Total Gym

Wounded Iraq Vet Fights On

Here’s a great video from ESPN on Sergeant Ron Brown who lost a limb while serving in Iraq. His story is truly inspirational. Also, see if you catch him rehabbing on a Total Gym towards the end of the video.

Total Gym Exercises: Tom's Weekly Tip – Upper Body Pump

This video is the latest in a series of exercise tips and workouts that I created for Total Gym customers. To watch the introduction for this series click here.

Have suggestions for a workout you’d like Tom to perform? Let us know in the comments box on this blog post.

Total Gym Exercises: Tom’s Weekly Tip – Upper Body Pump

This video is the latest in a series of exercise tips and workouts that I created for Total Gym customers. To watch the introduction for this series click here.

Have suggestions for a workout you’d like Tom to perform? Let us know in the comments box on this blog post.

Total Abs Workouts on Total Gym

It is important to train your abs the same way you would train your other muscles. Try a triple set, a super set, a quadruple set, etc. Try to focus on time under tension, different angles, and stimulus to keep your body guessing.

Many people do one abs exercise, and then rest. Try hitting all areas of your abs in the below sequence and you will see amazing results. Here is an excellent routine I designed on The Total gym that will target just about every area of your abs using the above principles. It will leave you sore for days!

The workout:

Lay on your back on the Total Gym and adjust the metal handles upward so that they are upright in a field goal position. Now go into a set of crunches with each hand holding onto one of the handles and aligned directly over your chest.

When you crunch the board will move but the handles should remain over your chest the whole time moving only slightly. Crunch up, hold and return to the starting position. Try twenty reps.

Then, without resting, hold the handles over your chest, head flat and press your back into the bench and drive both of your knees toward your chest. Straighten your legs out to a locked position hold and repeat. Try twenty reps.

Again, without resting, stay flat and lower your arms to your sides (still with handles in each hand) and begin to do heel touches. Alternating side to side reach one handle toward one heel sliding it along the bench and repeat side to side. After twenty reps immediately crunch up, (bring your legs up in the air to the point where you can keep your back flat) and go right into a set of Pilate’s 100’s. Bring your arms to your sides, about 2 inches off of the bench, and pump up and down for a total of 100 reps.

For the more advanced abs connoisseur, after you’ve completed your 100’s, go right to the end of the Total Gym, put your toes on the edge of the bench, and raise yourself up into a plank position and rock yourself back and forth for a total of 50 reps. When you are done your abs will be on fire! Use this routine until you are able to complete three sets. Add variables to make it more difficult if it gets too easy.

Variables Example:

On your crunches try crunching and drawing one knee in and then extending the same leg out. Repeat on the other side, then do regular crunches. Ten on one leg, 10 on the other, and then 10 with both feet flat. Then for the leg-ins add a stability ball and hold it between your ankles. Substitute the heel touches For Russian twists (I call them windshield wipers). Lay flat on your back and holding one handle in each hand, rotate side to side like a windshield wiper. Then go into your Pilate’s 100s, but before you do your planks, add twenty pike ups, or jackknifes using the end of the Total Gym board.

The possibilities are endless with the Total gym. Experiment, have fun, your nervous system will be on overload, and force new muscle fibers to be recruited to give you a solid and powerful midsection. Thank You Total Gym!

Total Gym Exercises: Tom's Weekly Tip – Abs Scrunch

This video is the latest in a series of exercise tips and workouts that I created for Total Gym customers. To watch the introduction for this series click here.

Scrunch Accessory Workout

Total Gym Exercises: Tom’s Weekly Tip – Abs Scrunch

This video is the latest in a series of exercise tips and workouts that I created for Total Gym customers. To watch the introduction for this series click here.

Scrunch Accessory Workout

Four Things You MUST Do If You Workout At Home

Vic Magary wrote this post as a guest blogger for Total Gym Inside. He is the head trainer for www.gymjunkies.com, a U.S Army Infantry veteran, and holds black belts in karate and tae kwon do.

Working out at home can be great.  It can provide the ultimate in convenience and can be just as effective as going to the gym.  But there are a few things you can do to improve your chances of success with a home workout regimen.  Below are four things that you must do if you workout at home.

1.  Designate your time. Treat your workout time like it’s an appointment with the most important person you know – whether that’s the President of the United States or your spouse.  The point is to be non-negotiable with the time you designate as time to train.  The easiest way to do this is to exercise first thing in the morning.  Starting your day with exercise greatly reduces the chances that your scheduled workout will be derailed by the inevitabilities of life like traffic delays, unexpected late night work assignments, and being tempted away from an after-work training session by happy hour.

2.  Designate your space. Maybe you have an entire room set up for exercise.  Or maybe you consider yourself lucky to have a spare corner in your studio apartment that you use for training.  Whatever your situation, designate an area that is strictly for exercise.  Have fun personalizing your space with inspirational pictures and music that you find motivating.  This freedom to make your exercise space truly “yours” is a luxury people going to the gym will never have.

3.  Seek support from others. Just because you workout at home doesn’t mean that you have to be isolated.  Take turns exchanging wake up calls with a friend if you both exercise in the early morning.  Participate in online forums where people exchange exercise ideas and help each other stay motivated.  Exercising alone can give you moments to yourself that provide physical improvement as well as time for mental, emotional, and even spiritual clarity.  However without some regular interaction with like-minded people, motivation and accountability can be difficult to maintain.

4.  Track Your Progress. Keeping a journal of your training is crucial to staying on the right path.  Make your training log as detailed as possible, including variables such as the exercises performed, resistance used, and sets and repetitions completed.  But also consider recording other factors such as the time of day, the length of the exercise session, the amount of rest taken between each exercise or set, and even your mood before and after training.  The more details you include, the easier it will be to course-correct from the inevitable slips and plateaus you will experience as you strive towards your fitness goals.

You do not need to leave the comfort of your home to get in phenomenal shape.  Designating your time and space for training, seeking support from others, and tracking your progress can make your home workouts rival the training sessions you would have in even the most well-equipped modern corporate gyms.