Last Updated on November 22, 2017 by MarcyPro
Weight plates are common equipment in the gym. Most people use them for their strength training routines when they slide the plate onto a barbells or dumbbells. However, with a little creativity, you can use those plates for various kinds of exercise routines.
Weight plates can be used as a substitute to gliders. The plates can help you achieve better balance because it reduces the direct contact you have with the ground. With less contact, you need more muscle groups to perform movements which will help you get a better overall workout.
Marcy’s online shop offers Olympic Bumper Plates that weigh, 10, 25, 35, and 45 lb. So if you’re planning to use your weight plates for your workout routine, here are five exercises that you can try:
Pushups
Start in a planking position. Put your hands on each plate, space them, so the plates touch each other. Keep your body straight and when you start the pushups, slide the plates away.
While doing this routine, make sure you keep your shoulders pulled away from the ears, and your elbows are angling back. When you go down, make sure your nose touches the ground. Before moving back up again, pause for a few moments.
Chest Press
Stand straight and with your feet wide. Hold your two weight plates together between two hands with your fingertips pointed forward. Keep the plates at chest level and apply constant pressure on the plates to prevent them from falling. Your shoulders should be down throughout the routine.
To perform chest presses with your weight plates, slowly extend your elbows and move the plates away from your body. Keep in mind that the weights need to move in line with your chest. Once extended away from your body, pause, then flex through the elbows and return to the starting position.
Hamstring Curls
Lie faceup with your knees bent. Put your heels on each plate and squeeze your glutes and lift your hips off the ground. Push the plates away from your body with your heels. The aim in this routine is to extend both knees fully. Once you’ve done that, you move the plates back in towards your butt. With your toes raised off the ground, you work both the glutes and your hamstrings.
Side Lunges
Stand with one plate under your right foot. Take a wide lateral step with your left. Lower yourself into a lunge. Put most of your weight on your left leg, and keep your right leg straight. Drag the plate to your left leg by driving through with your left heel. Next, do the same with your left leg.
Standing Lunges
Put one plate under your right foot and slide your right leg back, lowering yourself into a lunge. Drive up through with the front heel, and extend through with the front knew. Drag the back foot with the plate to meet your right. Repeat next with your left.
For each of these routines, do three sets of 12 reps each lasting 45 minutes. With the intense exercise you get from our Olympic Bumper Plates, you’ll eventually build your body up for more intense workouts and workout equipment.