Multi-gyms work to facilitate as many exercises as possible in the smallest space possible in your home. Manufacturers use extra pulley handles or unusual forms of resistance -- flexing metal rods instead of weights, for example -- to help products stand out. But the human body's joints can only move in a certain number of directions, and through certain ranges of motion. So, you'll find similar exercises to fit those movements to work with almost every home multi-gym.
Chest Exercises
The bench press or chest press, which works your chest, shoulders and triceps, is a staple exercise for home gyms. The most compact models will confine you to an upright seat, in which case you'll press a lever forward to do the chest press; larger models offer room for you to lay the bench flat and press the lever up, instead.
The next step up in basic home gyms may also have butterfly handles for performing pec flyes. an exercise that effectively isolates your chest muscles.
Back Exercises
The lat pulldown is another staple of home gym exercise programs; it works all major muscles in your back except for the erector spinae, and works your arms and shoulders, too. The larger, multi-station home gyms may have room to add a middle pulley and use it for a strength-training row exercise. Some even go the extra step of installing a sliding bench that lets you convert the home gym into a makeshift cardio rowing machine.
The butterfly handles for pec flyes might, depending on the machine's setup, double for doing rear flyes as well.
Leg Exercises
You'll occasionally see a leg press platform built into home gyms, but most compact models don't have space for this. Instead, they come with a standard or optional leg attachment: a metal bar with a foam roller sticking out to either side at the bottom, and another pair of rollers near the top. This attaches vertically to the front of the bench, so that you can do leg curls and leg extensions, isolating muscle groups that are hard to work individually without gym equipment.
Arm Exercises
Higher-end home gyms will feature a preacher curl attachment or "bench." This is meant to support your upper arms as you curl a bar or lever toward you, working your biceps. Some multi-gyms will allow you to clip a handle to the low pulley, too, effectively converting it for doing biceps curls. If your multi-gym has a high pulley for lat pulldowns, you can use that pulley to do triceps pushdowns, too.
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