You may have seen the infomercial for the Total Body Trainer by Body by Jake and wondered if the machine is different than others. The Total Body Trainer works for muscle toning, but it will not help you build muscle, according to a "Popular Mechanics" article titled 5 Infomercial Workout Machines: Get Ripped Or Ripped Off? The machine has a bench for you to sit on an a pivotal arm to push or pull that works in both directions toward and away from the top of the bench.
Abs Exercise
The abs exercise uses the pivotal arm to train your abdominal muscles. To perform the abs exercise on the Total Body Trainer, straddle the bench facing away from the foot rests. Put your feet on the floor with your knees bent. Place the pivotal arm against your chest and grab the padded pivotal arm with an underhand grip so that your palms face your chest on the opposite side of the arm. Your arms are bent. Sit up straight. Then, bend forward to push against the arm and bring your chest toward your thighs. Squeeze your abdominals to bring your body forward. Sit back up, bringing the arm with you, to complete one repetition.
Back Extension
The back extension exercise trains the erector spinae muscles of your lower back. The lower back is part of your core musculature that stabilizes your body. To perform this on the Total Body Trainer, sit on the bench with your feet on top of the foot rests and with your knees bent. Place your back against the pivotal arm and grasp the sides of the bench. Pull your spine straight and squeeze your abs. Then, press back against the arm to extend your upper body backwards away from your legs. Sit back up to the return to the starting position to complete a back extension.
Chest Press
The chest press targets your pectoral muscles. The anterior, or front, part of your shoulder and your tricep muscles assists with this exercise. To perform a Total Body Trainer chest press, sit on the bench facing away from the foot rests. Straddle the bench and place your feet on the floor. Grab the handles on the arm with your elbows bent to 90 degrees. Hold your elbows up to chest level. Sit up straight. You must hold your abdominals in tightly to brace your body as you perform the chest press. Next, press the arm away from you until your arms are straight. Bring the arm back toward your chest and return to the starting position.
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