Exercise Library

Assault Bike

The fan bike, where arms and legs both drive and the resistance rises with your effort. Notorious, and unbeatable for short intervals.

Assisted Chin-up

The underhand chin-up on a counterweighted machine. Same dial as the assisted pull-up, with the grip that gives the biceps more of the work.

Assisted Dip

The parallel bar dip on a counterweighted machine. Same role as the assisted pull-up: full range now, less assistance later.

Assisted Pull-up

The pull-up on a counterweighted machine, where the stack cancels out part of your bodyweight. The dial that lets someone train pull-ups before they have one.

Belt Squat

A squat loaded from a belt at the hips instead of a bar on the back. The spine carries none of it, which makes it the go-to squat for a sore lower back.

Chest Supported Row

A row done face-down on an inclined pad. The chest support removes the lower back and hips entirely, so every rep is the mid back and nothing else.

Cycling

Riding a bike, indoors or out. Steady aerobic work that leaves the legs fresh enough to lift the next day.

Glute-Focused Back Extension

A back extension performed with a rounded upper back and tucked pelvis so the glutes, not the spinal erectors, do the extending.

Hip Abduction Machine

The seated machine that pushes the knees apart against a stack. Direct work for the glute medius, which stabilises every step and squat you take.

Hip Adduction Machine

The seated machine that squeezes the knees together against a stack. Trains the adductors, which take a beating in every wide-stance squat and rarely get direct work.

Leg Curl

The hamstring curl machine. The only common exercise that trains the hamstrings by bending the knee rather than hinging the hip, which is why it belongs alongside your deadlifts.

Machine Glute Kickback

The standing kickback machine. Isolates one glute at a time against a stack, with your torso braced so nothing else can help.

Machine Lateral Raise

The seated lateral raise machine. The pads keep resistance on the side delt through the whole arc, where dumbbells go nearly weightless at the bottom.

Mid Row (Machine)

The seated row machine found in every commercial gym — chest against the pad, handles pulled to the midsection. The chest support takes the lower back and hips out of the movement, so the mid back does the work.

Pec Deck

The seated machine fly. Arms travel in one fixed arc, so the chest can be worked to failure without a spotter and without stabilising a weight overhead.

Reverse Pec Deck

The pec deck run backwards, facing into the pad. The most reliable way to load the rear delts, which get almost nothing from pressing and rowing.

SkiErg

The double-pole skiing machine. Upper-body-led conditioning that hits the lats and triceps while your legs stay relatively fresh.

Stair Climber

The revolving staircase. Harder on the glutes and quads than a treadmill at the same heart rate, with none of the impact.

Treadmill Incline Walk

Walking uphill on a treadmill. Gets the heart rate of a run out of a walk, with none of the impact, and it hits the glutes doing it.