How to Use Water Jugs As Weights
Dumbbells and weights can still be hard to come by , but containers of water are widely available and almost free. The trick is to find something that fits your weight without being too uncomfortable. In this week’s party of our impromptu equipment challenge , we’ll be working with water jugs.
If you’ve heard the suggestion to use water bottles as weights, it probably only took you a few minutes to realize that water bottles are ridiculously light. If you are a small person and do hundreds of reps, then maybe . But most of us will have to work harder for most purposes.
Here are two handy conversion factors to help you choose the right weight:
- One gallon of water weighs just over 8 pounds (8.34 to be exact).
- One liter of water (1000 ml) weighs one kilogram (2.2 lb).
From these numbers, you can get a pretty good idea of how much a given container will weigh when full:
- A water bottle (500 ml or half a liter) weighs about a pound.
- A wine bottle (750 ml) holds 1.6 pounds of water, plus some of the weight of the bottle itself.
- A 2 liter soda bottle weighs 4.4 pounds.
- A gallon jug weighs 8.3 pounds.
- A five gallon jug or bucket holds 41.7 pounds of water – let’s call it 42.
However, you don’t need to just drink the right amount of water to get your ideal weight. You will also need a container that is easy to lift. It’s worth revisiting specific exercises to find ones that work with whatever containers you have on hand. A five gallon pitcher won’t be easy to lift by the handle (if it even has one), but you can squeeze it to your chest and do squats or lunges.
Another convenient way to use water as a weight is to fill your backpack or gym bag with water bottles. The bag has handles and water provides weight.
Ready to upgrade? Refill the bottles with baby sand instead. This half liter water bottle will weigh 3.6 pounds when filled with sand, perfect for a Jane Fonda video . A one gallon jug will cost 14 pounds and a 5 gallon bucket will cost a hefty 68.