1. Basic chest press paired with pullovers ( face up) 2. Cables crossed rows paired with face down pullovers ( I feel is so much more in my lats like I've never felt before). 3. Seated bicep curls with tricep extension feels great super setting with biceps. 4. Iron cross. Really burns my lats under my arm pits paired with something I've discovered that I love... Laying face down start hands over your head and pull your straight arms down...like a iron cross done chest down.. I feel it in my rear delts, lower traps & lats like nothing else I've ever tried. 5. Inverted side lateral raises. Those are my definite go to's And squats done very slow from a variety of foot placements.
I can't stress enough your caution to be careful with some of these positions. I didn't listen to you and thought I was young again and took a hard fall trying to get up on one knee and a foot. You said this is tough for beginners and you better be careful and you were right of course, and I'm enforcing it to other older/out of shape maybe clumsy/beginners people. I'm okay and learned and I am so careful now but motivated to keep going!
My top 5 fave exercises to do on my XLS are: 1) Lat Pulls - laying on my chest (especially like turning the dip bars upside down & using a wide grip for this exercise & i use the wing bar also-high & low handles to target all muscles) 2) Seated Arm Curls (using EZ bar doing both neutral & wide grip) 3) Seated Rows (using EZ bar - wide & neutral grip)) 4) Press Ups (using press up bars) 5) Dips (using dip bars) Also haveta say i love doing seated reverse flys & reverse arm curls using 2 tricep ropes. I do these simultaneously.
my favorite is weighted pullups cross back rows,lying bicep curls,cable chest press,but theres so many new ones mike demonstrated for us.tell a friend to tell a friend how versatile, fun ,effective this machine is
1) Trinity Pec Press - low,mid,high,mid,low,high etc etc. e.g. 18,16,14 2) Tri Grip Attachment, (best attachment I've purchased other than weight bar) - slow burn Tri grip pullups (and occasionally shoulder presses) no rest between hand position changes e.g.14,14,14 12,12,12 10,10,10 3)Never took this one seriously until recently -slow Hamstring curls with the wing bar attachment.. Yowza you can seriously light up the hamstrings and glute medius 4) The finisher - Dips using the cables with glideboard unattached- I end chest workouts with these because they make up for anything I may have missed in my workout.. has a similar feel to doing dips on gymnasts rings, lots of muscle stabilizing going on and you can get really deep 5)Every variation of lat pulls with the weight bar loaded up
1 legged pistol squats, pull over, upright rows, reverse fly, chest fly, bicep curl, skull krusher have been my go to since I got my XLS. It's hard for me to break away from full body 3x a week but these machines do everything 💪
Mike, I'm 100% with you on your #4 bicep curl-best curl in the business. And I think the calf raise/stretch on this machine with a pilates bar is better than on anything else i've ever tried. I'd also put your #5 on my list as well but I would do it simply laying down completely on the glide board. I've been wondering for a while what your rationale is for doing this on your knees instead of just lying on the glide board? let me know what i'm missing.
You're right about the calves. I'll soon be doing those again as summer approaches and I'm breaking out my shorts. That's a good question about the face down triceps extensions, it may just be personal preference, but I just notice I feel it more especially at the start of the press down when I'm posted up a bit and leaning into each press down.
@@wacoon1 I unhook the pulley from the board, then sit at the bottom of the board since the cables are now really long, and away I go. Way more resistance when the pulley is unhooked.
Thank you. I got into it briefly in the video that I felt combining the row with the pull overs you kind of get the best both worlds of working the lats and back overall.
I'm surprised you didn't mention the pull over. I've heard back in the day the DB pull over was considered the squat for the upper body. What are your thoughts on the TG pull over?
Ok. Let's ask. I'm almost 80 and just starting. I do 4 of th 5 but in the sitting position. Kneeling is hard to keep balance. Is this adequate for a person my age?
I'd focus on some drop step or lunging based TG leg exercises that allow you to drop back (or stretch the back leg) as you descend, otherwise full ROM single leg or regular squatting on the machine.
I enjoy your videos. I have the Total gym gold plus which has a bench that does not support dumbells and weights. Do you know if there is a bench that supports added weights that could be added to my total gym model?
Thank you. Do you mean another glideboard that could be replaced on your model? If so I'm not sure about that. You may have to get a newer TG if you want to incorporate external weights with a total gym. The cheapest option would be the APex G1 amzn.to/3w2oQ7t
Primitive Mike, can you share the link for your top 8 exercise video? Not sure if I'm overlooking it or what. I love the idea of 8 exercises full body 3 times a week 😎💪😎💪
I have a video on reps that I'll link here, but in general focus on chasing the tension in the muscles versus actual reps/sets. On average I'd say I average 15 reps for 3 sets. Yes 3 days a week is great. ua-cam.com/video/CjQGr4W1M7w/v-deo.html
Most people focus on their upper body for show and neglect the more important lower body exercises. It seems like most Total Gym exercises are focused on the upper body.
There's for sure some lower body exercise, but I generally tell people to get off the machine if possible and use DBs, KBs, or even bands for leg work.
If you look across UA-cam, viewers seem to appreciate less small talk at the beginning. It takes two and half minutes of introductory blah blah talk and chatter before you get right into what the title of the video says. Suggestion for you go just go ahead and get to the point right away, and small talk and chatter while you’re doing it or save it to the end. Cut out the first two and a half minutes… in other words, instead of telling us what you’re going to tell us before telling us… just go ahead and tell us. Get to the point. Just a suggestion..please…
I hear what you're saying and I'm definitely trying to find a balance. What maybe you don't see is the amount of comments (and personal emails) telling me to make longer more detailed videos (especially with exercise technique). I put time stamps in most videos so you can always jump to a certain section. Thank you for watching.
1. Basic chest press paired with pullovers ( face up)
2. Cables crossed rows paired with face down pullovers ( I feel is so much more in my lats like I've never felt before).
3. Seated bicep curls with tricep extension feels great super setting with biceps.
4. Iron cross. Really burns my lats under my arm pits paired with something I've discovered that I love... Laying face down start hands over your head and pull your straight arms down...like a iron cross done chest down.. I feel it in my rear delts, lower traps & lats like nothing else I've ever tried.
5. Inverted side lateral raises.
Those are my definite go to's
And squats done very slow from a variety of foot placements.
Excellent List! Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for these tips I just purchased a total Gym.I had one years ago and had to get another one thanks.
Happy you found it helpful Chris.
I can't stress enough your caution to be careful with some of these positions. I didn't listen to you and thought I was young again and took a hard fall trying to get up on one knee and a foot. You said this is tough for beginners and you better be careful and you were right of course, and I'm enforcing it to other older/out of shape maybe clumsy/beginners people. I'm okay and learned and I am so careful now but motivated to keep going!
Would like to see a video of getting in to that bicep position
My top 5 fave exercises to do on my XLS are:
1) Lat Pulls - laying on my chest (especially like turning the dip bars upside down & using a wide grip for this exercise & i use the wing bar also-high & low handles to target all muscles)
2) Seated Arm Curls (using EZ bar doing both neutral & wide grip)
3) Seated Rows (using EZ bar - wide & neutral grip))
4) Press Ups (using press up bars)
5) Dips (using dip bars)
Also haveta say i love doing seated reverse flys & reverse arm curls using 2 tricep ropes. I do these simultaneously.
Love that variety and use of the EZ curl bar.
my favorite is weighted pullups cross back rows,lying bicep curls,cable chest press,but theres so many new ones mike demonstrated for us.tell a friend to tell a friend how versatile, fun ,effective this machine is
1) Trinity Pec Press - low,mid,high,mid,low,high etc etc.
e.g. 18,16,14
2) Tri Grip Attachment, (best attachment I've purchased other than weight bar) - slow burn Tri grip pullups (and occasionally shoulder presses) no rest between hand position changes e.g.14,14,14 12,12,12 10,10,10
3)Never took this one seriously until recently -slow Hamstring curls with the wing bar attachment.. Yowza you can seriously light up the hamstrings and glute medius
4) The finisher - Dips using the cables with glideboard unattached- I end chest workouts with these because they make up for anything I may have missed in my workout.. has a similar feel to doing dips on gymnasts rings, lots of muscle stabilizing going on and you can get really deep
5)Every variation of lat pulls with the weight bar loaded up
Perfect, thanks for that detail. I love the mix of exercises and muscle groups.
Today I took the top attachment and attached to the bottom and did al out of callestic workout such as push ups plus burpee’s at the same time
1 legged pistol squats, pull over, upright rows, reverse fly, chest fly, bicep curl, skull krusher have been my go to since I got my XLS. It's hard for me to break away from full body 3x a week but these machines do everything 💪
What kind of results have you gotten?
Lateral pull Downs, the same bicep curl, rear deltoid fly, scull crushers, side deltoid raise
Awesome, thanks sharing that.
@@hybridresistance your welcome, Thx for getting me started on my fitness journey.
How to do the Lying Leg Curl Ascend & Descend on the Total Gym.
I tell you mike I worked out on mine today it gives you a really core look at the body
Mike, I'm 100% with you on your #4 bicep curl-best curl in the business. And I think the calf raise/stretch on this machine with a pilates bar is better than on anything else i've ever tried. I'd also put your #5 on my list as well but I would do it simply laying down completely on the glide board. I've been wondering for a while what your rationale is for doing this on your knees instead of just lying on the glide board? let me know what i'm missing.
You're right about the calves. I'll soon be doing those again as summer approaches and I'm breaking out my shorts. That's a good question about the face down triceps extensions, it may just be personal preference, but I just notice I feel it more especially at the start of the press down when I'm posted up a bit and leaning into each press down.
Ik you have a cellercise machine and the total gym cycling bike. I think a video on good small space lightweight cardio devices would be interesting
Thank you, I'll consider that. There's another piece I'm looking at that might be good to include as well.
You're definition in you're body is really coming in compared to you're old weider machine stuff awhile back. Always good professional videos
Thanks Mike, appreciate it. Just like what I got into in this video, I think I just started dialing down what was working.
My top 5, all without the pulley attached to the glide board: Dips, Pull-ups, Single-leg squats, Rows, Shoulder press.
nice. how do you perform the row?
@@wacoon1 I unhook the pulley from the board, then sit at the bottom of the board since the cables are now really long, and away I go. Way more resistance when the pulley is unhooked.
@@JimNast72 thanks
Why would the arm pullovers not be In the top 5? I believe it works more muscle groups than most other upper body exercises.
great list. pull-ups not in the top 5? they are my favourite
Thank you. I got into it briefly in the video that I felt combining the row with the pull overs you kind of get the best both worlds of working the lats and back overall.
I like press up and pull up😎
I'm surprised you didn't mention the pull over. I've heard back in the day the DB pull over was considered the squat for the upper body. What are your thoughts on the TG pull over?
I would count that as exercise #3 in this video just face down. I do both (face down / face up) and various angles, I generally go face down though.
@@hybridresistance Would you say chest activation is the same or different face up vs down?
Ok. Let's ask. I'm almost 80 and just starting. I do 4 of th 5 but in the sitting position. Kneeling is hard to keep balance. Is this adequate for a person my age?
You definitely don't have to kneel. This past year I've even gravitated a little away from it for seated to incorporated forced reps with my feet.
I would like to elevate my kicks higher do you have any suggestions on working out lower body
I'd focus on some drop step or lunging based TG leg exercises that allow you to drop back (or stretch the back leg) as you descend, otherwise full ROM single leg or regular squatting on the machine.
I enjoy your videos. I have the Total gym gold plus which has a bench that does not support dumbells and weights. Do you know if there is a bench that supports added weights that could be added to my total gym model?
Thank you. Do you mean another glideboard that could be replaced on your model? If so I'm not sure about that. You may have to get a newer TG if you want to incorporate external weights with a total gym. The cheapest option would be the APex G1 amzn.to/3w2oQ7t
Use a tricep bar loaded and placed on the upper part of the board. The weight compresses it into the pad so it doesn’t slip. Very effective.
Arms, chest, back, and the entire leg.
Primitive Mike, can you share the link for your top 8 exercise video? Not sure if I'm overlooking it or what. I love the idea of 8 exercises full body 3 times a week 😎💪😎💪
Sorry forgot to link it. Here it is ua-cam.com/video/otR_11NzIMI/v-deo.html
I like the five exercises but how many sets reps during the week? Is 3 days good?
I have a video on reps that I'll link here, but in general focus on chasing the tension in the muscles versus actual reps/sets. On average I'd say I average 15 reps for 3 sets. Yes 3 days a week is great. ua-cam.com/video/CjQGr4W1M7w/v-deo.html
Most people focus on their upper body for show and neglect the more important lower body exercises. It seems like most Total Gym exercises are focused on the upper body.
There's for sure some lower body exercise, but I generally tell people to get off the machine if possible and use DBs, KBs, or even bands for leg work.
Where do you get those L shaped attachments from?
They're currently sold out on Amazon, but you can get them here www.tkqlhce.com/click-100402910-12845302
Yea mine just came today from them
👍
If you look across UA-cam, viewers seem to appreciate less small talk at the beginning. It takes two and half minutes of introductory blah blah talk and chatter before you get right into what the title of the video says. Suggestion for you go just go ahead and get to the point right away, and small talk and chatter while you’re doing it or save it to the end. Cut out the first two and a half minutes… in other words, instead of telling us what you’re going to tell us before telling us… just go ahead and tell us. Get to the point. Just a suggestion..please…
I hear what you're saying and I'm definitely trying to find a balance. What maybe you don't see is the amount of comments (and personal emails) telling me to make longer more detailed videos (especially with exercise technique). I put time stamps in most videos so you can always jump to a certain section. Thank you for watching.