Equipment Guide: Functional

Have you seen the functional equipment around the club* and thought to yourself 'how the heck do I use that thing?!', don't worry - we're here to help. Read on to find out how to use our functional equipment. 

If you want to know more about functional training, or fancy a bespoke functional workout of your very own, book in a session with one of our Personal Trainers now.

*your club might not have all of this equipment, but if there's something you think would make a great addition to the gym floor, let us know here.

SkiErg

Set the damper lever to a particular value from 1-10, the number selected indicates how much air is drawn into the fan cage on each stroke. The damper is the lever on the side of the flywheel housing, or fan cage, that controls how much air flows into the cage. If the damper setting is on a higher number, it will take more work to spin the flywheel against the air. If the damper setting is on a lower number, it will be easier to spin the flywheel.

Step onto the platform, grab the handles, feet shoulder width apart, hands above your head. Pull the handles down past your hips, slightly bend your knees and brace your core. Extend your arms upwards to return to the start position. Watch Kayla and Dee demonstrating the SkiErg here. 

Rower

Set the damper lever to a particular value from 1-10, the number selected indicates how much air is drawn into the fan cage on each stroke. The damper is the lever on the side of the flywheel housing, or fan cage, that controls how much air flows into the cage. If the damper setting is on a higher number, it will take more work to spin the flywheel against the air. If the damper setting is on a lower number, it will be easier to spin the flywheel.

Think of the damper setting being similar to bicycle gearing: it affects how rowing feels but does not directly affect the resistance. A lower damper setting on the rower is comparable to easier gears on a bike.

Sit down on the rower, strap your feet in, take an overhand grip onto the handle bars. Using legs and arms, drive out of your heels, pull the handle into body keeping your chest up and core braced. 

 

Battle Ropes 

Start in a squat position - feet outside hips, toes out slightly, sink butt down to create a stable base for battle rope movement. Keep your chest up and core braced and hit single waves by alternating your arms up and down like this or try double waves, moving both arms up and down simultaneously. Use your core to generate power. 

Box Jumps

Starting on the floor, drive your hips and arms backwards, then swing your arms and hips forward, jumping forward onto the box, landing on two feet. Option: step up onto the box, then step down. 

Sled

Grip the sled with your hands shoulder width apart, extend your arms straight and maintain a neutral spine. Ground your feet into the floor, drive the sled forward by using your legs to push and keeping your core braced. See the sled in action here.

AssaultBike

Adjust the seat to hip height using the knob on the bike frame. Sitting on the bike, legs pedal downwards, arms push and pull on the handle bars continuously and brace your core. Arms and legs move together to create maximum energy output. See Kayla demonstrating the Assault Bike here. 

Curve Treadmill

Jump on and simply start running. To slow down, allow yourself to drift back down the curve. On this manual treadmill, you control the speed.