Making Your Own Exercise Weights Cheaply

Whether you're outfitting a home gym or traveling, there are a variety of things you can use as dumbbells such as:

• Full Soup Cans. These are great for lighter weights. Some larger cans weigh up to a pound (or more) and could be used for upper body exercises.
• Full Water Bottles. A large water bottle (say around 33.8 fluid ounces) can give you a little more than 2 pounds when full of water. Fill it with sand, rocks or change and you get even more weight.
• Computer Bags or Small duffel bags. My husband carries around a small computer bag so stuffed, it weighs about 10 pounds. Because computer bags usually have handles, these can be great for exercises like bicep curls, lateral raises or one-armed rows. Small duffel bags with handles can be filled with books and used for lower body exercises like squats, lunges and deadlifts.
• Milk or Orange Juice Jugs. Save your old milk jugs and fill them with sand, change or water for weights with ready-made handles
• PVC Pipes. I had one client who filled PVC pipes with sand, capping them off with duct tape to avoid spillage. This is a great idea since PVC pipes come in all shapes and sizes, many of which fit perfectly in your hand.
• Tennis balls and cans. Shawn Keith, certified personal trainer, recommends filling tennis balls and tennis cans with sand or change for some great handheld weights. 

Most of these materials can be found around your house or at your local hardware store. If you're not into making weights yourself, there are some other alternatives for finding cheap equipment.
Where there's a will, there's a whey.

ya or u can fill milk jugs with concrete and then attach two with a bar while concrete is still wet

2 bricks, concrete, water and a bar is all you need