Underutilized exercises and equipment in the gym

There are literally millions of exercises you can be doing in the gym, hundreds of pieces of equipment you can use, and some machines that help with the all important cardio training. With so much to choose from there are several machines, and exercises that just get looked over. While it might be because they seem too hard, people dont know how to use the machine or equipment, or gym members just dont know. But here are some exercises and equipment you should be using when your getting your workout in.

1. Dip- The dip is one of my favorite exercises. Its a total upper body workout that gets looked right over. When you do the dip you work your shoulders, chest, triceps, core, and the muscles of the shoulder girdle. The easiest way to start using the dip is with the bench dip. Using a bench, place the palms of your hands on the bench with your back to the bench and your legs stretched out in front of you with the back of your heels on the ground. Bend at your elbows so you start to lower your body towards the ground. Lower until your upper arms are parallel to the floor, or your butt hits the groun. Then push yourself back up. Thats one dip. Using this exercise will greatly increase the amount of upper body muscles activated.
2. Row Machine- If I told you there was one machine that gave you a complete body workout and a cardio workout at the same time what would say? Well thats exactly what the row machine does. With the push of the legs, the row of the arms and back, and the whole body aerobic workout you get with the row you think more people would be using it. But in the gym I work at no one uses our row machines, and when I give "comp" training sessions I tell the member about the row machine and they look astonished and say they never knew. Its best to start utilizing this machine with the resistance on the lowest setting and trying to go for 15 minutes to get the feel of it. Eventually build up to higher resistance and longer periods. I even have one of my clients do intervals on the row to help with weight loss.
3. Plank- The best core exercise I know of. Forget about crunches, and sit-ups. For a new challenge switch to the plank. Its as simple as getting into a push up position and then lowering onto your forearms and holding that position. While holding this position make sure your back is flat and your butt doesnt sag or stick up into the air. While keeping your back flat and holding still try to squeeze your entire core in, it should feel like your trying to suck your abs through your belly button. Hold the position as long as you can, or for beginners start with 10-15 seconds and build up. Once you can hold for a full minute, you can start adding variation to it. I like to get into a plank and lift up one of my arms and holding for 15 sec, then switching to the other for 15, then to holding each leg up for 15. All that is done without resting in between and gives you a total time of 1 minute but adds a great new challenge. Try it and I promise you wont want to go back to what you were doing.
4. Intervals- Want to spice up your cardio routine? Tired of staying on a treadmill for 30 minutes at a time? Add some spice to your cardio and start using intervals. To use an interval start with a 5 minute warmup on whatever cardio equipment your using, then increase to a speed that causes you to run either as fast as you can or allows you to run at a high pace. Stay at this pace for 15-30 seconds. Then lower the pace until you are lightly jogging or even walking and keep this pace for 30-45 seconds. Thats one interval. Continue for 5 intervals if your a beginner and increase the number of intervals to get 10-15 minutes of intervals finished, then finish with a light 5 minute cooldown. These not only add a new dimension to your cardio but gives a more intense workout that will help you burn more calories and increase your aerobic endurance faster.

Although these are just a few exercises, adding any of these to your workouts will help improve your workouts and give you a boost in energy expernditure. All of these will help you burn more calories and lose more weight.