Hold a milk jug or free weight in each hand and allow your arms to hang limp at your sides. Starting with the right hand, bring the milk jug up to your chest, bending your arm at the elbow. Lower your arm slowly to the starting position. Repeat this step with your left arm. Count one repetition. Repeat this process until you have completed 12-15 repetitions. Count one set. Complete three sets of arm curls before moving on to the next exercise.

    • 3

      Strengthen your triceps by lying with your back flat on the bench. Pull your knees up so that your feet rest flat on the end of the bench. Grasp one milk jug in each hand and hold them by your ears. With your elbows bent, straighten your arms so that the milk jugs are extended directly above your shoulders. Lower them slowly back toward your ears. Count one repetition. Repeat this step until you have completed 12-15 repetitions. Count one set. Complete three sets before moving on to the next exercise.

    • 4

      Strengthen your legs by performing dumbbell lunges. Grasp a milk jug or free weight in each hand. Place your left leg up on the bench with your knee bent so that is positioned directly above your left ankle. Step up so that you are standing with all of your weight on your left leg. Slowly return your right leg back to the floor. Repeat 12-15 times then, switch legs so that your right leg is up on the bench and perform 12-15 right leg lunges. Count one set. Complete three steps before moving on to the next exercise.

    • 5

      Strengthen your abdominal muscles by performing flat leg crunches on your weight bench. Sit on the bench so that your legs extend over the end of the bench. Grasp the sides of the bench with your hands, at the spot on the bench just above your hips. Lean back to allow your elbows to rest on the bench. Push up with your hands while simultaneously pulling your knees up towards your face. Make sure you feel tension in your abdominal muscles. Perform 12-15 repetitions and count one set. Complete at least three sets.