Gravity boots or hang upside down boots haven been among us since decades ago. This type of equipment enjoyed great popularity during the 70s and 80s, mainly stimulated by huge efforts of manufacturers and several notable appearances in movies. Fitness enthusiasts used them to work out their torso while other health gurus guarantee fantastic benefits to overall health.
While there are no clear answers related to increased blood flow to the brain and other supposed benefits, there are amazing results in terms of fitness and back health. Gravity boots workouts have the potential to boost our results.
The only thing you need is a pair of gravity boots and a reliable high bar for pull-ups. With this, you can upgrade your whole core training, also including your legs. In the following lines, we will talk about the different workouts we have to make the most when it comes to gravity boots.
Workout #1: Full Inversion
The full inversion has to be the most basic workout to do with gravity boots. Even athletes dedicated to the most particular disciplines are really glad to practice the full inversion because it comes with great relieve to the spine. People who practice some activities, like sprinting or basketball, suffer the compression of the spine discs, which comes with pain, stress, and limited flexibility.
In order to perform properly, the full inversion requires the person to hang upside down with the gravity boots and stretch all they can towards the floor. This will extend the back, shoulders, abs, arms, and hips, bringing all kinds of benefits and stress release.
Workout #2: Inverted Sit-Ups
Doing inverted sit-ups is one of the most powerful ways to get results in the core. Because of the gravity, great resistance is experienced during the workout. The starting point is where the person is hanging upside down, all stretched towards the ground. After that, the core must go up, just like in a regular sit-up, touching the high bar with the hands.
A more difficult variation for experienced people is doing the inverted sit-ups while carrying a dumbbell or a heavy disc on the hands. This exponentially increases the resistance while making every single second a notable challenge.
Workout #3: Inverted Squats
There is an overlooked fact about gravity boots and the possible workouts: we can also train the legs. The inverted squats are an exciting exercise to boost strength and flexibility with the use of gravity boots.
The starting position, as always, is like the full inversion. Then, we must flex the knees and bring the whole upper body close to the high bar, without moving the hips notably. Another important thing to notice is that we have to canalize most of the effort in the glutes and lower back, focusing on avoiding a bad form and further injuries.
Workout #4: Three Point Hang
A popular workout to make the most of the gravity boots is the three point hang. This exercise is quite simple. What we must do is start with full the inversion position but maintain a notable space between the feet. Then, we must move our torso towards the bar and hold it with one hand, while the other hand is hanging towards the floor.
After a few seconds of holding this position, with one hand up and the other down, switch hands. This workout is excellent to improve flexibility, stretch the back and spine, and finally build muscle in the abs, shoulders, and back.
Workout #5: Holding Position
We cannot simply finish this article without addressing the holding position. Think of this exercise as planks with the gravity boots. We must take our torso up, like in an inverted sit-up. The difference is that when we reach an L position, we have to hold it without any more movements. The holding position itself can challenge our resistance and the strength of the torso, mainly on the abs.
Of course, this is a highly demanding movement that not many people can perform properly. It could be convenient to try on-the-ground planks before doing the holding position upside down. This is important because many muscles engage during this position, increasing the risk of injury.
The Bottom Line
The gravity boots are quickly becoming, again, one of the most popular and interesting pieces of alternative equipment for fitness. As you can see, many workouts can be done in a fun and original way, also increasing effectiveness at the same time.
Consider that you need to have a reliable high bar at hand. Without it, the workout can become dangerous. But don’t worry too much: if everything is in order, nothing could go wrong. Many fitness experts who regularly use gravity boots claim that they never had a single accident in their lives.
Be careful, make an effort, and guarantee big gains in a fun way.
