Training with an expander: exercises for beginners (PHOTO) :: Workouts

Raising your arms behind your back

1.You need to place your feet shoulder-width apart, and raise your arms with the expander in front of you so that your palms are turned inward. Then spread your arms straight to the sides and inhale, then return to the original position and exhale. When you do this exercise, try not to lean back too much and try to look in front of you all the time.

5. We get back to the original position again. But now we must move the expander behind our back so that our arms are bent and our palms face outward. Then straighten your arms to the side and inhale. Then, bend your arms and return to the original position and exhale. Do this exercise with several additional springs.

Arm Curl

Muscles worked: Middle and lower biceps.

Starting position: Secure the expander using the clamp to the wall (door) in the lower position and fasten the ends of the elastic tube or several tubes to the two handles.

Stand with your back to the wall and clasp the handles of the expander with an underhand grip. Pull your arms straight back and move away from the wall to a distance of light tension on the elastic tubes. To give your body a more stable position, take a small step forward with one leg.

Performing the exercise: As you exhale, tighten your biceps and, bending your elbows, smoothly pull the handles of the expander forward. Try to always keep your elbows still and close to the sides of your torso. Once your forearms are parallel to the floor, pause. As you inhale, smoothly return to the starting position.

Exercise tips : For additional resistance, take another small step forward in the starting position and move your arms back even further.

Recommended initial load: men - black + red or blue + red tubes, women - red or red + yellow tube

General strengthening exercises with an expander

The expander is great for simultaneously working the muscles of the legs and arms. You perform one exercise and work several muscle groups at once. Exercises with an expander are as effective as exercises on large exercise machines, and take much less time.

So, let's look at the main types of general strengthening exercises and training for different muscle groups. Do all exercises 10-15 times in one approach, over time you can increase their number.

Standing press. Stand on the elastic band of the expander with both feet and take the handles in your hands. Feet should be shoulder width apart. Start performing presses, pulling each arm in turn from hip level to chest level, and if you can, then higher. This way you force your triceps and many leg muscles to work actively.
Seated press. You can strengthen the muscles of the shoulder girdle using the following exercise: Sit on the floor, stretch your legs, keep your back straight. Place the expander over your feet, grab the handles, and turn your hands with the inside facing up. Take a deep breath while pulling your arms towards your body. As you exhale, lower your arms to the starting position.
Knee press. Grab the handles of the expander. Place one leg in the middle of the band and bend it at the knee, and take the other back, squatting slightly. One handle can now be released: if the expander is clamped with the right foot, then we hold on to the left handle and lower the right one to the floor. We do presses with one hand first, then change position and perform presses with the other hand. This exercise helps to work the so-called stabilizing muscles. They do not participate in the movement process, but fix and hold a part of the body in the desired position. Remember that weak stabilizer muscles can cause injury even when performing ordinary push-ups, so strengthening them is necessary.

Kneeling Press Down

Muscles involved: Triceps.

Starting position: Secure the expander using the clamp to the wall in the upper position and fasten the ends of the elastic tube or several tubes to two handles or straps.

Kneel down facing the wall (about 1 meter from the wall) and clasp the handles of the expander with an overhand grip. Bend your elbows at an angle of 90°. The torso is tilted slightly (15-20 ° ) forward.

Performing the exercise: As you exhale, keeping your elbows as close to your sides as possible, bend your arms down. With your arms fully extended, achieve peak triceps contraction. As you inhale, smoothly return to the starting position.

Exercise Tips : Do not move your elbows throughout the exercise. The upper arms, torso and legs remain motionless until the end of the exercise.

Increasing the load should not be an obstacle to maintaining the correct technique for performing the exercise.

Recommended initial load: men - black or blue tube, women - red tube

Toned abs are not a problem!

Position. Lying on the floor, legs bent at the knees, feet fixed on the floor surface. One end of the “butterfly” is clamped with the knees, and the other with the hands at face level.
Exercise. The legs slowly rise, squeezing the expander and putting stress on the abs. It is fixed in this position for several seconds and returns to its original position.
Intensity. The exercise must be performed 15-20 times per approach.

Useful workouts with an abdominal expander:

We pump up the press while sitting. This workout is similar to the classic seated ab exercise. We sit on the floor, bend our legs slightly at the knees, everything is as usual, only an expander is clamped under our feet. Grab the handles and pull them towards your chest. Exhale - slowly lower the body back without changing the position of the hands. Inhale - we rise to the starting position.
We pump up the press while standing. Place your feet shoulder-width apart. Fold the expander in half and insert your left foot into the loop formed. Grasp the resistance band near the ends with your left hand and pull it over your shoulders so that you can grab the handles with your right hand. Bend to the left in this position, while keeping your pelvis motionless.

Arm Curl

Muscles involved: Middle, top and bottom of biceps, top of forearm.

Starting position: Secure the expander using the clamp to the wall in the lower position and fasten the ends of the elastic tube or several tubes to the two handles.

Stand facing the wall and clasp the handles of the expander with an underhand grip. Move away from the wall to a distance of light tension of the elastic tubes. To give your body a more stable position, take a small step towards the wall with one foot. Straighten your arms and lean back slightly. Keep your back straight and your abs engaged for the rest of the set.

Performing the exercise: As you exhale, tighten your biceps and pull the handles of the expander to the top of your chest. Try to keep your elbows always stationary and near the sides of your torso or slightly in front. At the top, pause and tighten your biceps even more. As you inhale, smoothly return to the starting position.

Exercise Tips : Perform the movement through the full range of motion. At the top point, your elbows go slightly forward; at the bottom point, fully straighten your arms, while maintaining the tension of the elastic tubes.

Use a workload that allows you to perform the exercise without bending your torso back and forth.

Recommended initial load: men - black + red or blue + red tubes, women - red or red + yellow tube.

The most effective exercises with an expander for men to train various muscle groups

6. Now you should take the expander in your hands and move it behind your back so that the right arm is bent at the shoulder and the left arm is pressed straight to the thigh. Then extend your right arm upward until straight and inhale. Returning to the original position, you need to exhale. Repeat this exercise with both hands.

Step on the band and place your feet shoulder-width apart.
Take the loops of the expander in your hands. To make it more comfortable to hold, pass the expander behind your shoulders and hold it in bent arms, as if placing it on your shoulder.
Do a squat. The back is straight, the pelvis is pulled back, the knees are slightly turned outward.
Straighten up while stretching the expander.
Repeat the exercise.

Hook the resistance band onto a stand close to the floor.
Insert your ankle into the loop and lie on your stomach.
Bend your leg at the knee, pulling on the expander.
Straighten your leg and repeat.

Exercises for legs with an expander are performed as follows: we take one handle of the expander in our hands and put the other on our foot. This is the starting position (can be standing or sitting) from which the following exercises are performed:

In the starting position, standing, swing your leg to the side. After 10-15 swings, change your supporting leg and perform the exercise on the other side.
In the same starting position, lift and straighten your leg in front of you, pulling on the expander. While hanging, bend your knee about 5 times. Then turn your leg sideways so that it forms a right angle with your supporting leg. Bend your knee 5 more times. Switch sides and repeat the exercise.

Position. While standing, one leg should be bent and slightly put forward, arms should be absolutely straight, spread to the sides, and the palms should be facing upward, holding the handles of the expander, the springs of which should be located between the chest and chin.
Exercise. The arms should be spread as wide as possible, while the knee bends even more and the whole body leans slightly back. In the next approach, you need to change your leg.
Intensity. This exercise should initially be performed 10 times with an acceptable load. Gradually it is necessary to increase the pace and increase the angle of inclination back.

For biceps

Position. Standing, the right leg fixes the handle of the expander, legs apart.
Exercise. The right hand holds the second handle and bends towards the right shoulder. Important: the elbow should not “help”, however, like other muscle groups.
Intensity. You should start repeating this exercise 10 times and then change your hand. To avoid performing the exercise incorrectly, do not increase the load too sharply.

For chest muscles

Position. Lying on a bench, the expander passes under the bench, its handles in your hands. The spring is slightly tense, the arms are at chest level, the elbows are spread to the sides.
Exercise. The arms straighten upward, feeling the tension of the spring. Stay in this position for a few seconds, and the hands return to the starting position.
Intensity. The exercise must initially be performed 8 to 10 times, gradually increasing the load.

For leg muscles

Position. Lying on your back, one handle of the expander is fixed in the hand at the level of the pelvis, the second is hooked with the leg bent at the knee.
Exercise. The leg with the handle is slowly straightened, fixed in this position for several seconds and returned to the starting position. After completing the approach, you should change legs.
Intensity. You need to start doing the exercise 8-10 times, gradually increasing the pace.

Expanders, depending on their purpose, design features and other parameters, are sold in various variations.

Expanders are distinguished:

foot and hand;
children and adults;
with a certain type of fastening (floor or wall) and universal, etc.

There is another type of expander, which is quite popular among both sexes. It is commonly called a butterfly expander, exercises with which are quite effective for various muscle groups.

For triceps

Position. While standing, one handle of the expander is on the thigh, the other is resting on the forearm. The elbow is pressed to the body.
Exercise. The expander is compressed by pressing on the upper handle, then the pressure gradually weakens. After completing the approach, you should change hands.
Intensity. For the exercise to be effective, it should be performed 10 times per approach with each hand.

Position. Standing, arms extended upward and holding the butterfly handles.
Exercise. The “butterfly” must be squeezed as tightly as possible. The more your arms are extended, the more noticeable the result.
Intensity. This exercise must be performed for 4-5 minutes.

Training with a shoulder expander

The set of exercises includes 7 exercises that should be performed 3 times a week. It takes from 25 to 40 minutes, depending on physical fitness and the number of approaches. To select the optimal load, you need as many springs as you can easily perform 10 repetitions with.

After two weeks (for the last approach), you need to add a spring and the number of repetitions with this load should be at least 5 times. After a month of training, the complex needs to be changed and the load increased.

0. Do a dynamic warm-up (squats, warm-up of arms and hands, bending).

1. With your left foot, step into the loop of the expander handle. Thread a cane (mop) into the second handle and grasp it with both hands with an overhand grip.

Execution: bend and straighten your arms, watching for even breathing and the pace of execution. 2 sets of 12 times. Biceps work.

2. Starting position: feet wider than shoulder width, arms raised above your head, expander handles in each hand, overhand grip.

Execution: bend over for two counts, take one leg back and put it on your toes, at the same time stretch the expander. Return to the starting position for two counts. 2 sets of 5 times on each leg. Develops arm strength, shoulder and core muscles.

3. Stand in the middle of the expander spring and grasp its handles. Execution: bend over, keeping your back straight and pull both arms to your armpits. 2 sets of 15 times. Exercise for biceps, forearm and hamstring stretch.

For greater resistance, you can alternately tighten each arm by holding both handles of the expander in one hand. Bend over and pull both arms to chest level, keeping them close to the body.

4. Together or alternately, move your straight arms back without releasing tension. 2 sets of 15 times. Exercise to develop triceps, forearm and stretch the hamstrings. Like the previous one, the exercise can be complicated by adding a spring.

5. Starting position: legs wider than shoulders, the middle of the expander pressed with your feet, handles in your hands. Raise your arms out to your sides above your shoulders.

Execution: while exhaling, spread your arms behind your back to the sides until you completely lower down, maintaining resistance in the muscles. Perform 2 sets of 20 reps at an average pace. The deltoid muscles work.

6. Expander in hands, arms parallel to the floor, straight and at chest level. Execution: spread your arms to the sides as you exhale. Keeping the same pace, perform 2 sets of 20 reps. The muscles of the chest, subscapularis and latissimus dorsi work.

The same exercise can be performed while holding an expander behind your back, in which case the trapezius and rhomboid muscles of the back are more involved. You can diversify the exercise by taking the handles of the expander diagonally behind your back, then the emphasis will be on the latissimus and lumbothoracic muscles.

7. Standing on your knees, insert your foot into one handle of the apparatus, press the other with your knee, simultaneously straighten and pull your leg and pull the expander. Hold at the top point for 5 seconds. Perform 15 times on each leg for 2 approaches. The muscles of the buttocks, hamstrings and brachialis work.

Warm-up (walking in place with legs moving, stretching the back, rolling and restoring breathing).

Also, the expander is useful not only for the back and arms, but also for developing finger strength and the grasping reflex, so the exercise machine will be useful for office workers, schoolchildren, needlewomen and craftsmen with sedentary work.

In general, for women and men, exercises with an expander are a great way to keep muscles toned. Don't forget to add your comment and recommend reposting the blog to your friends!

Alexander Bely

Exercises for the buttocks: striving for elasticity

Constant exercise is very important for the buttocks to maintain the elasticity of the skin and keep the rather lazy gluteal muscles in good shape.

You will need to use a chair for this activity. Starting position: standing. Tie your legs with an expander tape and, holding onto a chair, take each leg back in turn as far as possible. You can alternate swings back and sideways. Do them carefully and slowly to get the muscles working.
While lying down, wrap the tape around your legs, then lift each one in turn.
Lying on the floor, place the expander over your feet, with your toes pointing toward the ceiling and your legs bent at the knees. Raise each leg in turn, without straightening it, so that your shin is parallel to the floor.

Create beautiful hips

Exercises for the hips are simply necessary to create and maintain a beautiful shape for them.

We tie an expander around our ankles and lie on our back. We raise straight legs perpendicular to the body, turn our feet to the ceiling, straight arms lie along the body with palms down. In this position, we spread our legs to the sides.
In the same starting position, we move one leg to the side, and keep the other motionless in the same place. Do this several times and switch sides. This exercise perfectly strengthens the inner thigh, which can be worked out with regular training.
In a lying position, pull the expander band over your toes, while bending your knees. Straighten your legs at an angle of 45 degrees, keeping your pelvis motionless.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that the expander is a universal exercise machine. It can be used by both beginners in sports and professionals.

In addition, the expander is suitable for ladies of any age, build and level of training; it has no contraindications.

The main thing is to do all exercises smoothly and carefully to avoid muscle strains. And once you increase the intensity of your workouts, the expander turns into a cardio exercise machine, which will become a faithful assistant in the fight against excess weight.

One-arm press down

Muscles worked: Outer triceps

Starting position: Secure the expander using the clamp to the wall (door) in the upper position and fasten both ends of the elastic tube or several tubes to one strap or handle.

Stand with your side to the wall and grab the strap or handle of the expander with the hand farthest from the wall. Bend your arm at the elbow joint and press it towards your body. The working hand should be in the same vertical plane with the expander. Move away from the wall to a distance of light tension of the elastic tubes.

Performing the exercise: As you exhale, keeping the elbow of your working arm pressed to your body, straighten your arm down. With your arm fully extended, achieve peak contraction of the triceps. As you inhale, smoothly return to the starting position.

After completing the set with one arm, begin performing this triceps exercise with the other arm.

Exercise Tips : Keep the elbow of your working arm motionless and as close to the side of your body as possible. By moving your elbow to the side, you strengthen the contraction of the long head of the triceps, but at the same time weaken the load on the lateral (side) head of the triceps, which is precisely what this exercise is aimed at.

The reverse grip squat press also thoroughly engages the medial (inner) head of the triceps. It is she who begins to straighten the arm. But if you want to achieve its maximum contraction, stand facing the wall and perform arm extension in a plane perpendicular to the torso.

Recommended initial load: men - red or red + yellow tubes, women - green or yellow tube.

Exercises with an expander for all muscle groups - Video

Alternating leg raises

Lie on the floor, grab the expander in the middle, place your legs in the loops.
Raise your body so that your lower back remains pressed to the floor.
Overcoming the resistance of the elastic band, raise your knees one by one.

"Woodcutter"

Place your feet slightly wider than your shoulders, step on one end of the expander with your left foot, and grab the other end with both hands.
Bend towards the leg under which the expander is located, keeping your back straight.
As you straighten up, pull the expander diagonally, to the right and up, until your hands are above your right shoulder, above your head.
Return to the left leg bend and repeat the exercise.
Repeat on the other side.

Hook the resistance band around your feet, twist the two ends and grasp the loops or handles in both hands.
Stand in a prone position - a plank.
Raise one arm and, stretching the expander, move into a side plank.
Return to the starting position and repeat on the other side.

One arm curl

Muscles worked: Middle and lower biceps

Starting position: Make one turn of the elastic tube or several tubes around the foot and fasten the ends of the tube to one handle. Grasp the handle of the expander with one hand with an underhand grip, and place the hand of the other hand under the lower part of the triceps of the working arm.

Bend your arm slightly at the elbow until the elastic tubes are slightly stretched. Take a small step forward with your involved leg.

Tighten your lower back muscles and maintain the natural curve of your spine for the rest of the set. The gaze is directed straight ahead.

Performing the exercise: As you exhale, bending your arm at the elbow joint, pull the handle of the expander towards your shoulder. When you reach the top point, pause and tighten your biceps even more. As you inhale, smoothly return to the starting position, while maintaining the tension of the elastic tubes.

Exercise Tips: Keep your back straight while performing the exercise.

The bottom of the triceps of the working arm should be pressed firmly against the hand of the other arm throughout the entire exercise.

Choose a load at which you can reach the handle of the expander to shoulder level.

Recommended initial load: men - blue or red tube, women - green tube.