Sports equipment that we rarely use, but in vain

In the gym, sometimes queues line up for simulators, dumbbells and bars are quickly disassembled, and all treadmills are occupied. At the same time, rowing machines are empty, massage rollers and skipping ropes lie alone in the corner, stops and expander bands are gathering dust. But with the help of these devices, you can diversify your workouts, increase the load on your muscles and stop, finally, waiting for the equipment you need is free.

1. Massage roller

If all the lanes are full in the gym, don't just stand still and wait. Instead, you can roll out the muscles using a massage roller. This will warm them up and prepare them for training.

2. Jump rope

Jumping rope is a great cardio load that will warm you up faster than running. Do 100 rope jumps, learn to do double jumps, and in 10 minutes you will be sweating.

3. Rowing machine

If you're in the mood for a cardio workout, try a rowing machine. He perfectly works the shoulders and chest, muscles of the back and arms, hips and buttocks, abs. Unlike running, rowing puts a lot of stress on your upper body so you can warm up and pump all muscle groups evenly.

In addition, both rowing and jumping rope are more energy intensive than running. So if your goal is to burn more calories, take a break from the treadmill and pay attention to these types of cardio.

4. Expander

Resistance bands are rarely used in strength training, and completely in vain. Elastic bands will help to pump all muscle groups, and you do not have to wait for dumbbells or machines to become free.

Here are some examples of expander exercises.

Squats

Lunges

Triceps Exercise

Exercise on the chest

Push-ups with an expander

You will find even more exercises with an expander and the correct technique for performing them in this article. And here - stretching exercises with him. Well, just a universal thing.

5. Stops

Push-ups

Due to the increased amplitude of push-ups on the stops, the pectoral muscles are perfectly worked out.

During these push-ups, keep your elbows closer to the body, do not spread them apart. To make the exercise really effective, lower your chest below the top of the support.

6. Medball

This is a small ball of dense rubber stuffed with sand, gel or other material. When hitting the floor or wall, such a projectile does not bounce, but dampens inertia. As a rule, in the gym there is a whole set of such balls with different weights - from 1 to 20 kilograms. There are also more difficult ones, but this is rare.

Here are some good exercises to do with the medicine ball.

Push-ups on medball

Push-ups with hands on a medicine ball due to instability and narrow arms will allow you to work out the triceps well.

Keep your elbows close to your body and tighten your abs and buttocks so that your lower back does not collapse during push-ups.

Woodcutter

Lift the medball up and to the right, hold it with outstretched arms. Then, diagonally in front of you, move the medicine ball down and to the left, at the same time going into a squat. At the lowest point, the medball should be at the left knee. Do several reps - 10 to 20 depending on the weight of the medball - and do the exercise on the other side.

Squat arm stretching

Sit down with the medball at chest level. Then bring the medicine ball forward with outstretched arms and return to the starting position again.

You can come out of the squat after each rep, or do 5-10 reps first and only then get up. The second option will provide a static load on the thigh muscles.

Overhead Medball Squats

Do a medball squat, keeping it at chest level, and then straighten and lift the ball over your head. Keep your arms straight.

Ball Roll Push-ups

Stand upright and place one hand on the medball. Do a push-up and roll the medicine ball under your other arm. Perform a push-up in this position and roll the ball again.

V-shaped body raises

Lie on the floor, extend your arms with a medicine ball above your head. Raise your body and straight legs, hold for 1-2 seconds and return to the starting position again.

Russian crunches

Sit on the floor, pick up the medball. Raise your body, trying to keep your back straight, raise your legs and bend at the knees. Turn the body to the left and right without lowering your legs.

You can find even more medicine ball exercises, singles or in pairs, in this article.

7. Bosu platform

Bosu can often be seen in group fitness workouts, but in the gym, these two-sided things just lie covered with dust. Here are some exercises that can be made more difficult by doing them with Bosu.

Squats

Flip the Bosu flat side up, stand on it, balance, and do regular squats. Due to instability, the muscles are loaded more than with simple squats on the floor.

Plank

Place your hands on the edges of the flat side of the Bosu and hold your torso upright while contracting your glutes and abs.

Squats on one leg

The hardest part of this exercise is to keep your balance on the soft part of the Bosu. Due to instability, the load increases significantly. Hands can be placed on the belt or folded in front of you.

Lifts of the body

Carry out V-shaped body lifts on the soft part of the Bosu. It is much more difficult to do this on an unstable support than on the floor, which means that the abdominal muscles will receive additional stress.