Building muscle with common items

Stand on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of room at each side.

Hold a 5-lb potato sack in each hand, extend your arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can.

Try to reach a full minute, and then relax. Each day you’ll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer.

After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-lb potato sacks, then try 50-lb potato sacks and then eventually a 100-lb potato sack in each hand and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute (I’m at this level.)

When you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each of the sacks.