Ever wondered about those odd-looking objects in the corner of your local gym? Don't be shy — you might be looking at your new favorite workout equipment.
Trying out new strength training equipment can be a great way to keep your gym routine fun and challenging so you can keep making gains, according to Steve Stonehouse, an NASM-certified personal trainer and vice president of programming at Body Fit Training.
"What I love about fitness is that people are extremely adaptable," he told Business Insider. "It opens up another set of exercises."
Equipment like trap bars and landmine attachments may not get as much love as the squat rack or elliptical, but they can help you tap into new levels of strength and muscle-building potential, Stonehouse said.
The trap bar can help you deadlift safely
Most people are familiar with the barbell deadlift, a deservedly popular exercise because it works nearly all the muscles of the body at once.
But you might be less acquainted with a variation using the trap bar, which has a hexagonal shape (which is why it's also known as a hex bar). Despite looking a little funky, the trap bar can make it easier and safer to deadlift, according to Stonehouse. To use it, you step into the middle of the hexagon and lift, which helps prevent common deadlift mistakes like getting the weight too far out in front which can cause you to tweak your back.
"The advantage is that you get to stand in the middle of the weight instead of behind the weight," Stonehouse said. "It redistributes the weight, and can take pressure off the back."
As a result, it can be a great option for beginners, although some purists will argue you should learn good deadlift form with a conventional version first, Stonehouse noted. It's also useful for experienced athletes to challenge themselves using heavier loads with lower risk of a mishap.
"Even if someone is really good with a barbell deadlift, as I increase weight, I like to try on a trap bar first," he said.
Landmine exercises can take your gains to the next level
Hidden behind the stacks of weight plates and dumbbells, you might find a little gizmo that looks like a partial barbell with a hinge. The landmine attachment allows you to secure the bar at one end, creating a more fixed path for the weight.
"The more determined path of motion allows us to do heavy weight that you may not do with a barbell and plates," Stonehouse said. "It's a halfway spot between machine weights and free weights."
Gym machines are safe and easy to use, but super limited in how you can move. In contrast, free weights like dumbbells allow a full range of motion for gains, but require more skill and effort to control.
To translate that into less nerdy terms, it means you get the best of both worlds, allowing you to safely engage more muscles on movements like presses, rows, rotations, or thrusters.
Battle ropes build strength and raise your heart rate at once
A staple in functional fitness gyms and high-intensity workout classes, battle ropes are a fun, simple way to work on strength and stamina at the same time. To use them, you hold on to one end of the ropes and slam, rotate, or wave the ropes to create a ripple all the way down.
The distinct aspect of battle ropes is that the weight doesn't stay the same as you're moving, since the wave motion of the rope traveling toward the anchor creates variations, according to Stonehouse.
The dynamic movement can help you level up something like a jump squat into a jump slam, helping to elevate your heart rate at the same time as working your muscles with the resistance from the ropes.
Stonehouse said battle rope exercises are typically done for time, and can be a simple, fun way to crank up the intensity.
"If you're stressed, there's nothing better than 60 seconds of slamming the shit out of a heavy rope," he said. "It's hard to go wrong with that."
