The Total Gym exercise machine is a beginner to intermediate level home gym that is free of batteries or the need for electricity. Therefore, there are no easily breakable electronic parts to worry about. The Total Gym has a glideboard bench that slides on rails when you pull on cables that run through pulleys. Through this design, your body weight becomes your workout resistance. This system is best for beginners who will find raising their bod yweight challenging. Advanced exercises need higher amounts of resistance.
6 to 8 Minute Lower Body Workout
Get a quick lower body workout on a Total Gym by following this 6 to 8 Minute Workout routine. Use a high incline with the glideboard to build muscle size and strength. Use a low incline for slimming and toning. Start with squats and calf raises. Then do single squats and single calf raises. Repeat the single leg squat to single leg calf raise two more times, working both sides. Finish with the hamstring pull. A high incline pairs with a low number of repetitions, such as six to 12. A low incline works with a high number of repetitions, such as 15 to 20.
6 to 8 Minute Upper Body Workout
The 6 to 8 Minute Upper Body Workout is for people looking to tone their arms, shoulders, back, chest and core. This exercise complements the short lower body exercise mentioned above. To perform this Total Gym workout, begin with the seated chest press. First do a narrow grip press, then a shoulder-width grip and follow withe wide grip press. Next, perform the arm pullover and crunches. Repeat the three chest press variation. Next, do the iron cross, crunches and crunches with feet up exercises. Use the same high or low angles and rep range for this workout as the lower body workout.
Toe Touch Row
Total body exercises such as the toe touch row work out the upper and lower halves of the body in the same exercise. Quickly move from total body exercise to total body exercise to increase your heart rate for an aerobic benefit while strengthening the body. The toe touch row stretches as well as strengthens. The muscle areas you use are the back, legs and arms. Sit on the glideboard with your arms straight in front of you and holding the handles to perform this Total Gym exercise. Lean forward as if to touch your toes. Then, sit up and pull the handles toward you by bending your elbows. You should feel a stretch in your legs and back as you lean forward. The back muscles should contract when you pull the handles toward you, not just the arms. If this is not the case, consult a personal trainer for help with altering your exercise form or learning to activate the lat muscles of your back.
Leg Curl With Bicep Curl
The leg curl with biceps curl exercise strengthens the hamstrings and biceps together. The makers of Total Gym claim that no other home gym lets you work the arms and legs with one exercise. Although this is not strictly true, the Weider Total Body Works lets you perform this same exercise, this is still somewhat unique for a home gym. Sit on the machine with your feet hooked under the wing accessory, the legs straight and the arms straight to do this exercise. The hands hold the handles with the palms up. Next, bend your knees and bend your arms to slide the glideboard forward. You should feel this in your upper arms and the backs of the legs at the same time. Slide back down to complete the exercise.
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