Grab a Tyre

The first time I was given a tyre to exercise with, I felt like an overly confident, burly man with wide shoulders and ripped muscles. Well, it was just a feeling because some equipment and workouts pamper your ego, making you think you are invincible. At the end of the exercise, which involved tossing an enormous tire around or wearing it around the waist and running with it, everything in my body ached.

With most gyms still closed, you must be wondering how to improve your exercises or what other equipment to do add to your collection. Grab a tyre. It is tough enough to help you burn calories and push you past your comfort zone.

While such rough-hewn tyres may look old-fashioned, Peter Obare, a fitness trainer, says one can do many exercises with them, from workouts to help build strength, endurance to burning lots of calories. If used consistently, tyres sculpt the body and tone it that you are unlikely to have arms, butt or thighs that waggle.

“It targets various muscle groups yet it occupies less space compared to other equipment. It is versatile in terms of the workouts one can do with them and also most are readily available,” he said.

Some of the exercises that you can do with a tyre include mountain climbers, squats, walking lunges while lifting up the tyre, deadlifts, planks, tire flips and jumps

But before you pick a tyre, ensure you lift it well so that it does not cause injuries.

“Just like in the gym when lifting any weight, the proper form is everything. And by form, we mean the way the workout is executed. If you are about to flip a huge tyre, approach it like you would do a deadlift workout. The back should be straight not arched. Generally, the safety bit is determined by the type of workout one is undertaking. There are those who jump on a tyre then go down into a burpee. Ensure that the tyre is not slippery to avoid falling,” he said.

Do you need a big tyre to realise benefits? “No. There are numerous tyre exercises that work on various muscle groups so the size of the tyre may not necessarily be the same. A tyre workout for the back would need a big tyre but one for the abdominals would require a much smaller tire,” Peter says.

Some of the exercises that you can do a tyre:

• Back and forth flipping or continuous flipping of the tyre.

• Tire box jump which involves jumping in, top with knees slightly bent.

• Hopping in the tire, in and out

• Tire climb planks which is alternating touching down and up the tire to strengthen your arms and abs.

• Explosive step-ups which is stepping on the tire.

• Tire carrying which you can do with lunges or while running.