10 Underrated Exercises in Gym You Should Be Familiar With

Until recently, you were super enthusiastic about each time you went to the gym, but suddenly you feel like you need to force yourself. What has changed? Well, sometimes long-term gym-goers experience gym boredom. This situation usually happens when you are doing the same sets of gym exercises during each session.  We know what you are going through since we have all been there. When you start going to the gym, you have an idea of what you want to achieve, like lose weight, strengthen your muscles, and so on. So, the focus is to master exercises that will help you in reaching your goals, right? Then what happens is that you get used to these and do them each time you are in the gym. Imagine reading the same book or watching the same movie repeatedly. Even the best song in the world can become the worst if you are listening to it repeatedly over a prolonged time. The human brain reacts in the same way when it comes to gym exercises.

Moreover, our bodies often stop responding to repetitive exercises.  Of course, it is perfectly reasonable that there are some changes regarding the progress we experience when exercising.  At first, it takes some time for the muscles to get used to new activities, then they develop a kind of rhythm of growing and getting stronger. Then, it can happen that you are spending hours in the gym each week and see no change in your strength nor overall shape. In these situations, people usually quit the gym altogether thinking it is not working for them anymore. Whereas they need to bring some changes in their workout and everything will come back to normal.

A fantastic thing about gym exercises is that there is a wide variety to the extent that you can incorporate a new one each day.  We will give you some suggestions on how to enrich your exercise routine. We want to point out that even if these are not just gym exercises for men. Additionally, if you want to know more, you can get informed on this website.

Exercises

1.Turkish Get –Up.

This exercise is so underrated that many people have not even heard about it. Nevertheless, once you learn how to do it properly, it has a tremendous effect on your strength, balance, and mobility.  Hips and shoulders are doing the biggest job in this exercise. To do it lie down while holding a kettlebell in one arm. Point the arm straight up. Keep the other arm flat on the floor and bend one knee. If you are holding a kettlebell with the right hand, then bend the right leg.  Lift the shoulder with the kettlebell using your abdominal muscles to move to the elbow of the free arm. Flatten the free arm, then bring back the stretched leg and rely on your knee before getting up.

2.Thai Chi for Stronger Back – Horse Stance.

When thinking about exercises, we usually have in mind something like weight lifting, CrossFit, and so on. Thai Chi is a discipline that people often deny the status of an exercise in general. Nevertheless, this is a complete misconception as there are many aspects of Thai Chi that can be excellent gym exercises.  What people don’t know is that it is a form of martial arts, and that is one of the best gym exercises for back. While standing with your feet far apart and keeping your back and neck straight, bend your knees until you reach 90 degrees. Put your arms in front of you, so they become aligned with your chest. Hold this position as long as you can.

3.Stair Climbing.  

An excellent exercise significantly contributes to increased strength, endurance, and flexibility. The good thing about it also is that you can do it anywhere from the gym to your home or park.  It is not only excellent for cardiovascular health but also it is proven to have a considerable effect on the recovery if it is done as gym exercises after hip replacement. In this situation, remember that you should not try to climb stairs that are more than 7 inches high.

4.Brain Health.

When hitting the gym, we usually focus on our physical strength and fitness.  Even if we rarely think beyond that, our brain enjoys many benefits from physical exercise. Do you know that feeling of wanting more after your workout sessions? Well, that is the brain’s way to thank you and congratulate you on what you are doing. When working, it affects brain plasticity, which leads to new connections between cells. There are a lot of aerobic exercises like jumping jacks that are excellent brain gym exercises.

5.Plank with one hand. 

Everyone tried or at least thought of trying to do a plank. However, have you heard of a one-handed plank? You might think it is too simple but let us stop you right away because you would be very wrong.  It is, of course, the same as a regular plank but this time you are holding your body with just one hand without raising your hips. It is a fantastic exercise if you want to strengthen your core in general. Additionally, it is one of the best gym exercises for abs.

6.Pushups. 

They are old-fashioned exercises that everybody knows off, but it is becoming neglected. The reason for this is probably that now we have all this equipment in the gym that enables us to become stronger faster. However, keep in mind pushups are not only for gaining strength but also one of the best gym exercises to lose weight. Moreover, they are working the entire body, so it is highly recommended that you integrate a couple of pushups in your gym exercises routine.

7.Muscle Ups. 

Who doesn’t want a broad, muscular chest?   The strong chest is something that everybody will notice, even at the first encounter. There are many gym exercises for the chest, but only a few of them are as challenging and at the same time effective as muscle-ups.  There are several ways of doing them, and here we will explain the most common one done with a bar. Keep in mind that it is essential to do cardio or similar warm-up before. Stand at a foot distance from the bar and then jump to grab the bar with a false grip and swing on the bar. Bring your knees to your chest and lift your body, relying on the strength of your arms. The point is that your chin is now above the bar. By leaning your shoulders over your hands, you should be able to come with your chest across the bar. In the last step, the point is to press the sides down, which would naturally result in your body going far above the bar. It is just important to say that these are not gym exercises for beginners.

8.After Back Surgery. 

Most are spending long hours sitting in front of the computer, and back problems are becoming more common. Many people have conditions like a herniated disc that more often than not require surgery. Therefore we will see what gym exercises are ok after a microdiscectomy. You can find many activities in yoga, Thai Chi, and Qi Gong that are fantastic for back problems.  Here is one exercise for you. Kneel and raise straight one arm in front of you while at the same time extending the leg on the opposite side. Then change hands and do it interchangeably for as long as it is comfortable. 

9.Dips.

They found their place here as one of the gym exercises for arms because surprisingly many people think they are easy. The reason is probably that nowadays we are used to thinking that when you want some super effective exercise, you have to use complicated and expensive equipment. It is not necessary for dips, as it is perfectly enough if you have one stable chair at home. Despite what people think, they are far from easy as you are lifting your entire body solely relying on the strength of your arms.

10.Brisk Walking.

When we are talking about best gym exercises to burn fat many would say that it is running on a treadmill or in nature. However, maybe running is not your thing. If that is the case, you can increase the incline and walk at the pace you choose. It is also an excellent exercise to increase the power of your legs.

Conclusion

Surely there is at least one among these gym exercises that you haven’t heard before, right? We hope that you got energized and inspired to try some of them out. Moreover, we would like to hear back about your experiences afterward.

About the Author

Kevin Greenspoon is a fitness trainer living and working in Oregon.  He is also exploring and developing new exercises combining the practices of martial arts with standard gym exercises.

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