Weider power towers are a brand of workout equipment designed to allow you to get a full-body workout in the comfort of your own home. While Weider power towers tend to be more simplistic, the exercise options it offers you are immense. But how do you use a Weider power tower properly?
A Weider power tower will have various workout stations that come attached to it. At these workout stations, you can do:
- Pull-Ups
- Chin-Ups
- Dips
- Knee Raises
- Leg Raises
- Low Incline Push-Ups
- Crunches
You are also able to do many variations of the workouts mentioned above. For instance, instead of doing pull-ups, you can do muscle-ups. You can also do different dips to work out either your chest or your arms.
As you continue to read this article, we will be discussing each of these workouts listed above and the proper form required to do them safely. Furthermore, we will be giving you two different workout routines that vary in difficulty.
Weider Power Tower Exercises
Below we will be discussing the most common workouts that are performed on power towers. With these workouts, you can build excellent upper body strength, provided that you do them correctly.
However, this will require a decent amount of strength. Therefore we will be listing easier ways to do these workouts.
- Pull-Ups
The first station we will be talking about is the high bar located at the top of the power tower, usually on the back of the tower.
To do pull-ups, firmly grasp the high bar with a wide grip. Keep your palms facing away from you with your hands gripping the bar past your shoulders. Then, use your arms to pull your body up until your chin passes the bar. Most people will say that the top of your chest needs to touch the bar to be a real pull-up.
Pull-ups work out your upper back and your biceps, and it is one of the best exercises to build strength in your upper body.
If you are having a hard time doing pull-ups on your own, there are a couple of ways to make it slightly easier for you as you build muscle.
- Easier Pull-Ups
One way is to use a pull-up assist band. These long rubber bands are wrapped around the high bar, with a considerable portion hanging loose below. Use one of your feet to step onto the band after you have grasped the high bar. As you lift your body up, the band will assist you.
Another good way to start doing pull-ups is with a partner. They can assist you much like an assist band would. First, grab the bar, cross your feet and bend your knees backward. Your partner will need to hold on to your feet or ankles and help lift your body until you complete the pull-up.
- Chin-Ups
Chin-ups are very similar to pull-ups except for how you position your hands on the high bar. Instead of using a wide grip with your palms facing away from you, you will need a narrow grip with your palms facing you.
Due to the change in hand placement and grip, you will be working out different muscles in your upper back and arms. Because you are working out different muscles, this makes chin-ups a great addition to a pull-up workout. Doing both of these workouts together allows you to work out most of your upper back and arms.
- Easier Chin-Ups
Just like pull-ups, if you are having trouble doing chin-ups, you can use the same methods to make them easier so you can build strength. Using a partner or an assist band will allow you to work up the strength needed to do chin-ups yourself.
- Dips
When it comes to doing dips on a Weider power tower, there are two main methods. Each method might look similar, but they focus on different muscle groups. For example, both chest dips and tricep dips work out the same muscles but in different intensities.
- Chest Dips
First, let’s talk about chest dips. When doing chest dips, you are going to use the two outstretched arms on the power tower. Grip the bar with your hands and lift yourself off the ground keeping your shoulders in line with your hands. As you bend your arms, allow your elbows to bend out away from you a bit until your arms form a 90-degree angle at the elbow while also leaning your body forward. Then, push up until your arms are fully extended once again to finish the rep.
- Tricep Dips
When you want to do tricep dips, the process is almost the same as a chest dip. However, instead of bending your elbows slightly away from your body, you will want to keep them close and keep your body straight instead of leaning forward. Keeping your elbows closer to your body and your body straight up will focus this dip exercise on your shoulders and triceps.
- Easier Dips
If you are having issues doing dips, there are easier methods to help you build strength. Just like the other workouts above, you can use an assist band is probably the easiest. Take the assist band and slide each side onto the dip bars. Once you lift yourself, put your knees onto the loose part of the band and do dips as usual.
You can also use a bench, a box, or a chair to assist you as well. For this method, keep your feet on your bench while doing your dips. Use as little leg power as you can. The downside to this assistance method is that many people tend to use far too much leg power to lift themselves, building very little strength in the process.
- Knee Raises
According to the ACE (American Council on Exercise), knee raises work on your abdominal muscles far more than your traditional crunch. However, this is only true if you are using the proper form and technique.
To do knee raises properly on your Weider power tower, you will need to hoist yourself up onto the same extended arms where you would do dips. Use the arm and back pads to keep yourself comfortable. This part of a power tower is often called the captain’s chair.
Once you are situated in the captain’s chair, keep your legs straight as they hang underneath you. As you raise your legs, bend your knees and lift them as high as possible, bringing them up to your chest once you have brought them as high as you can return your legs to the starting position to finish the rep.
- Leg raises
Alternatively, you can do leg raises instead of knee raises. Leg raises are done in the same position as knee raises. However, to do leg raises, keep your legs straight and bend them up until they are outstretched in front of you.
The main downside to leg raises compared to knee raises is that they do not work on your core muscles as much. In fact, leg raises mainly focus on the muscles in your hips.
- Incline Push-Ups
While it is true that you can do push-ups anywhere, Weider power towers have a push-up station at the bottom of the tower. This station has two handles that are anywhere from 6 to 12 inches from the ground. These handles allow you to do incline push-ups.
Push-ups are possibly the easiest workout that you can do on a Weider power tower. Just lower your body close to your hands and push up. Push-ups work on your chest and your arms.
- Easier Push-Ups
Incline push-ups are slightly easier than regular push-ups because you have less weight supported by your chest and arms. However, you can make this exercise even easier by placing your knees on the ground. This will reduce the weight supported by your chest and arms further.
- Crunches
Crunches, just like push-ups, can be done anywhere. Also, like push-ups, Weider power towers have either a bar or two thick pads located at the bottom of the tower. Here you can secure your feet which will help keep your body stabilized.
When doing crunches, lay on the floor and keep your knees in the air with your feet on the ground. Use your toes to keep your body supported by the pads or the bar. Keep your arms either locked behind your head or across your chest. Finally, use your ab muscles to lift your upper body as high as you can.
As you continue to do abdominal exercises on your power tower, you will notice that you can lift your body close to your knees.
Typical Power Tower Workout Routines
Now that we have gone over the basics of each workout that you can do on a power tower, we have come up with two different workout routines that will give you a full-body workout. The first exercise is the easier of the two and is designed for beginners three days a week. The second exercise is a little more complicated but is still designed to be done three days a week
Beginner Power Tower Workout
This beginner workout should be done over three days during the week. It is a basic workout that you should be able to do in about an hour. However, if you work out for one day, the next day should be a rest day, and the following day you should repeat the workout. Feel free to add assist bands to this workout as it is meant to help build strength.
- Do a 10-minute stretch warm-up to get your body ready
- Pull-Ups – 1 set 10 to 15 reps
- Chin-Ups – 1 set 10 to 15 reps
- Chest Dips – 1 set 10 to 15 reps
- Tricep Dips – 1 set 10 to 15 reps
- Push-Ups – keep going until you fail to complete a rep
- Crunches – keep going until you fail to complete a rep
- Knee Raises – keep going until you fail to complete a rep
When doing the beginner exercise, take a 60-second break in between each set you do. Taking a break will allow your body to rest for a moment and build up enough strength to keep going.
Advanced Power Tower Workout Routine
The advanced workout that we have built for you is essentially the same as the beginner. However, it has gone up a couple of notches in difficulty. Like before, do this exercise for one day, take a rest day and repeat it the next day. Doing this advanced exercise should take you about an hour and a half to do.
- Do a 10-minute stretch warm-up to get your body ready
- Pull-Ups – 3 sets 10 to 15 reps
- Chin-Ups – 4 sets 10 to 15 reps
- Chest Dips – 3 sets 10 to 15 reps
- Tricep Dips – 3 sets 10 to 15 reps
- Push-Ups – keep going until you fail to complete a rep
- Crunches – keep going until you fail to complete a rep (do this twice)
- Knee Raises – keep going until you fail to complete a rep (do this twice)
When doing the advanced exercise, take a 60-second break in between each set you do. Taking a break will allow your body to rest for a moment and build up enough strength to keep going.
Final Thoughts
Weider power towers offer a complete workout for your entire body. Not only that but the types of exercises that you will do all work on multiple muscle groups at once. With that said, purchasing a Weider power tower is the perfect idea for any workout enthusiast.