Toilet Roll Workout: An Easy No-Equipment Workout You Can Do at Home
A toilet roll probably isn’t the first thing that springs to mind when you think about exercise equipment. Dumbbells, resistance bands and exercise bikes, perhaps. Toilet roll? Probably not.
Bear with me, though, because there is actually a point to this!
One of the things I’ve learned over the years is that we can make exercise far more complicated than it needs to be. We convince ourselves that we need a gym membership, expensive equipment, matching workout clothes and enough fitness to survive a 45-minute exercise class before we’ve even started.
You really don’t.
I’ve had a very up-and-down relationship with exercise over the years, particularly alongside my own weight-loss journey. Having lost more than 10 stone, I’ve experienced exercising at very different weights and fitness levels, and I know how intimidating exercise can feel when you’re overweight, unfit or simply haven’t done much for a long time.
Sometimes making exercise a little bit silly actually helps.
That’s where the toilet roll workout comes in.
You’re not really using the toilet roll for resistance because, unless you’ve discovered some remarkably heavy loo roll, it isn’t going to build enormous muscles. Instead, it becomes a marker or prop that gives you something to reach towards, move around or pick up.
And because almost everyone has one somewhere in the house, there’s no equipment to buy either.
Why exercise with a toilet roll?
There is absolutely nothing magical about toilet roll.
You could do many of these exercises with a cushion, tin of beans, rolled-up pair of socks or even a bottle of water. The reason I like the toilet roll idea is simply because it makes exercise feel less serious.
If you’re someone who feels self-conscious about exercising, particularly if you’ve previously associated exercise with gyms, Lycra and incredibly fit people shouting motivational things at you, doing ten minutes of movement in your living room can feel much more achievable.
The toilet roll can also work as a useful target. You can put it on the floor to squat towards, move it from one side to another, reach for it or use several toilet rolls to create little markers around the room.
Most importantly, you can adapt everything to suit you.
Before you start
You don’t need to complete every exercise here, and you certainly don’t need to do three sets of twelve just because somebody on the internet says you should.
If you’re new to exercise, start with a few repetitions and see how you feel.
You should also choose exercises appropriate for your mobility and current fitness level. If getting down onto the floor is difficult, skip the floor exercises completely. There are plenty of things you can do standing up or sitting in a sturdy chair.
If you have a medical condition, injury or concerns about starting exercise, it is sensible to speak to an appropriate healthcare professional.
Toilet roll squats
Put a toilet roll on a chair behind you and stand in front of it with your feet comfortably apart.
Slowly bend your knees and push your bottom backwards as though you’re about to sit down. Lower yourself towards the chair before standing back up again.
The toilet roll isn’t really doing anything physically here – it’s simply giving you a target.
If squats are difficult, actually sit down on the chair and stand back up again. A sit-to-stand is still movement and can be a much more comfortable starting point.
You could begin with five and gradually increase the number as they become easier.
Toilet roll reaches
This is another really simple one and can be done standing or sitting.
Hold the toilet roll in front of you and slowly reach it above your head before bringing it back down again. You can then reach towards one side, return to the middle and reach towards the other.
Keep the movements controlled rather than trying to do them as quickly as possible.
If raising your arms above your head isn’t comfortable, just work within whatever range of movement feels right for you.
Pass the toilet roll around your body
Stand with your feet comfortably apart and hold the toilet roll in one hand.
Pass it around your waist into your other hand and continue passing it around your body.
After several turns, change direction.
It sounds ridiculously easy, but that’s rather the point. You’re moving your arms, shoulders and torso without needing any special equipment.
You can also do this sitting down if that works better for you.
Toilet roll side-to-side taps
Put the toilet roll on the floor in front of you.
Step to one side of it and then the other, gently tapping the floor beside it with your foot each time.
You don’t need to jump.
If you’re fitter and comfortable doing so, you could make the movements quicker. If you’re just starting out, slow steps are absolutely fine.
This is an easy way of getting your heart rate up slightly without turning your living room into a boot camp.
Toilet roll toe taps
Leave the toilet roll standing upright on the floor and gently tap the top of it with alternate feet.
Don’t put your weight onto the toilet roll – unless you’d particularly like a very flat toilet roll!
Start slowly and concentrate on your balance.
If you need extra support, do this near a wall or sturdy chair that you can hold onto.
Toilet roll lunges – or a gentler alternative
Place the toilet roll on the floor as a marker and take a comfortable step towards it before returning to your starting position.
If you’re used to lunges, you can turn this into a proper forward lunge. If you’re not, simply stepping forwards and backwards is perfectly fine.
This is something I think gets missed far too often when exercise is aimed at beginners. You don’t have to perform the hardest version of an exercise for it to count.
Start where you are.
Toilet roll floor reaches
If you’re comfortable getting onto the floor, sit with your legs in front of you and place a toilet roll on either side.
Pick up the toilet roll from one side, move it across your body and put it down on the other side. Then move it back again.
The aim is to create gentle movement through your upper body rather than racing through repetitions.
You could also sit on a chair and place the toilet rolls on two tables or other suitable surfaces either side of you.
Make a toilet roll obstacle course
This is probably my favourite idea because you can make it as easy or ridiculous as you like.
Put several toilet rolls around the room and create your own mini circuit.
You might walk around one, step over another, squat towards the next one and then walk back to where you started.
If you’re exercising with children, this could become a game rather than a workout. If you’re exercising alone, nobody needs to know that you’re wandering around your lounge avoiding strategically placed Andrex!
Just make sure the area is clear of anything you’re likely to trip over.
Try a five-minute toilet roll workout
If you’re starting from scratch, forget about doing a long workout.
Set a timer for five minutes and choose three or four movements from this page.
For example, you might spend a little while doing sit-to-stands, then do some toilet roll reaches, some gentle side steps and finish by walking around your toilet roll obstacle course.
That’s it.
If five minutes feels enough, stop.
You can always do it again tomorrow.
As your fitness improves, you might naturally find yourself exercising for longer or choosing slightly harder versions of the movements.
Does a short workout actually count?
This is something I think is particularly important if you’re trying to become more active after a long period of doing very little.
It’s incredibly easy to fall into an all-or-nothing mindset with exercise.
If you can’t do half an hour, what’s the point in doing five minutes?
If you can’t run, what’s the point in walking?
If you can’t do a proper squat, what’s the point in sitting down and standing up?
The problem with thinking like that is that it can stop you doing anything at all.
Movement doesn’t suddenly become worthless because it was short or because somebody else could do more.
Current NHS guidance recommends that adults aim to be physically active every day, with a combination of aerobic activity and strengthening activities across the week. That doesn’t mean you have to achieve everything immediately, particularly if you’re currently inactive.
Building up gradually is far more realistic.
Exercise doesn’t have to look like exercise
I think this is the real reason I’ve kept this slightly bonkers toilet roll workout on Just Average Jen.
Over the years I’ve written a lot about weight loss, exercise and healthy living, but my attitude towards all of them has changed.
I used to think much more in terms of doing things properly. Proper diets. Proper workouts. Proper routines.
These days I’m much more interested in finding things that actually fit into real life.
If you’ve spent years believing you’re “not an exercise person”, going to the gym five times a week probably isn’t the most realistic place to start.
Walking around the block is movement.
Dancing around the kitchen is movement.
Getting out of your chair a few extra times is movement.
And yes, apparently messing around with a toilet roll in your living room can be movement too.
If you’re exercising while overweight
Please don’t feel that you have to wait until you’ve lost weight before you start becoming more active.
Equally, don’t feel that exercise has to be punishment for your weight.
I’ve exercised at very different sizes, and some movements are simply more comfortable than others when you’re living in a larger body. Balance, joint pain, mobility, fitness and confidence can all affect what feels manageable.
Modify things.
Use a chair.
Leave out jumping.
Take longer rests.
Do five minutes instead of twenty.
There isn’t a prize for making exercise unnecessarily miserable.
If you’d like more ideas, have a look at my guides to exercise for overweight and obese beginners, chair exercises, walking for weight loss and building confidence when you’re nervous about exercising.
What else can you use for a home workout?
Once you start looking around your house, you’ll probably realise that you don’t necessarily need traditional exercise equipment.
A bottle of water can provide a little resistance for some exercises. A sturdy chair can be useful for supported movements and sit-to-stands. Your stairs can provide quite a workout all by themselves.
That doesn’t mean every household object should suddenly become gym equipment – please don’t start bench-pressing the microwave – but it does show that becoming more active doesn’t necessarily have to cost anything.
The most important thing is simply to move more
If you came here genuinely searching for a toilet roll workout, I hope I’ve given you some ideas.
If you came here because you saw the title and wondered what on earth I was talking about, I can’t really blame you.
Either way, the message I want you to take away isn’t that toilet roll is the latest must-have piece of fitness equipment.
It’s that exercise doesn’t have to be complicated.
If you’re currently doing very little, start small. Find something you don’t hate, make it fit around your life and build from there.
If that starts with five minutes and a toilet roll in your living room, so be it.
We all have to start somewhere.
Summary
Staying active doesn’t have to be complicated, and you don’t need a gym membership to get a full-body workout. Using a toilet roll in your workout is a brilliant way to improvise at home and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Try these simple workouts and see your fitness levels soar! Remember to stay hydrated and keep a healthy and balanced diet.
Have you tried using a toilet roll for a workout now? How did it go? Let me know in the comments below. What about using a fizzy drinks bottle instead as weights? There are so many items you can use to get a workout at home and there is no reason you need to join a gym to get fit.
