What to Wear
Toning Major Muscle GroupsWhat You Can Do With the Total Gym
Cardio, strength and Pilates options
Now that you know the Total Gym basics, you’re probably wondering what exactly you’ll be able to do with it. The answer is a lot.
Not only does this body-weight utilizing home gym help you increase your strength and build muscles, it allows you to stretch them at the same time, or for a change of pace you can get in some cardio or Pilates.
This isn’t a fly-by-night product. The Total Gym and its joint-friendly, functional exercises was actually used by physical therapists in rehabilitation centers long before becoming a popular infomercial product.
- Chest - The chest press not only works pectoral muscles, but shoulders and triceps too.
- Back - The surfer move engages the back’s Latissimus Dorsi muscles.
- Shoulders - Regular or reverse flyes work the shoulders front and back.
- Arms - Any number of biceps curls and triceps extensions or pressdowns will get the job done.
- Legs - Squats work the entire lower body, calf raises target the lower legs and hamstring curls and leg extensions hit the thighs.
- Butt - Aside from squats and lunges, the buns-up leg press will have you feeling the burn in your butt.
- Abs - The cross-body pullover crunch works much like a bicycle crunch, which is considered one of the best ab exercises you can do.
- Rowing - Unlike the strength training move of the same name, rowing on the total gym is done at a quicker pace with less resistance, just like you would do on a rowing machine.
- Cardio pull - This exercise has the user lying face-up on the glideboard, feet resting against the footrest and hands holding the pulleys. A combination of leg pressing and arm pulling is a great way to get your heart pumping.
Because of the range of motion in each exercise, stretching is already included. But if you want more it’s easy to use the glideboard and pulleys for a number of stretch holds.
Pilates exercises
You can buy a set of attachments to make the gym into something similar to a Pilates reformer. It includes ankle cuffs, pulley extensions, a toe-bar and workout video.