The Only 9 Pieces of Gym Equipment You Need-NICK RANA

Gyms are clearing out weight machines to make way for equipment that puts the focus on function

Medicine Ball

Medicine balls are great high-velocity training tools – they’re the only weight in the gym you can throw at the wall or floor without wrecking the place. Throwing is one of life’s most important full-body moves, and its explosiveness targets the core in a way no other move can.

Try: Ball Slams
With feet shoulder-width apart, hold the ball high above your head and simply throw it down at the floor right in front of you, hard enough that it bounces back up to where you can squat to catch it (medicine balls have very little bounce). Stand and repeat.

TRX Fitness Strap

The TRX is not only the most compact and economical home gym money can buy but also introduces all-important instability to almost any basic exercise, like a push-up or a row. “For those exercises alone, it’s worth the price,” says Boyle. “It gets the whole body working as a unit and is fully adjustable, so you can make it hard or easy. Plus, the rotating handles are shoulder-friendly.”

Try: TRX Push-Up
With both feet suspended in the loops, an arm’s length above the ground so your body is parallel to the floor, perform a push-up as described previously. (Or try rows, as described before.)

Bosu

Bosus are used to create an unstable platform for everything from squats to push-ups, forcing you to recruit the core along with the big muscles of the arms and legs. But, as Boyle points out, using Bosus for lower-body work adds unnecessary risk of injury (except for skiers or surfers); in life, we rarely engage our legs on an unstable surface. When we push with our upper bodies, however, it’s rarely against a stable surface. That makes Bosus perfect for engaging the small muscles that stabilize the shoulder.

Try: Bosu Mountain Climbers
With the rounded side down, hands on the outer edges of the platform, start in a push-up position and jump your feet up toward your hips, alternating sides.

ViPR

Think of these weighted rubber tubes as something between a barbell and a sandbag, meant to enable what Dalcourt calls “loaded movement training” that closely mimics the strength work of everyday life.

Try: Cylinder Lift
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and a ViPR held vertically in front of you, hands wrapped around the top of the tube. Now “throw” the tube upward and catch it in the middle, then throw again to catch at the bottom. Drop and repeat.

Kettlebell

Popularized in the U.S. by Soviet special forces trainer Pavel Tsatsouline, kettlebells are superior to dumbbells for two exercises: swings and Turkish get-ups, the best all-purpose core exercise ever invented. For the swing, Tsatsouline says, the off-set handle creates a longer lever arm than a traditional dumbbell would, allowing you to generate more speed and force.

Try: Turkish Get-Up
Lie flat with a kettlebell held above you in your right hand, elbow locked and right knee bent to bring your foot closer to your body. Raise your torso up and to the left, to rest on your left elbow, always keeping the kettlebell straight above you. Push with your left arm and right foot until standing. Lie back down, continuing to hold that kettlebell in your upright arm. Repeat on the other side.

Battle Ropes

Heavy-rope training is the brainchild of a circus-strongman type named John Brookfield, famous for oddball feats like pulling a semitrailer weighing 24,000 pounds for a mile. These are used by everyone from pro football players to Olympic athletes to build stamina through the upper body and core.

Try: Two-Arm Waves
Secure the middle of the rope (or have a partner hold it). Grab hold of the free ends, standing with feet shoulder-width apart, knees bent, and back straight. Snap each side up and down, repeatedly to failure.

Adjustable-Arm Cable Machines

Cutting-edge cable machines like those made by Life Fitness or Keiser are adjustable in so many different ways that you can dictate almost any movement path you can imagine, many of which are impossible with other machines or even free weights. “It’s like we put a weight in your hand but allow you to control the direction of the gravity pulling on it,” says Greg Highsmith, director of product development for Life Fitness. Engineers have managed to make the mechanical system almost invisible. Variations in lift ratio – how many inches the weight moves for every inch you move the handle – are another huge advantage.

Rowing Machines

Also known as ergometers, these engage so many muscles at once, while also taxing the cardiovascular system, that they provide a better warm-up than a treadmill or a jump rope. “You can place a tremendous demand on the whole system,” says Mark Merchant. “And when coupled with two or three full-body strength movements – say, a front squat, a burpee, and a press – they’re great for circuits. Just 20 minutes will smoke you.”

Punching Bag

Rotational core strength is key in all the sports we play, and a session on the heavy bag is the ultimate for building rotational explosiveness. Go hard for three minutes, rest for one, and repeat for a great cardio workout.

Try: Body BlowsKeep your forehead against the bag while striking the bag repeatedly with your fists. Aim for what would be just below an opponent’s ribs. Drive your punches by rotating your upper body, twisting at the hips.

Topics: Weight Loss

The Only 9 Pieces of Gym Equipment You Need-NICK RANA