All versions of the Total Gym pit you against gravity, with your own body weight providing the resistance. You sit, kneel or lie on the padded glideboard, pushing or pulling on pulley handles and attachments to move yourself up a set of inclined rails. The Total Gym Achiever is a relatively bare-bones model, with only the leg pulley and wing attachment to introduce exercise variety.
Chest Workouts
If you sit on the glideboard facing downslope, you can use the pulley handles to perform a gym-style chest press. Extend both arms straight in front of your shoulders, palms facing down. Bend your arms, bringing your elbows back but not letting them droop down to your sides. Then straighten your arms again, pushing yourself up the glideboard.
You can also use the Total Gym Achiever for pec flys: Sit as for the chest press but bring your hands together, palms facing in and elbows pointing out. Spread your arms apart like the covers of a book. Stop when your elbows are even with the line of your body, then swing your arms back together.
Back Exercises
You can do a body weight version of the lat pulldown by lying faceup on the glideboard, a pulley handle in each hand. Pull down on the handles until you see your hands in front of your face, elbows pointing down. Extend your arms overhead and repeat.
If you'd rather do pullups, attach the wing attachment at the upper end of the incline rails. Lie faceup on the glideboard, grasp the wing attachment's bar with your palms down, and pull yourself upper chest first toward the bar.
Arm Exercises
All versions of the Total Gym excel at working major muscle groups together. These so-called functional movements more closely mimic the motions you'd need strength and endurance to perform during everyday life, such as lifting your kids or a heavy briefcase. However you can do a few exercises to isolate smaller muscles.
Sit facing upslope on the glideboard and extend both arms straight toward the pulleys, palms up. Imagine your elbows are pinned in place as you bend your arms, curling the handles toward your shoulders and working your biceps.
To work your triceps, lie facedown on the glideboard, elbows directly below your shoulders, forearms pointing toward the pulleys. Straighten your arms, pushing yourself up the rails, then bend your arms again.
Leg Exercises
The Total Gym Achiever lacks the squat stand or Pilates bar you'll find on most other Total Gym models. As such, it's not well-suited for doing leg exercises, especially because you'll end up lifting only a portion of your body weight. But you can use the ankle cuff for a few exercises. Attach the cuff to one ankle and lie face-up on the board. Extend your cuffed leg straight out toward the wall in front of you, pushing yourself up the glideboard to work your glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves.
Member Comments