Household items you can practise your athletic throwing skills with – Rio Olympics

Are the Rio Olympics getting you in the mood to get sporty? Are you desperate to find your true calling as an international athlete, but you just don’t have the equipment you need to get started?

Well all is not lost, because the answer is literally on your doorstep.

Your own home is full of handy items that make both adequate, and ridiculous, substitutes for athletics props to practise your technique on. Here are our top recommendations.

1. Discus

It’s all about the swing. So forget buying the real thing and messing around with the endless options for the correct spin and weight, and have a try with these…

– Plates: Ideal substitute as you can vary the weight and size, providing you have an inexhaustible supply of plates, as you will probably smash all of them.

– Frying pan: Chuck it from the handle and you can invent a whole new athletics category of your own.

– Tablet: Probably a one-throw only option, more for venting general technology frustration than practising your sporting skill.

– Bagel: Also an efficient way to feed ducks?

2. Javelin

Be your own Grecian warrior with our fuss-free ideas for a DIY javelin. Warning: they can still be just as lethal to unsuspecting passers-by, so make sure you have plenty of space around you.

– Tent pole: Give your tent kit a bit of extra use this summer by using either one long pole or two duct-taped together.

– Fishing rod: Preferably one that the owner does not mind seeing destroyed.

– Baguette: This should definitely be considered for some sort of drinking game in its own right.

– Dry spaghetti: Either use one piece for the world’s smallest javelin, tape them together in a line for the longest and flimsiest, or just chuck a whole bunch and see what happens.

3. Shotput

There’s lots of technique to this one, so if you are planning on making the shot put the key focus of your sporting career then there’s no time to lose. Get started with a…

– Brick: Completely the wrong size and shape, but it might help you get used to the weight.

– Paperweight: If you even still remember what that is.

– Round white cabbage: Possibly one of the most surprisingly heavy round vegetables ever.

– Bag of sugar or flour: Ideally an unopened one, but things could still get a little messy after a couple of throws.

Good luck – we can’t wait to see you in 2020!