Moto Gym Equipment You Already Have 5

With everything closed and canceled, the tendency might be to wear a hole in the couch. Some of you will, no doubt, already have some sort of at-home gym set up, but I bet most riders (me included) would rather spend time, energy, and money on riding and moto gear than workout equipment. That being said, we are in desperate times that call for desperate measures. Yet that doesn’t mean you have to drop hundreds of dollars on single-use gym machines… You already have some tools to help you out. 

Obviously, there are about a million different ways to get in a good workout with your bodyweight alone, but when you get a little tired of pushups, lunges and crutches, the following are a few ways spice up you HIIT (high intensity interval training) routine. 

Bike Stand = Plyometric Box

Go to any gym or cross-fit class and you’ll undoubtedly see wooded or metal boxes to jump on. It’s all the rage and all across Instagram are videos of people seeing how high they can jump. While a bike stand is somewhat shorter, smaller, and a little less stable, you can do a lot of the same exercises that you can with a plyo box. There are tons of videos on Youtube, but here are a few ideas. 

• Jump ups: Just jump with both legs onto the stand. Obviously be careful since a bike stand isn’t designed for this. 
• One leg step ups: Step on to the stand with one leg, with the other leg do a kick or a high knee, then step to the ground without the kicking/kneeing leg touching the stand. 
• Box lunge: Stand on the bike stand and drop one leg to the ground from the side, then quickly switch legs 
• Elevated push-ups: Make your pushups harder by elevating your feet on the stand. 

This video pretty much shows all of these and more. 

Tie-downs = TRX straps

Anything you can do with TRX straps, you can do with tie-downs. The tricky part, as with TRX straps, is finding a spot to secure the tie-downs. The easiest would be to find sturdy rafters or support beams overhead in your garage, shop, or shed. But if you don’t have that, you can use a door way by putting the tie-downs over the top of the door and closing it. You can also wrap a tie-down around a tree that is rough enough to hold it with friction. There are a huge amount of ideas on the TRX website and on YouTube as well. 

While the typical use for these kinds of straps is arm workouts, trying sliding your feet in them for some core and leg work. With any of the arm moves, the closer your feet are to directly under the straps (body getting parallel to the floor) the more of your body weight you are using and the harder the exercise. 

• Row: With a strap in each hand lean back so you are suspended by the straps. Pull with your arms keeping your elbows perpendicular to your body and extend your chest forward. 
• Curl: With a strap in each hand, palms facing up, arms in line with shoulders, curl your biceps. 
• Chest extension: With a strap in each hand have your thumbs up and pinkies down. Start with your arms out in front of you and, keeping your arms straight, pull your body forward to make a T with your body. 
• Upside-down crunches: Get in a plank position and slip your feet into the hanging straps so your body is parallel to the ground. Pull your knees into your chest.
• Mountain climbers: In the same position, alternate pulling each leg into your chest. Faster is better. 
• Balance lunge: With one foot in the tie-down about a foot off the ground, facing away from the tie-downs, bend the other leg to 90 degrees. 

Handlebar = Body bar

This one you have to get more creative with. If you want, you can secure an extra set of handlebars to a base (wood plant or something similar) and do pushups this way. Another way to use handlebars is to loop it through the tie-downs and do pulling exercises that way. The are also not as long as real body bars, but they can help with keeping your arms in line when doing plyometric movements and help with stretching. 

This video is a good idea of some of the flexibility exercises you can do. Some wouldn’t work because handlebars are too short, but you can use a broom handle as well.