Marietta Mehanni

Gymstick for Personal Trainers

Gymstick for Personal Trainers. Marietta Mehanni, effective resistance training

Written by Marietta

November 26, 2013

Personal Training with Gymstick

Unleash the power of personalised fitness with the Gymstick! Transform your one-on-one training sessions into a dynamic and interactive experience where the trainer takes centre stage, adjusting the resistance level for each exercise to match the desired intensity. Say goodbye to the guesswork of free weights and hello to kinaesthetic feedback, allowing the trainer to have a deeper understanding of their client’s workout challenges.

Here are some exciting exercises to try with the Gymstick and your client:

Chest combo series

(Primary exercise)

To set up the exercise, the client holds the stick in front of their chest, whilst the trainer stands behind the client holding the bands. It is essential to begin with an appropriate level of tension in the bands. To do this, the trainer can move backwards to increase the tension. The client then extends the elbows while dropping down into a lunge.

(Progression 1)

Another way of adding challenge to the exercise, which will focus more on stability, is to ask the client to begin in a lunge position with the stick at the chest and to lift off into a hip extension while extending the elbows. Again, this exercise will challenge both proprioception and balance.

(Progression 2)

A progression that will further challenge coordination and balance is to have the client perform a one-legged donkey kick as they complete a chest press.

The advantage of using the Gymstick is that several joints and movements are used simultaneously, all whilst completing the humble chest press. The following exercise will highlight the ability of the Gymstick to combine exercises that generally would not be possible with weighted, gravity-resisted movements.

Tricep abdominal curl combo

(Primary exercise)

To begin this combo, the client is in a supine position with their knees bent and feet flat on the floor. The client grips the bands whilst the trainer secures the stick to the floor. Appropriate tension is required before beginning the exercise; therefore, communication between the client and trainer is paramount. Next, the client is required to bend the elbows to 90 degrees and position them close to the body. Then, maintaining a neutral wrist, extend the elbows. 

(Progression 1)

Adding the abdominal curl whilst performing the tricep extension highlights the effectiveness of the Gymstick, as it effectively combines two exercises with weighted resistance would not be possible.

(Progression 2)

To increase the abdominal intensity, lift the feet and execute an alternating knee and hip extension. This sequence adds an upper-body workout to the traditional abdominal exercise.

The next series of exercises involves a dynamic component. For example, building from a simple one-arm chest fly to a power lunge forward requires the body to decelerate with control. 

(Primary exercise)

Initiate the first exercise by positioning the feet in a lunge position and holding both bands in one hand. Next, the trainer stabilises the stick with both hands in an upright position. Care needs to be taken with the tension of the bands because if there is too much tension, the client will not be able to control the eccentric phase of the contraction. Next, the client horizontally adducts the arm to the front, ensuring that the elbow stays slightly flexed. Finally, return to the starting position.

(Progression 1)

Progress this exercise by adding a lunge while simultaneously adducting the arm. As the body returns to the setup position, ensure that the hips remain stable.

(Progression 2)

The final step highlights the dynamic component, which begins with the arm abducted horizontally, balancing on one leg. Next, step forward into a dynamic lunge whilst adducting the arm. Finally, controlling the recoil of the bands brings the body back into the upright position. This movement requires a controlled deceleration to finish in a balanced position on one leg.

In Summary

Don’t just take our word for it. Please give it a go! Try these exercises with your clients and see how training with the Gymstick truly is multi-dimensional. A traditional resistance exercise can be varied, developed and progressed in numerous ways, limited only by the span of your imagination. The active participation of the trainer in these exercises provides them with the necessary kinaesthetic feedback to make minor adjustments to the tension of the bands and, therefore, to the intensity of the movement as it is being performed. A highly portable and hugely versatile tool, the Gymstick is a simple way of making resistance exercises for your clients more dynamic and exciting.

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