The Three Best Pieces of Exercise Gear for (Way) Less Than $25

For readers who are both fit and thrifty, L.A. Times fitness writer Jeannine Stein asks three local trainers to recommend their favorite and least expensive (less than $25) piece of exercise equipment.

Dan Saltos, assistant personal training manager at Crunch in West Hollywood, likes soup cans (3 for $4, soup included). To do jumping jacks with the soup cans, start with your feet together
and hold a can of soup in each hand at about shoulder level with arms
bent. Jump into an inverted “V” position with the legs open, and press
the arms up over the head with the elbows near the ears, as if doing a
shoulder press. To do the squat-curl-press, start with feet
hip-width apart, toes pointed slightly outward. Hold a can of soup in
each hand down by your side. Squat, and as you come up, do a bicep
curl. Then press the arms up over the head into a shoulder press. Saltos recommends two to three sets of 12 to 15 reps. This targets the glutes,
hamstrings, quadriceps and the core, as well as the biceps, shoulders
and triceps.

Mike Donavanik, trainer at West Coast Strength & Conditioning in West Hollywood, uses plastic water bottles, filled either with water or with (heavier) sand to do an exercise called the wood chop. Stand
with legs hip-width apart, and hold the water bottle like a baseball
bat. Bend the legs and lean your body toward the left, bringing the
water bottle down toward the feet and adding a little pivot in the
right leg. Stand and twist toward the right, bringing the water bottle
up over the head, pivoting on the left toe. Do three sets of 15
repetitions on each side. In this exercise, everything should come from
the core.

David Van Daff, trainer at Bally Total  Fitness in Chicago, likes a foam roll, just a piece of plastic foam rolled into a cylinder. Van Daff instructs us to start by lying sideways on top of a foam roller placed horizontally  under your hip. Keep the bottom leg straight
and the top leg bent, with the foot on the floor in front of the body.. Bend the arm closest to the floor and
rest on it, supporting your upper body. Place the other hand on the top
hip.Slowly roll the body over the foam roll. Don’t allow the body to sag in
the middle, and make sure the roll is under the side of the leg. Repeat
for 10 repetitions.

For more, read Jeannine Stein in the L.A. Times.