What Are Combination Exercise Machines?

Everyone loves getting more than one thing done at once. Whether you’re making work calls while running errands, or in this case, hitting multiple muscle groups in one exercise—it feels great to save time and energy by multitasking. Combination exercises make this possible, cutting down on the time you need to spend exercising while also making the most of your effort during your workout.

Combination exercises can be further improved by incorporating a combination exercise machine explicitly built to engage multiple muscle groups in one motion. Machines help you focus on specific movements with the exercise options laid out in front of you—no creativity or overthinking required.

With the right piece of equipment in your home gym, you will have a straightforward set of exercise options to engage multiple muscle groups. You can fully customize your workout by incorporating different exercises each time, or you can form a consistent routine. The choice is truly yours, but regardless, you will be reaching more muscles at one time with less thought and less time. 

What Is a Combination Exercise?

Combination exercises put two exercises into one, getting more done in one move and increasing your results. Exercises can be combined by choosing which muscle groups to pair in a workout and then using the proper equipment to maximize this pairing. While there is no right way to pair muscle groups, many find it easier to group muscles that are close together. This is because certain motions naturally pair muscle groups, but you can still customize your workout to reach other muscle groups farther apart.

For example, rowing pairs arms and shoulders in one motion. This engages two sets of muscles, giving you more power to row. Rowing variations can help expand the reach to other muscle groups as well, but right from the start, you already have two.

Resistance exercises like rowing and ski training are excellent for combination exercises since they have variations that can activate more of your body. Each workout you perform from rowing or ski training positions can be modified to incorporate lower body and upper or expand from just arms to shoulders, back, and more. The options are never-ending, keeping your workouts fresh for every session.

What Does Combination Exercise Do?

By combining exercises, you’ll burn more calories in a shorter amount of time and build more muscle, plus your overall fitness and conditioning will be better for it. Your body will become accustomed to doing more work and utilizing various muscles and sections in one go. This will make you stronger and faster in your training and day-to-day needs as well.

If you’re short on time, combination exercises make a complete workout more possible for you to achieve regularly because you can accomplish more in less time. Rather than working out one muscle group per session, you can work out multiple groups each day and allow yourself more recovery time necessary for muscle growth.

Combination exercises also keep your workout routine fun. Rather than getting stuck in a rut with the same handful of movements each time, combination exercise machines offer a variety of motions you can mix and match. You can do any of the machine’s training exercises on any day, giving you complete freedom to customize your workout depending on how you’re feeling or what you want.

Which Combination Exercise Machine Is Best?

With so many on the market, it can be hard to decipher which combination exercise machine will be most effective for you. Consider the space you have in your home, your fitness goals, and what you’re looking for in a machine. Home gym space can be limited, making choosing a machine that does it all even more important.

The SKI-ROW machine is the perfect fit for anyone looking for home gym versatility, with an endless combination of exercise options. There are two models to choose from, the SKI-ROW AIR and the SKI-ROW AIR + PWR. The main difference is that the SKI-ROW AIR only uses the air-flywheel resistance, which means that the resistance you feel from the machine is entirely dependent on your intensity in the workout. This feature makes for less resistance from slower movements and proportionately increasing resistance as your intensity and speed increase.

The SKI-ROW AIR + PWR also has magnetic resistance, allowing you to control the resistance beyond just your intensity. You can set the machine as a starting point of how much it will work against you, adding more difficulty to your combination exercises. This allows you to complete control of your starting point or increasing difficulty regardless of your rep speed. This way, you can move slowly while still pulling heavier. It truly depends on your preference if this is something you want to incorporate into your exercise or not.

What else makes the SKI-ROW a fantastic combination exercise machine is the space-saving design. This is the only machine you’ll need in your home gym, and it takes up just enough space to get the job done without overthrowing the entire room. Best of all, it is versatile, giving you two positions in one machine.

What You Can Do on the SKI-ROW

Whether you choose the Air or Air + Pwr model, the SKI-ROW is two machines in one for maximum options and workout customization. You can row or do ski training right in your home. There are six suggested exercise variations in the rowing position to make the most of your time, including bicep curls, standard rowing, and overhead rowing. You can engage different muscles with each of these choices and do any combination in one HIIT session.

There are nine suggested exercise variations in the ski training position to engage different muscle groups in your workout. These include everything from pull-downs to butterflies and even lunges. 

Mix and match skiing or rowing moves, or do both kinds of exercises to keep your workout exciting and effective. This variety makes high-intensity interval training (HIIT) easier to do at home since you have countless options for intervals. This type of exercise is ideal for maximizing calorie and fat burn in a short amount of time. HIIT plus combination exercises are the ultimate time-savers!

You can complete full HIIT sessions, spend less time working out, and never get bored, all with one machine. Targeting multiple muscle groups at once will have you burning more calories in every workout and conditioning your body better than single muscle group exercises.

SKI-ROW Workouts

Some of the best combination exercises are ones you can do on the SKI-ROW machine, and we have training videos that show you exactly how to do each exercise to ensure you have the proper form. Making sure you do the exercises correctly is beneficial to your workout and helps prevent injury. It is essential to stay safe, just as much as it is to maximize your calorie burn.

In the rowing position, these are the workouts you can do:

• Bicep Curl
• Arms Only Row
• High Row
• Reverse Overhead Row
• Single Arm Row
• Single-Leg Row

 

In the ski training position, these are the workouts you can do:

• Alternating Arms
• Alternating Reverse Lunge
• Butterfly
• Plyo Jump
• Overhead Tricep Extension
• Single-Leg Tricep Pull Down
• Staggered Leg Skiing
• Woodchopper
• Straight Arm Pulldown

 

Any of these exercises will engage multiple muscle groups while you do your reps. Try doing these exercises for a few seconds to a few minutes, then resting for AN equal amount of time before attacking another movement.

To Sum Up

Doing your HIIT sessions with combination exercises is the best way to spend less time working out without sacrificing workout quality or results. You can accomplish so much more in a 30-minute workout at home on the SKI-ROW than you can in an hour doing any other form of exercise. Combination exercise machines are the efficient and effective workout solution you’ve been craving.

 

Sources:

Muscle Groups to Work Out Together: How to Create a Plan | Healthline

4 Combo Exercises To Freshen Up Boring Routines | Barbend

Compound Exercises: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Exercises | Greatist