Working out with tires is a part of Strong Man training and it has gained an important place among the latest fitness trends because of its wide popularity among athletes and body builders. Tire workouts help in enhancing strength, increasing power and improving conditioning. The best thing about tire exercises is that they can train the body in ways that traditional weight training can’t. You can easily get a tire from any local shop or junkyard. Men should start with a 300 to 500 pound tire while women should begin with a 100 to 300 pounds tire.
Benefits of Tire Training Program
Tire training is a cheap and fun-filled workout that is becoming an increasingly popular gym training program because it can be done by each and everyone and all it requires is an old tire. Some of the usefulness of working out with a tire is as follows:
- Enhanced Sports Performance – Tire exercises improves speed, flexibility and strength – the three vital components required in any sports. Tire training forms an integral part of training for sprinters, wrestlers, football players and volleyball players.
- Ideal for Bodybuilding – Bodybuilding not only means increasing lean muscle mass in the arms and upper body. The lower body is of equal importance and tire workouts are the only type of workouts that helps in working out the leg muscles in the style of bodybuilding. It also helps in stimulating muscle growth.
- Best Workout during Knee and Back Injuries – All those who are into serious gym exercises and muscle building must have experienced back and knee injuries at some point in their life. Exercises with workout tires are effective in such cases because you can still workout while pulling the tire.
- Fun Way to Workout – Tire training adds fun and variety to the same old one-dimensional gym workout sessions because these workouts can be enjoyed in the park or on the beach and it does not require any costly equipment.
- Easily Adjustable – One of the best things about tire exercises is that the weight load and intensity of exercises can be easily adjusted to your level of fitness. Intensity and level of difficulty can be increased gradually as stamina increases.
Top 10 Tire Training Moves for Full Body Workout
Improved strength and flexibility are the building blocks of a chiseled and muscular body and what better way to improve the level of conditioning and burn body fat than with fun filled tire training exercises?
Tire Box Jumps
The tire box jump is a preliminary exercise of tire fitness training that can be done by beginners. This workout helps in improving your vertical jump and the explosiveness of running. It is a functional exercise that increases stamina and energy.
Place the tire on its side and stand in front of it. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and come to a squat pose, jump up in the air and land onto the tire, but try to maintain your balance because landing too heavily on the tire can hurt your knees. Jump back to the ground and again jump onto the tire. Repeat this move 30 to 50 times at a stretch.
Lateral Jumps
Lateral jumps are an important part of tire workouts that helps in developing flexibility and power of the lower body such as hip abductors and adductors. It is also useful in enhancing the stability of the hips, knees and ankles. It is an amazing core exercise that tones the entire lower part of the body.
Stand straight with the tire lying at your side. Now, bend down slightly to a squat position and jump onto the tire from the side and land on the tire softly in a half-squat position in order to minimize the impact of the landing. Jump back to the ground and repeat again. Repeat this move 30 to 50 times at a stretch.
Jump Over the Tire
Jump over the tire is an important lower body exercise with workout tires that helps in enhancing fast muscle fiber reaction because the workout involves quick contraction of leg and core muscles to produce force with each jump. Stand straight with the tire lying flat in front of you.
Keep your feet shoulders width apart and come to a squat position, explode into a forceful jump to land on the other side of the tire. The landing should be in a squat position, controlled by both feet. Now turn back and again jump to land on the other side of the tire. Repeat 30 jumps at a stretch.
Tire Flips
The tire flip is one of the power packed tire exercises that help in toning the arms, shoulders, upper back and chest muscles. A bigger tire such as a truck tire will be required for this exercise. Place the tire flat on the ground. Keep your hands and feet shoulder-width apart and place your fingers under the tire.
Squat down and pull the tire up with your hands as you raise your body up from the squatting position. Use your legs and arms to lift the tire rather than your back. Push the tire forward so that it takes a flip and repeat this process again once the tire is in a flat position.
Triceps Dips
The triceps dips are an integral part of tire training that is quite similar to bench dips. It is a controlled move that tones the arm muscles and enhances the triceps. Stand by facing away from the tire with your arms behind you. Put your palms on the tire and keep the arms extended.
Decline Push Ups
Decline push ups take the regular push up to a whole new level and therefore, it has become a popular part in latest fitness training programs. This exercise targets the core muscles, upper pectoral muscles and lower pectoral muscles – all at the same time. Lie on the floor in a push-up position and place both your feet on the tire.
Toe Touches
The toe touches using tires is one of the popular fitness workouts that helps in toning the hip flexors and improves the overall speed. Stand straight facing the tire; bring your left foot up by bending the knee so that the left foot touches the tire. Return the left foot to the ground and put your right foot up so that the right foot touches the tire.
Pop Squats
The pop squats is an interesting variation of regular squats that is effective in working the glutes, hamstrings, quads and core muscles. Place the tire flat on the ground. Stand in the center of the tire and bend down slightly.
Hop upward and land on the tire in a squat position with both feet on opposite sides of the tire. Hop again and return to the starting position at the center of the tire. This makes one repetition. Repeat this move 20 to 30 times at a stretch for best results.
Step Ups
Step ups using tires is an integral part of the new exercise trends that helps in working the muscles of the hips, legs, glutes and quads. Stand in front of the tire and place the left foot on it. Jump up in the air by pushing your left foot on the tire.
Switch your legs in the air and land with the right foot resting on the tire, again explode into a jump and land with your left foot on the tire. Continue to repeat the jumps by switching legs in the air. Continue this exercise for 3 to 5 minutes at a stretch.
Back and Forth Tire Flip
The back and forth tire flip is a power packed cardio exercise that gets your heart level high. This is a full body workout move that helps in improving overall strength and stamina. The back and forth tire flip consists of two jumps and one flip. Place the tire flat on the floor, jump into the hole of the tire, jump forward to land outside the tire, turn back to face the tire, lift it up from the ground using your arms and legs, flip it and again jump into the hole, jump on the other side, turn towards the tire, flip it. Repeat 10 to 15 flips at a stretch for best results.
Tire training is one of the new fitness trends that is gaining popularity among fitness enthusiasts because of its wide accessibility and flexibility. It can be adjusted to any fitness level and it is a workout equipment that works universally – for body building, sports training and gym training.