Want to intensify your workouts? And at the same time want safety to be a priority? Then, think no more and settle for helpful Fitness accessories.
Today fitness is more simple and easy, with many convenient accessories available. You can find an accessory to work on a particular muscle/part of the body. The fitness market is flooding with so many handy accessories. This gives room for confusion as to what you should pick and why?
While choosing a fitness accessory, be very particular about how you will be putting it to use. Most accessories can be used in more than one way or for more than one exercise.
In this blog post, we will be particularly discussing how you can put ankle straps to use. Read further to know interesting ways to use it...
So, What is an Ankle Strap?
An Ankle Strap is a simple ankle band with attachable rings, used to hook it to the cable machines. The straps wrap around the ankle to form a firm grip. This gives the required resistance to perform a particular exercise mainly focusing on lower body & core.
Ankle straps are a simple gym accessory which gives great results if put to use rightly. They are designed to be used as an attachment to various workout machines. The strap creates great tension in the targeted muscle and helps to tone it up.
The ankle straps are mainly used to target the leg muscles which include glutes, hamstrings & thighs. The belt-like strap gives maximum support to the ankle & hug the ankle tight enough to perform a particular exercise.
How ankle straps help you Tone-up!
Ankle Straps are great to tone up the leg & abdominal muscles. They help you target calf, lower leg, lower body and the glutes muscles. They are effective in strengthening & conditioning the muscles.
Ankle straps help you perform both strength & cardio workouts. The various workouts that can be done using ankle straps are cable mountain climbers, cable reverse kickbacks, cable lunges, cable squats etc.
The main purpose of using an ankle strap is to create more resistance & increase the effectiveness of an exercise. Since more pressure is felt on the targeted muscle, it becomes stronger and tones up in the right shape. The more muscle engagement the more fat burn around the targeted area.
Is an ankle strap only for Women?
This is the most common myth related to the ankle straps! To clear all the myths & doubts let us make it bold & clear. Ankle straps can be used by BOTH men & women. They are NOT only meant for women to work on glutes!
Ankle straps are effective attachments to the cable machines used to intensify the workouts. To all the guys out there, you need to use the ankle straps to get those toned, ripped hamstrings. Ankle straps should be an ideal choice when you are planning to tone up your lower body and legs in particular.
Ankle straps help to increase the strength in the legs, tighten the muscles, burn fat and shape them up. This makes ankle straps universal & to be used by both men & women. You can use it according to your muscle requirements to meet your goals.
With a variety of exercises that can be performed using a simple ankle strap, you should definitely add it to your gym accessory collection.
6 reasons You must use an ankle strap
- Allow you to maximize the efficiency of your training
- Deliver you faster results in terms of body shaping
- Can be easily adjusted for a snug fit on your ankles
- You can perform a variety of exercises both weighted & cardio.
- Can be easily used on any cable machine.
- It is multipurpose & accessible.
Hence Ankle straps are not ONLY for women, but men can also use them...!
Best workouts using Ankle straps for Legs, Glutes & Core
Breaking one more myth that ankle straps are only for legs! Ankle straps can be effectively used in a variety of exercises engaging the core muscles. Here are the best exercises using ankle straps for legs, core & glutes, which can be done by both men & women.
Exercise for Legs & glutes
- Cable Lateral Lunges
How to do:
- Attach the ankle strap to your right ankle. Your left foot will remain unstrapped to provide balance and stability. Position yourself to where your right leg will pull away from the machine when you move laterally.
- Lean-to the right and push your right leg out laterally, dropping into a lateral lunge position while pushing your hips back and keeping your chest up.
- Your weight should be pushed into your right leg while your left leg is extended.
- When you're finished with the reps on the right, switch to your left leg.
- Do a minimum of 20 reps on each side.
- Cable Squats
How to do:
- Attach the ankle strap to your right ankle. Your left foot will remain unstrapped to provide balance and stability. Position yourself to where your right leg will pull away from the machine when you move laterally.
- Drop into a squat position.
- Draw your right foot out laterally as you drop lower into the squat. Weight should be evenly distributed between both feet.
- While maintaining your squat position, bring your right foot back in and then repeat.
- When the right side is complete, switch to the left.
- Cable Hamstring curls
How to do:
- Keep the machine on the lowest setting and strap one ankle in.
- Hold onto the machine while facing towards it.
- While balancing on one leg, pull the weighted leg upwards. Try to have your heel touch your buttocks.
- Hold at the top for one second before slowly releasing.
- Complete 20 reps on each leg.
- Cable Kickbacks
How to do:
- Start by attaching a strap to your ankles and keeping the cable pulley on a low setting.
- Face the machine and hold it. Use your arms to help you balance.
- Extended the weighted leg backwards as far as you can.
- Hold for one second at the top before slowly lowering the leg back to the starting position.
- Complete 15 repetitions on each leg.
- Cable Hip Abductors
How to do:
- Start by keeping the pulley machine on the lowest setting and attaching the strap to your ankle.
- Your shoulder should face the machine while the outside leg is weighted.
- Raise the outside, weighted leg to the side while keeping the other leg on the ground.
- Squeeze your glutes at the top for two seconds. Then slowly bring the leg back down.
- Do 15 repetitions on each leg.
- Inner & Outer Thigh contractions
How to do:
- Stand in front of the pulley machine with your shoulder facing it. Attach the leg closest to the machine with an ankle strap.
- Lift the leg of the ground slightly and pull it to the side, away from the pulley machine.
- Once you can no longer raise the leg any higher, hold for one second and then slowly bring it down to the starting position.
- Repeat for 20 reps on each leg.
Exercise for core
- Weighted Crunches
How to do:
- Attach the cable to both ankles at the same time and keep your feet together. The pulley will be in the lowest position.
- Lie flat on the floor. While your back is on the floor, slide your fingers under your head and lift your legs on the ground. You are now in a standard crunch position.
- Begin doing crunches, but over-exaggerate the leg movement. By stretching the leg movement out, the weight of the cable pulley makes the exercise 10X more difficult.
- Repeat for 25 reps.
- Weighted Leg raises
How to do:
- Grab a flat bench. Attach the cable to both your ankles at one time and keep them together.
- Lie on the bench with your weighted ankles toward the pulley machine.
- Grab the bench or another machine nearby for balance.
- Slowly lift both weight ankles straight into the air. Once your body makes a “L” shape, you can slowly lower the legs back down.
- This should be incredibly difficult on the abdominals.
- Do 20 reps.
- Cable mountain climbers
How to do:
- Attach the cable to both ankles at the same time and keep your feet together. The pulley will be in the lowest position.
- Come to the position of doing mountain climbers.
- Do mountain climbers as usual, with medium to higher space.
- Keep doing it for a 60-sec minimum.
- Weighted Bicycle crunches
How to do:
- Attach the cable to both ankles at the same time and keep your feet together. The pulley will be in the lowest position.
- Lie flat on the floor. While your back is on the floor, slide your fingers under your head and lift your legs on the ground. You are now in a standard crunch position.
- Do bicycle crunches the usual way, by lifting one knee at a time and touching the opposite elbows.
- Repeat for 20 reps on each leg.
- Weight Scissor cuts.
How to do:
- Attach the cable to both ankles at the same time and keep your feet together. The pulley will be in the lowest position.
- Lie flat on the floor. While your back is on the floor, slide your fingers under your head and lift your legs on the ground. You are now in a standard crunch position.
- Do scissor the usual way, by crossing one leg over the other to crunch the lower abdomen.
- Repeat for 20 reps on each leg.
Try Joyfits’s Premium Padded Ankle straps
At Joyfit, we have carefully designed the ankle strap to give complete support and maximum comfort while performing any exercise using it. JoyFit Ankle Straps are effective for leg extensions, cable kickbacks, hip abduction, and cable lunges.
For its superior built and sleek design, JoyFit Ankle Straps can be used with various workout machines. Add this amazing multipurpose accessory to your collection to tone up your lower body.
Conclusion
So, do you agree on “Ankle straps can do more than you think”? Well, You must!
Ace your fitness game with Ankle straps today. With helping you tone up ankle straps are great to help you stretch out and relax the muscles. They are also great to give you an instant pump in the hamstrings. So, what more are you waiting for? Add this versatile product to get toned & pumped today!