The universal Total Gym design -- a padded glideboard mounted on two inclined rails -- means you can do a similar set of exercises with almost any Total Gym machine. You can use a Total Gym to mimic almost any conventional free weight or gym exercise, although you need a few accessories for doing certain exercises.
Chest Press
Sit on the glideboard facing downslope and press both pulley handles straight out in front of you. This works your chest, shoulders and triceps, much like doing a chest press in the gym.
Row
If you straddle the glideboard facing toward the pulleys and pull both handles toward your belly button, you will work most of your major back muscles, including your latissimus dorsi. Your pulling arm muscles, the biceps, brachialis and brachioradialis also work on this and other Total Gym pulling movements.
Pullover
The Total Gym excels at multiple muscle, multiple joint exercises such as the pullover. Lie face up on the glideboard, arms extended straight overhead. Keep your arms straight or nearly straight as you swing them in an arc down toward your feet, pulling yourself up the glideboard. This works most major muscle groups in your torso, including your chest and back.
Triceps Extension
If you lie face up on the glideboard and extend both arms straight overhead, then bend your arms at the elbow and straighten them again, you're working your triceps. You can also lie face down on the glideboard and perform a similar motion; as long as your arms only move from the elbow down, your triceps are the primary movers.
Pullups
Almost every Total Gym model comes with a wing attachment, a crooked bar that fixes at the top or bottom of the incline rails. Fix the wing attachment near the top of the rails, lie face up on the glideboard, then grasp the bar and pull yourself up toward it. This works every major muscle group in your back, and not using the pulleys on the Total Gym means you lift twice as much of your body weight as you would with the pulleys.
Dips
If your Total Gym came with dip bars, you have another way of working your triceps. Lie face up on the glideboard, grasp the dip handles -- which fix about halfway up the inclined rails -- and straighten your arms to push yourself up the rails.
Squats
If your Total Gym came with a squat stand you can perform single-leg squats to the side. Lie on your side on the glideboard, plant your upper foot on the squat stand, and extend your free leg either in front of or behind you to get it out of the way. Squat down, letting your hips slide back so your knees don't have to slide forward. As you straighten your leg to push yourself back up the rails, you will use your quads, hamstrings and glutes.
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