Workout with a Water Bottle

When you can’t make it to the gym or on those days you just don’t want to leave the house, there are tons of ways to keep your body moving with common items found inside your home! Read below as we walk through some simple exercises that only require a water bottle. Be sure to fill your water bottle and secure the top. A full average sized water bottle is about 1 lb in weight.

Balance on One Leg with Water Bottle Touch

This exercise is good for ankle and knee stability. Place your water bottle on the floor in front of you. Stand on one leg and reach for your water bottle with your other leg and gently touch it. You can also use more than one water bottle and place in a semi-circle around you and work on touching forward, to the side, or slightly behind you to challenge your balance different directions. Try to touch the water bottle 10 times in a row without touching your foot to the ground in between and perform on both sides.

Single Leg Romanian Deadlift:

This exercise is good for balance, core, and hamstring strengthening. Hold your water bottle in one hand and stand on one leg. While keeping your hips level, hinge forward from your hips to place the bottle on the ground. Try to keep the standing leg fairly straight. Return to standing and try to maintain your balance on one leg. Repeat the exercise to pick up the water bottle. Perform sets of 10 on each leg.
Key Tip: Perform this exercise slowly, focusing on balance and preventing rotation of your core and hips.

Skater Hops:

You will need two water bottles for this one. Place the water bottles about 3 feet apart, this may change depending on your height. You will jump sideways from one foot to the opposite foot using the water bottles as targets for distance. The key for this exercise is to go slowly and control the landing, paying attention to your knees. Your knee should stay in line with the second toe and should have a small bend when you land. Try setting a timer for 30-60 seconds and perform 2-3 sets.

Side-Lying Shoulder External Rotation:

This exercise helps to strengthen your rotator cuff muscles. Begin lying on your side. Hold your water bottle around the middle. With the elbow bent, keep your elbow next to your body and rotate the arm to lift your hand from your belly toward the ceiling. Make sure not to have rotation of your trunk forward or roll backward and only have movement at the arm and hand. Perform 2-3 sets of 10 repetitions.

Other exercises can be modified for home use but may require larger water bottles, like the hydrojug or gallon jugs. Using larger water bottles or gallon jugs, you can easily achieve a weight of 8 lbs, using for bicep curls, tricep extensions, or to use during squats for added resistance.

Don’t be afraid to get creative for your home workouts and use what you have! If you feel like you have suffered an injury doing a home workout, schedule a free assessment at your nearest Athletico location. Free assessments are available in-clinic and virtually through our Telehealth platform.

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