A Beginner’s Guide To Weight Training Equipment

If you have only recently seriously thought about weight training, you will probably be bewildered by the array of weight training equipment available. This article will talk about some of the weight training equipment you may come across.

There are two broad types of weight training equipment. The first of these is ‘free weight’ equipment. The term ‘free weight’ comes from the fact that there are no attached pulleys, cables, pins, or weights. The other is the ‘weight machine’ where you will work your way around pulleys and pins.

Free Weights
Free weights come with different handles such as the barbell, curl bars and tricep bars. The barbell is an iron bar between 4 and 7 feet long. These are used for basic exercises such as bench press, squats, and dead lifts.

EZ Curl bars are shorter than barbells and feature hand placements. These make it easier to work the muscles on different angles and also put less pressure on your wrists. These are used to work the biceps and triceps.

Tricep bars are similar to EZ Curl bars but feature two parallel hand placements. These can also be used on other body parts.

To support your free weight workouts, you will need to have a bench to support your body. Most gyms will feature an assortment of benches from the simple flat bench through to the Hyper Extension, and Preacher benches. Obviously each bench is designed to work your various muscles and muscle groups.

Another important addition to the strength training equipment is the dipping bars. These are parallel bars designed to work the chest, shoulders and triceps. The chin-up bar needs no introduction, although it should not be underestimated. Many novices have disappointed themselves by failing to lift their bodies as high as they expected.

Weight Machine
Let us move on to the ‘weight machine’. There are different machines that work on different parts of the body. Below are some of the more common ones.

Leg press machines are generally set at a 45-degree angle. The leg press allows you to lift heavy weights safely and places lower stress on your lower back and knees than squats.

Leg squat machines allow you to isolate the quadriceps. If you want to look like you know what you are doing, use this machine to warm up your quadriceps before moving on to squats or leg presses.

The leg curl machine provides great hamstring exercises. You may find that like home gym equipment, your gym may have a leg curl machine and leg extension built into one machine.

In the gym you will find two types of calf machines. These machines are the standing calf raise and the seated calf raise. You can sound clever by referring to the lower calf muscles as the soleus.

For those who struggled with the chin up bar, you may want to try the Lat Pull Down Machine instead. This piece of weight training equipment will allow you to work your back if you cannot lift your own bodyweight.

Cable and pulley machines enable you to get a full workout for your entire body. The best weight training equipment really depends on your needs and fitness level. For a holistic workout, you should attempt to use both the machine and free weight equipment in your gym. For the perfect exercise routine to go with your weight training equipment, click here.

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