Do you find gym memberships too expensive? Would you prefer having a quieter place to train? Or is getting to a gym taking up too much time? Training from home is always an option but you would then miss out of all the latest gym machines, or would you?

Commercial gyms give you access to fantastic equipment when you are not queuing for them. But are there alternative exercises that can benefit your training as much as the exercise machines? Let's look at some of the most common gym machines and see what alternatives you can do.

Elliptical Trainer Alternative

An elliptical trainer is designed to mimic the movement of a cross-country skier by getting the legs and arms involved against resistance. Cross-country skiing has the highest VO₂ demand out of all aerobic exercises and the elliptical can help you burn lots of calories with the muscles of the arms and legs involved.

Skipping

While skipping might not work the arms and legs like elliptical training does, the benefit of skipping is that you can get a high intensity cardio workout. A Skipping Rope costs a fraction of what an elliptical trainer does and is easy to implement into your strength training. All you have to do is add in a set of skipping at the end of each set of strength and you will get all the benefits of a cardio workout. If you are still looking for more of a burn in the arms, then you can use a battle jump rope.

Abductor Machine Alternative

The abductors are the muscles responsible for the sideways movement of the leg away from your body which includes the Gluteus Medius and Minimus. These muscles are important in stabilising the hip and help prevent the hip from collapsing during walking or running. By sitting in the abductor machine and pushing your legs sideways against resistance you are able to train these muscles. However, this piece of equipment can take up valuable space in the garage gym environment for an exercise that is designed to isolate a single group of muscles.

Banded Squats

Squats are the most common exercise for developing leg strength and this movement utilises most of the muscles in the leg including the glutes. Squats not only help develop leg strength but also help increase hip mobility. To place an additional load on the lateral muscles of the Gluteus Medius and Minimus, you can place a fabric resistance band around your knees. This will require your glute Medius and Minimus to work hard to prevent your knees collapsing during a squat, all while still developing leg strength during a squat.

Adductor Machine Alternative

While the abductor targets the muscles on the outside of the leg, the adductor machine targets the muscles on the inside of the leg. Like the above exercise, the adductor machine is limited in the fact that it is an isolation exercise. If toning of the legs is the primary goal, then a better option would be to look at multi-jointed exercises that target the same area.

Kettlebell Lateral Lunge

The lateral lunge requires the muscles of the inside of the leg to be activated when you push up and return to the standing position. In addition to this the muscles of the glutes, quads and outside of the leg are all active as well. This movement will therefore burn more calories and improve strength in a functional way. By holding the Kettlebell in front of you, your core also has to be active to keep you in an upright position.

Cable Crossover Machine Alternative

A cable crossover machine is the most versatile piece of equipment you can have in the gym. It consists of two towers with a system of pulleys attached to weight stacks that allows you to perform a large variety of multi-directional gym exercises. There is no muscle group that you can’t target with this machine. The most common exercises include cable crossovers for the pecs, tricep extensions or bicep cable curls. What is often forgotten is that lower body and rotational exercises can also be performed on the cable cross over.

Resistance Band Exercises

Resistance Bands provide a similar multi-direction option to your training. All you have to do is attach them to either a low fixture or high fixture and then you can do a variety of exercises including pulls, presses and rotational exercises. Resistance bands come in different tension levels so you can keep increasing the tension. Resistance bands also have the benefit that they don't take up any space and can easily be incorporated into any gym routine.

Leg Extension Machine Alternative

The leg extension exercise strengthens the quadricep muscles. This is done by sitting in the leg extension machine with the padded lever against the instep of your foot. Your quads then contract to kick the lever upwards. This can be done with a single leg or double legs.

Dumbbell Bulgarian Split Squat

While the leg extension is beneficial in strengthening the quads, it strengthens the quads in isolation. This can cause muscle imbalance injuries if you are not strengthening the hamstrings in the right ratio. In addition to this you will get a more functional training effect by performing the Dumbbell Bulgarian split squat which not only develops the quads but is also very effective in strengthening the quadriceps. This exercise is also a great unilateral exercise to develop single leg strength and ultimately build up to a pistol squat. It is easy to increase the weight by selecting heavier dumbbells.

Leg Curl Machine Alternative

The leg curl machine represents the opposite of the leg extension machine. It is used to target the hamstrings by lying on your stomach and pulling the lever towards your glutes. You can use a single leg or both legs to change the training effect.

Barbell Romanian Deadlift

The leg curl machine has the same limitations as the leg extension machine in the fact that it isolates just the hamstring muscle and takes up a lot of floor space for this role. The role of the hamstring is also more than just pulling the foot towards the bum. It is also important in extending the hip joint. This is where the deadlift is so important as it trains the hamstring, glutes and back muscles. By using a barbell you are able to keep the hips straighter as opposed to a dumbbell version. The Romanian deadlift also places a larger eccentric load on the hamstrings compared to a standard deadlift, making it a great alternative to the leg curl.

Smith Machine Alternative

The Smith Machine is basically a power rack with an attached bar that helps control the movement of the bar. This allows you to ensure that you have the correct exercise technique as well as allowing you to lift heavier loads without the need of a spotter. A variety of exercises can be performed on the smith machine, from bench press to barbell squats.

Power Rack + Barbell + Weight Plates

A Power Rack is an essential piece of home gym equipment that allows you to set up various exercises similar to the smith machine. The power rack does not feature an attached bar. The benefit of this is that you will get greater muscle activation during exercises, particularly amongst the stabilising muscles due to the movement of the bar. By adding an adjustable weight bench you will be able to do every exercise that a smith machine does but with more muscle activation. Power racks also come with various attachments that provide you with safety and peace of mind so that you do not need a training partner.

Chest Press Machine Alternative

A chest press machine is a seated multi-jointed exercise that targets the pectorals, deltoids and tricep muscles. By sitting in the machine with your back against the bench, you will push the handles out in front of you. The machine guides your arm movement making it a good exercise to learn the bench press technique.

Incline Bench Press

The incline bench press works the same muscles of the chest press machine, namely the pecs, deltoids and triceps. The big difference is the fact that the incline bench press will require more stabilisation from the smaller, secondary muscles as well as building a greater neural control of the muscles being used. You are also required to lower the bar in a slower, more controlled manner unless you want a bruised chest. This increases the eccentric component and will help build more muscle.

Standing Calf Raise Machine Alternative

A standing calf raise machine targets the large muscles of the calf, namely the gastrocnemius. This muscle is predominantly active during straight leg movements. While the standing calf raise is an isolation exercise, it is excellent as a supporting exercise to strengthen the calf as it is difficult to target this during traditional leg exercises such as the squats.

Dumbbell Standing Calf Raise

The easiest alternative to the standing calf raise is to perform a calf raise on an exercise step or plyo box. You can load the exercise by holding dumbbells. This version requires little additional equipment and has the benefit of easily being able to do single or double legged versions of the exercise.

Seated Calf Raise Machine Alternative

While the standing calf raise exercise does recruit the soleus muscle to a small degree, the seated calf raise is far more effective at targeting this muscle. As you should be able to deduce from the exercise, the soleus muscle is mainly active during bent leg movements.

Dumbbell Seated Calf Raise

Using a similar set up to the standing calf raise alternative, but in a seated position you could perform a seated calf raise with your feet on an exercise step and dumbbells resting on your legs above your knees. This will target the soleus muscle of the calf and help improve your plyometrics and stability.

Bicep Curl Machine Alternative

The bicep machine involves your arms resting against a pad while you curl the bicep bar with both hands. The range of motion is limited towards the bottom of the motion, but the pad prevents you from creating movement to swing the bar upwards.

Alternating Dumbbell Bicep Curls

By alternatively rotating and curling a dumbbell in a standing position you are immediately getting a better bicep workout. For starters the range of motion of the curl is greater than the bicep machine meaning that you get a better workout. The rotational part of the exercise also activates the muscles of the forearms. Finally, by doing this in a standing position you are required to stabilise as the weight is shifted.

While there are some fantastic pieces of commercial gym equipment, there are always alternative options for you to train at home. For the most part you are able to get a similar training effect with an alternative exercise, if not an improvement! Don’t feel like you have to get to the gym just to be able to use the machines.

Written by guest author Brendan McBirnie.

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Tags: Exercise Type > Strength ; Misc > Gym Planning