The Top 5 Best Machines To Use At Your Fitness Center

Posted on: 1 February 2018

Most fitness centers and gyms offer 24 hour access so you can avoid the rush, but many people only have time in their schedules for exercising at the same time as everyone else. A packed gym may limit your ability to move freely between machines, but it doesn't have to slow down your workout if you know which machines to prioritize. Focusing on the most useful equipment in your fitness facility will allow you to get a great workout while only hopping between machines a few times, reducing the chances of you waiting around to use that one particular station.

Rowing Machine

Everyone needs cardiovascular exercise for better health, regardless of your other exercise goals. But while the treadmill is the classic option for cardio activity, the rowing machine is a better choice as long as you know how to use it properly. This is because you're also getting a muscle building workout in your upper and lower body, although less of one than you get from weight lifting equipment. If your fitness routines are primarily focused on weight lifting and not just cardio, the warm up offered by starting on the rowing machine will get you ready for the rest of your workout.

Chest Press Machine

Push ups were once a classic body weight exercise for building stronger shoulders and meatier trapezoid muscles. But unless you keep your form perfect with the help of a spotter or trainer, you can do serious damage to yourself with them because they're engaging muscles already stressed by your regular routine of sitting at your desk for work. Even if you're not much of a sitter, the chest press machine offers you the same results as a push up without the potential for damaging your shoulders and neck muscles.

Horizontal Leg Press Machine

Also known as the seated leg press, this piece of common gym equipment is considered the best way to get a broad workout of all your major lower body muscle groups. Spending a few minutes on this machine every visit will give you far better leg and posterior sculpting results than time spent on a stair climber, although stepping equipment offers a secondary cardio workout. If leg strength, function, or visible tone is your primary goal for your lower body, this is the best machine to help you reach that goal.

Isolateral Chest Press Machine

Using free weights provides more of a burn for every minute you workout, but this area of the fitness center also tends to be the most crowded. When you can't get to the dumbbells for free weight work, try the isolateral chest press equipment to get the arm and chest work you need without the weight or the risks of dropping anything. Unlike the fixed chest press equipment, the isolateral machine allows you to work each side of your chest separately or at the same time. Mixing up your presses gives you a better total workout without the need to switch free weights in the middle of your set.

Pull-Down Bars

Finally, round out your workout with a stop at a piece of pull-down bar equipment. They vary in design and intended use, but all of them help build your total upper body strength while preparing you for the challenges of pull-ups. Pull-ups on a simple bar are considered today to be the very best exercise for shoulder and upper arm strength, but they take some working up to before you can do them without injuring yourself. Spend enough time on a pull-down bar machine and you'll be ready to grab the stationary bar and pull yourself up a few times instead.

Share