How to Use a Home Gym

Home gyms come in all shapes and sizes with many parts, features and components. They are designed for those who may be intimidated by the gym experience or because it is a lot more convenient to roll out of bed, throw on a pair of shorts and head down to the basement to crank out some reps. Some of the staples of home gyms are weight machines, benches, barbells, free weights, treadmills and there is usually a Swiss ball thrown in for good measure.

Things You'll Need

• Swiss ball BOSU

Instructions

Major Muscle Groups

1. 

   Work the chest. The chest can be worked by doing a bench press, which is done with a barbell. Lie on the bench, lift the bar off the safety pins, lower it to your chest then push it back up. Some of these benches are also adjustable to do inclines on. You can also use dumbbells for this exercise.

2. 

   Work your back. A piece of home gym equipment that works the back is a lat pulldown. You sit in a seat with the top of your thighs pinned under a soft pad. From here reach up and grab a bar that is connected to a cable and pulley. Pull the bar straight down toward your chest.

3. 

   Work your shoulders. On a pulley machine, you can do a few different exercises to target the shoulders. Two particular exercises are done with a straight bar. They are upright rows and front raises. The upright row is done by grabbing a straight bar from the low pulley and pulling it up in the air until it is about chest height. Keep your hands about 4 to 6 inches apart.

4. 

   Work the back of your arms. The triceps pushdown is performed on the pulley machine. You attach a straight bar to the top pulley. Place your hands about shoulder width apart in a palms down position. Push the bar straight down until your arms are straight. Make sure to keep your elbows in tight against the body for the exercise.

5. 

   Work the front of your arms. The biceps can be worked the same exact way as the triceps, except you will be curling up instead of pushing down. Attach the bar to the low pulley. Grab the bar with an underhand grip and hands about shoulder-width apart. Curl the bar up toward your body.

6. Work your legs. Legs can be done on a leg extension machine. For this exercise there will be a attachment at the end of the bench. Sit on the bench and place the bottom part of the shins under the pads. Extend your legs up in the air until they are about parallel to the floor. You can also lie on your stomach and hook the back, lower part of your legs under the pads and do hamstring curls.

7. 

   Work your abs. There are numerous types of ab crunch machines and gadgets that are designed to support your head and back while you do crunches. But another piece of home gym equipment is a Swiss ball. You use this tool to perform ab crunches. Sit on it with your lower back contacting the ball and your upper body slightly up in the air. Perform your crunches from there.

8. Get your heart rate up. A home gym wouldn't be complete without some kind of cardiovascular machinery. Use a treadmill, elliptical, stair stepper or rowing machine to get an aerobic workout. To further target the legs, increase the incline on the treadmill. The rowing machine will also work your back and shoulders as well as increase your cardiovascular endurance.

9. 

   Use the BOSU. The BOSU Balance Trainer is another piece of home gym equipment that can be used for multiple things. You can use it to increase your balance, strengthen your core and you can also do aerobic exercises on it such as step-ups, bunny hops and side steps.

Tips & Warnings

• With the lat pulldown you can also do various grips. You can spread your arms apart farther, you can bring them in close or you can turn them around and use an underhand grip. When doing ab crunches on the ball, your core should be contracted in the starting position.