You’re really motivated to hit the gym with a great workout only to find all the equipment you need taken up. Or maybe the hotel gym is uninspiring and not what you expected. Or maybe your workout routine is stuck in a rut, and your favourite exercises have lost their appeal. Don’t let these situations mean workout disappointment. That's where having a diverse list of exercises to draw on comes in handy. By expanding your repertoire, you're not just preparing for equipment scarcity, you're also giving yourself the ability to change things when motivation starts to fall. What if you had a wide range of exercises at your disposal to deploy at moments like these? It would be time to dispel disappointment and make the gym work for you, keeping your workouts challenging and exciting.
Build your repertoire of exercises and there is no reason why any training session should come up short. You’ll never have to forgo your exercise gains when faced with that queue for the lateral pull down machine – or no machine at all. Or have to keep ploughing on joylessly through the same old routine.
This article will guide you through 4 essential principles for swapping in exercises when you need a plan B to keep your gains on track. Along with the key tips, there are examples of swaps. It’s time to turn potential disappointments into opportunities.
1. Build Up Your Repertoire Intentionally
Don’t make that time you need to find an alternative your first time doing an exercise. You'll risk injury and won't get the full benefits of the swap. Just because you see someone else doing it seemingly effortlessly doesn’t mean that you will be able to do it and with the right technique. Instead, train smart, be prepared. Introduce new exercises into your routine gradually, perfecting your form before adding them to your swap list. Remember, it’s always quality over quantity.
2. Swap with Precision
An effective swap hits the same muscles and movement patterns as your original plan. Choose exercises that match the aim of the planned workout and that keep you on track towards your fitness goals.
Example: From wall ball to dumbbell thruster
The dumbbell thruster offers a movement that mirrors the wall ball throw, minus the need for a higher than normal wall and one that can withstand the impact it will get.
Both exercises are total-body power moves, starting with your lower body igniting the movement with a squat that launches you into action, getting behind the upper body that finishes the move off.
The thruster has its own positive points - it's has less impact on your joints. The force of gravity acting on the wall ball will increase its weight. Your whole body will need to use muscle power to counteract that weight, to stay upright and to stabilise your joints. If your joints have need a bit of extra care, the thruster offers a lower-impact alternative that still provides a serious challenge.
3. Explore Different Equipment
Explore the full range of exercise equipment options. From dumbbells to resistance bands to functional equipment and your own body weight, there is a lot of variety.
Example: From the skiErg to battle rope slam downs
The battle rope slam exercise is an effective heart rate raising and muscle challenging alternative to the skiErg. Just like the skiErg, it provides a full body workout that will boost cardio fitness and provide a lower impact workout for the legs too.
But how do you release its cardio-boosting potential? Just as you'd move the skiErg's resistance dial or pick up the pace, there are several ways to increase the intensity with battle ropes.
1. Increase the length of the battle rope or use a heavier battle rope to increase the resistance as you move the rope. Moving closer to the battle rope anchor point has the same effect. More resistance means more effort.
2. Increase your range of motion and use the whole body. The higher you raise the rope, the more force you'll need to get it there. Don’t forget the hip hinge as you bring the rope down too and the associated hip extension to initiate the upward movement of the rope. The skiErg involves a hip hinge, as opposed to a full squat, with the glutes and hamstrings contracting powerfully to extend the body ready for the next downward pull down of the skiErg cords.
3. Pick up the speed of your slams. The faster movement will also unlock the muscle power in the movement.
You might find this alternative even more muscle-challenging than the skiErg. Why? The rope provides greater resistance against gravity in the arm raising motion, whilst the skiErg's handles spring back up.
4. Make proper technique your priority
Whatever the equipment you are using, or bodyweight, learn the proper form from the start when you are developing an exercise swap. If you're unsure about the right technique or how to include the new exercises in your routine, consult a professional trainer or join a class where a coach can give you form cues. You need to ensure your swaps are effective and safe.
Example: From resistance machine to body weight inverted row
When you find yourself with no low cable row machine or lat pull down machine, no dumbbells anywhere heavier enough to do a bicep curl or a bench row - and the latissimus dorsi (lats), upper back and biceps potentially left without a challenge – that’s the time to remember what a great resistance machine your body can be.
Enter the inverted row, your hands above you, gripping a bar, your body in an upside down plank, using the strength of your lats, upper back, and biceps to raise you towards the bar. A squat rack is perfect or any secure horizontal bar.
And as a bonus, your core and lower body need to be fully under tension throughout the movement in order to stabilise your body and keep your spine in a neutral position, so will get a workout too.
The great thing about the inverted row? It's not just in your back pocket for when you hit equipment shortages. When time is the resource you’re low on this move lets you target multiple muscles efficiently without compromising form by rushing through two or three exercises.
Start Building Your Exercise Repertoire Now
By getting to grips with exercise swaps, you're not just overcoming obstacles you can be faced with in the gym or when you take your training elsewhere – you're still actively shaping your fitness journey. So, next time you face an unexpected obstacle in the way of you doing your normal workout routine, you’ll still be able to keep progressing.
Adaptability is your secret skill for consistent progress. So, go and maximise those workouts, whether they are your Plan A or Plan B or you just need a change of workout routine.
