Are you the one who always does the same when you train? Same itinerary when you go running, same machines in the gym, same pace in the elliptical … In the variety is the taste, and using different means and different methods of training is how we can achieve results while maintaining our motivation.

Having a world of possibilities in front of us to perform various trainings, why focus only on one or two and close others? Here are the different materials you can use to vary your workout and give it a more fun touch.

A gym in the park training with TRX

The TRX is one of our best friends when it comes to outdoor training. This suspension training system with which we work with our own body weight is formed by a pair of belts made in sanity (a very resistant material, the same that is usually used in the straps of the parachutes, so that you have an idea) Which are attached to a fixed point such as the frame of a door or, if we are in the park, a tree.

The best part of the TRX is, on the one hand, its ease of use since it is very intuitive, and on the other its versatility : it can serve us both to facilitate some exercises (such as squats, we can make them simpler by grasping the handles ) To make it harder for others (imagine an iron with your feet in the air, subject to the TRX, which will be more intense than the usual iron).

It is perfect for performing full body workouts at intervals like the one you can see in the video accompanying this text. In this case we have chosen a workout with different exercises for legs, glutes and central zone with jumps , to raise the pulsations quickly. We can perform 30 seconds of each exercise and leave a minute of rest between them.

Elastic bands to train at home

Elastic bands, elastic bands or therabands are a very useful element to train in our own house, since they can facilitate a strength training without taking up hardly space. We can find them of different strengths and lengths, so that they can be adapted to the different muscle groups that we want to work in each moment.

With a single band we can work the whole body : we only have to reduce its length by bringing the grips of the hands so that the resistance is greater. We can also tie the ends and place it around the legs (slightly above the knees or above the cuff) to work our lower train.

At the time of acquiring one, I recommend the ones that are of fabric (not of rubber) like this one of Decathlon : sometimes I have seen some of rubber that breaks (and you take a good lash), so better to prevent. In addition, fabrics can be machine washed without problem to keep them in perfect condition.

Different materials to use in the gym

One of the most versatile materials or implements we can use are kettlebells or Russian dumbbells. Almost all centers already have these “weights with handles” that help us to tone our whole body. Do not use them just to do trunk pushups (which is not that they help us much): try other exercises that combine muscle strength with aerobic training like kettlebell swings, which help us work the entire back of our body and All the abdomen, including the internal musculature of the same.

Also sandbags or sandbags are very useful, which allow us to work on all planes of movement. We can lift them, throw them behind their backs, drag them, run with them, or work with them thanks to the different weights and their multiple handles, which offer different grips for different exercises. Being deformable (the weight moves inside, it is not fixed in the same place all the time) they force us to always put to work the musculature of the abdomen to keep the balance well.

The medicine balls of different weights also help us work the entire body : they can act as platforms that generate instability (imagine placing a hand on a medicine ball and the other on the floor while doing pushups), we can throw them against the wall (the famous Wall ball of CrossFit) or use them as ballast while doing crunches.

As you see, we do not always have to work the same way in the gym, at home or outdoors: there are many options available to vary the training, and the more we enjoy, the more motivated we will stay and the closer we will be to our goals. Take advantage of all the material at your fingertips!