The Total Trainer is an excellent machine for maintaining muscle mass, assisting efforts to reach and maintain peak physical condition. When made the focal point of a home gym, the quality of gravity resistance exercises and cardio work they provide sees to it that our conditioning consistently remains at a high level.
Total Trainers are noted for providing low impact exercises of the isolation and fully body persuasion. It lets us engage in challenging lifts courtesy of a Power Bar that allows for additional weight to be added, but is also great for engaging in light, gravity resistance work on “off days”.
It is this latter function that makes the Total Trainer a great partner with our other fitness equipment. Utilizing the Total Trainer on the days between our heavy workouts ensures muscles stay limber and tightness does not settle in. One specific workout that the Total Trainer enhances the benefits of is kettlebell lifts; these home gyms are an excellent investment for anyone who currently participates in or is considering taking up a kettlebell workout routine.
Kettlebells and the Total Trainer each emphasize strength training work, giving users the means to tone the upper and lower body in addition to the abdomen. Burning away fat deposits and providing core work are linchpins of both kettlebells and Total Trainers, making them an excellent source of dynamic exercises sure to produce substantial gains. Cardio work is provided during Total Trainer and kettlebell workouts, meaning both are bonuses for the state of heart health. Promises of improved tone and a shapelier body are fulfilled when these two are part of the equation.
Exercises with kettlebells have long been a popular workout in Russia, acquiring increased stature in the American fitness scene over the preceding decade. In 2002, Rolling Stone Magazine gave kettlebells the “Hot Weight of the Year” label; the reasons behind their growing popularity are evident to those who have worked with them, as they simultaneously recruit numerous muscles and call our fast twitch fibers into action.
An overlap between Total Trainer and kettlebell workouts are the beneficial work they provide to hamstrings. The flagship workout associated with these cannon-ball resembling products is the kettlebell swing, which consists of a swinging a kettlebell between the legs by utilizing a motion that resembles the movements of a clock’s pendulum.
Kettlebell swings are a fantastic exercise for working out the hips and building strength in the hamstrings. Kettlebell windmills also work the hamstrings; they require the left arm to be held straight in the air while the left hand clutches a kettlebell. The body is then leaned in the opposite direction to allow for the right hand to touch the floor (rotating between sides of the body) as eyes remain fixated on the kettlebell during the entire course of the windmill routine. The Total Trainer allows us to further strengthen and increase the flexibility of hamstrings by performance of hamstring curls; these can be done by lying on the glide board and attaching Dual Leg Cuffs to each ankle. Ankles are then curled toward the glutes, forcing the legs to work against a portion of your body weight as heels move toward glutes.
One-arm kettlebell snatches are excellent for developing the muscles of the shoulder. They begin with a kettlebell held between the legs and conclude with the arm holding the kettlebell extended above the head. Hitting the shoulders also happens to be strong suit of the Total Trainer, as its Twin Handles let users perform deltoid-targeting lifts. The reverse flye is one such exercise that trains the shoulders. To do the reverse flye, mount the glide board on your stomach with a Twin Handle grasped in each hand. Hold the handles together below the glide board, palms facing in toward one another. Then lift them out to your side until hands are on an even plane with shoulders and palms are facing the floor. You can also do these while sitting on your Total Trainer and leaning your upper body forward; seated or lying reverse flyes are ideal for doubling down on the top notch shoulder work provided by kettlebell snatches.
Chiseling and sculpting of the abdomen is synonymous with kettlebell workouts; it seems core strength is enhanced no matter which routine we perform with them. Owing to the unconventional center of gravity inherent in kettlebells, the core is brought into the equation for stabilization purposes. This ensures the body stays upright as the kettlebell is lifted or swung. Utilizing them alongside other conventional exercises can boost the impact that would otherwise be given to specific muscles. An example of this would be sit-ups: holding a kettlebell in front of the body while performing these with the Sit-up Glide Board or Sit-up Foot Trays will contribute to an even more impactful working of the core and abdomen.
A good kettlebell exercise for achievement of a six pack midsection (if one must be picked from the abundance of options, as even kettlebells windmill can correctly be classified as a core-strengthening routine) is the Turkish Get-up. This kettlebell workout requires you to begin by lying on your back, one arm extended above your head and clutching a kettlebell handle. You then stand up, getting to your feet while keeping the arm locked out and holding the kettlebell. It remains in this fixed position during the entirety of the Turkish Get-up.
When it comes to remaining in shape from home, the combination of kettlebell and Total Trainer workouts is a one-two punch that is difficult to outdo.