Lever Arms are one of, if not the most versatile attachments out of all rack attachments. Our Lever Arms, like most on the market these days, are made out of 3×3″ tubing with 1″ holes spaced 2″ on center. This allows you to add any attachment to them, such as bar cups, handles, utility seat pads, rollers, or any other 1″ attachment. Our customers have come up with all sorts of ways to mimic standalone machines with their lever arms, such as leg presses, hip thrusts, shoulder presses, chest presses, and many more!
With all that said, the abundance of options can overwhelm customers about which exercises to perform on their arms and can make deciding if lever arms are suitable difficult. The purpose of this article is to highlight the exercises we believe are best performed on Lever Arms in a sports performance training environment. Every athlete has different goals so the top 5 exercises may be different or in a different order for you. If you want to perform lever arm exercises with Free Motion in both Z and X Planes checkout our Multi-Plane Alpha Arms.
1. Jammer press
Lever Arms, often referred to as Jammer Arms, derive their name from the old Hammer Strength Jammer Machine found in many weight rooms, especially where football players trained. They were an excellent way to mimic the explosive motion of blocking or tackling in the weight room, which quickly caught on. Today, most facilities have replaced their one or two Jammer Machines with multiple sets of rack-attachable Lever Arms. This change allows for more than just a couple of units, making it easier and more efficient for the entire team to train. They also are useful for other exercises such as belt squats, bench press, triphasic jumps and much more.
2. Snatch
Snatches are an excellent exercise for achieving Triple Extension and developing power in athletes. However, teaching the snatch is time-consuming and can be dangerous without proper technique. The Lever Arm snatch offers a great alternative. As the Lever Arm moves only up and down, it is much safer than a barbell. If the athlete fails, they can easily predict its path back to the upright and move out of the way. Additionally, as it involves a hinge movement, it is supported throughout, making it easier on the athlete’s shoulders. For added resistance throughout the full movement, try combining bands and weights on the Lever Arm
3. Pallof Press/hold
Each Lever Arm has an Eye Bolt on the bottom of it that allows you to attach bands, straps or belts. Shown above is an athlete performing a pallof press and hold with a Purple Band and a 25 LBS plate. The weight will move back and forth making the band shake and the athlete must compensate for that motion and use their core to stabilize themselves.
4. RDL
RDL’s are a great exercises for unilateral hamstring, glute and full posterior chain strength. But they can be awkward to perform with a DB especially for less experience athletes. The Lever Arm RDL is a hinge movement on a piece of hinging tubing that feels very natural and is easy to load heavy due to the 16″ weight peg.
5. Lever belt squat
Belt Squats are a great way to train the posterior chain and still get squats in but without compressing the spine. They are a great alternative for athletes with back issues or upper body injuries who cannot use a normal barbell. Each Lever Arm has an eye bolt on it allowing you to add a belt and turn it into a belt squat. Both arms could be setup and used as belt squats by two different athletes to perform belt squats at the same time without leaving the rack station.
honorable mention
Adjustable Lever Arms can be utilized for dozens of movements. Selecting just the top 5 exercises was challenging, but our goal is to showcase the versatility of the arms and their applicability in Sports Performance Training. Do you agree or disagree with our list? Share your thoughts in the comments, or feel free to send us a direct message or email!
