6 Best Machine Workouts for a Total-Body Slim-Down

Working out with weights is a very effective way to boost your fat loss and muscle gain for a total body slim-down. Resistance training with weights builds muscle, burns calories, and increases your metabolism overall, allowing you to burn more calories at rest. Traditional weight training implements include dumbbells and barbells. While these are great tools, some individuals are unable to use these types of equipment due to injury, comfort, or convenience-related reasons. That’s why we’re here today with six of the best machine workouts to slim down and tone up.

Working out with resistance machines that use a fixed range of motion and a pinned weight stack and pulley system or manually loaded plates can be an excellent alternative to traditional free weights. There are many benefits of using free weights over machines, especially in terms of transfer to real-world performance. However, the fact is that for muscle building, fat loss, and slimming down overall, the differences are marginal.

If the choice is between machine-based workouts or avoiding the weight room altogether, we would go with machines every time. The following is a list of five different machine workouts you can use for a total-body slim-down. Each workout consists of five exercises using various machines found in most commercial gyms. Each workout hits most of the major muscle groups in your body for a true total-body workout.

Choose two to three of the workouts to perform each week, with at least one day in between each. Select a weight that feels moderate to heavy for 10 to 15 repetitions. Rest for 60 seconds between sets. Perform two to four sets of each exercise based on your available time and current fitness level.

Read on to learn about six of the best machine workouts to slim down. And next, be sure to check out 5 Exercises Men Should Do Every Day to Stay Fit.

fit woman doing lat pulldowns for Christmas countdown workout — Shutterstock

This workout hits your legs, lats, back, and chest using standard pin-stack machines. Focus on the mind-muscle connection, and go for a solid pump in your muscles.

Seated Leg Press
Lat Pulldown
Machine Chest Press
Seated Row
Leg Curl

woman demonstrating cable fly breast-lifting exercises — Shutterstock

This workout relies on cable machines for each exercise. These provide slightly more instability than fixed range-of-motion exercise machines. They also give constant tension throughout the range of motion, offering a more even muscle stimulus throughout the repetition. Additionally, the cable resistance angle is not directly downward, unlike free weights, which changes the overall feel and stimulus provided by the exercises.

Cable Squat
Cable Chest Fly
Cable Tricep Pushdown
Cable Bicep Curl
Cable Glute Kickback

woman performing smith machine squats — Shutterstock

This workout utilizes the Smith machine, which is basically a barbell attached to a fixed track that allows it to go up and down but prevents lateral, forward, or backward movement of the bar. This can make it safer for clients who need solid muscle stimulus but cannot safely perform barbell lifts.

Smith Machine Squat
Smith Machine Incline Bench Press
Smith Machine Bent-Over Row
Smith Machine Shoulder Press

woman doing leg extensions on machine at gym, leg-strengthening exercises — Shutterstock

This workout combines multiple types of workout machines for a comprehensive full-body training session. For practical purposes, this also prevents the need to hunker down on a single piece of equipment (ie Smith machine, cable crossover), which can annoy other gym members who may want to work in.

Leg Extension
Seated Cable Row
Pec Deck Fly
Cable Lateral Raise
Seated Calf Raise

This workout includes assisted pull-ups. If you can perform regular pull-ups, you don’t technically need the assisted pull-up machine. Overall, this workout has a heavy focus on arms and shoulders, but still includes the hack squats to hit your lower body.

Hack Squat
Assisted Pull-up
Machine Shoulder Press
Machine Preacher Curl
Machine Tricep Extension

woman at seated leg curl machine — Shutterstock

The final machine workout to slim down is a cable-focused routine that relies heavily on the pulling muscles located in your back as well as your arms. The seated leg curl makes sure your lower body gets some work as well.