Weight machines, also known as strength training equipment, come in all shapes and sizes, and they can easily be factored into a workout if you are new to exercise or a seasoned gym goer. When comparing machines to free weights, machines have several advantages. According to the American Council on Exercise, machines are generally safer and easier to use, they ensure correct movements for a lift, and machine workouts can take less time because you can move easily from machine to machine.
Chest Exercises
Chest exercises on machines work the pectorals. Two machines work the pecs differently. The chest press is performed from a lying or seated position. Either sit on the seat or lay on your back and push the handles away from your chest, then back toward your chest. Depending on the machine, you will have to add weight plates or slide a pin into a weight stack to adjust your resistance.
A pec fly machine is often referred to as a pec deck. Performing pec flys on this machine will work the inner, or sternal, pectorals. Sit on the machine with your elbows bent 90 degrees, hands on the handles and forearms pressed against the padded levers. Push the levers inward until they are almost touching, move them back out and repeat.
Back Exercises
Back exercises are performed on a lat pulldown machine or T-bar row machine. The lat machine has a high pulley, chair and padded support that gets placed tightly on the thighs. To perform a lat pulldown exercise, sit in the chair, pull a straight or close grip bar down to your chest, raise it back up and repeat.
A T-bar row machine is operated in a face-down position with your feet placed on a steel platform and your chest against a padded support. Your arms are free to move and your body is at an upward angle. After placing weight plates on the support, reach down and grab the handles with an overhand grip and pull straight up. Squeeze your shoulder blades together, lower the bar and repeat.
Both of these exercises work the latissimus dorsi muscles found on the middle and upper back, the rhomboids found between the shoulder blades and the biceps found in the upper arms.
Shoulder Exercises
Shoulder exercises require the use of the shoulder press or reverse fly machine. In similar fashion to a chest press, the shoulder press is done from a seated position. After grasping the handles which are right above your shoulders, push straight up until your arms are just short of locking out, slowly lower and repeat. The shoulder press primarily works the anterior deltoids, which are located on the front of the shoulders.
Reverse flys work the backs of the shoulders known as the posterior, or rear, deltoids. To use this machine, sit on the seat with your chest against the padded support, arms straight in front of you and hands grasping the handles. Keeping a slight bend in your elbows, move the handles out to your sides until your arms form a straight line. Slowly bring the handles back together and repeat.
Legs
Multiple leg exercises can be done with weight machines. The leg press targets the quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes, which are the thigh and butt muscles; a leg extension isolates the quadriceps, which are on the front of the thighs; and a leg curl machine isolates the hamstrings, which are on the back of the thighs. To do leg presses, sit on the seat and lean back on the backrest as you move a weighted plate up and down with your feet.
To do leg extensions, sit on the seat with your back against the backrest, lower shins hooked under the padded lever arm and hands grasping the handles by your thighs. Steadily lift and lower the lever by bending your knees.
To do leg curls, lie face-down on the bench of the machine, hook your lower calves under the padded lever arm and move it up and down by bending your knees. Your goal with this exercise is to try to touch your heels to your butt.
Cable Machine
Cable machine exercises work all the major muscle groups. Cable chest flys, upright rows, triceps extensions and biceps curls are exercise examples. This machine has two weight stacks with adjustable, sliding pulleys that house numerous handles and bars. To do chest flys, stand in between the weight stacks, hold a single handle in each hand with your arms extended to your sides and move them together while keeping a slight bend in your elbows.
Upright rows target the trapezius, which starts in the upper back and runs over the collar bones to the top of the chest. To do these, attach a straight, revolving bar to a low attachment, face the weight stack, hold the bar with your hands six to eight inches apart and raise it up to your neck. Slowly lower it down and repeat.
To do triceps pushdowns, move the bar to a high setting, hold it with an overhand grip and pin your upper arms to your sides. Alternate pushing the bar straight down and raising it back up by bending your elbows.
Perform biceps curls with the bar on the low attachment. After grabbing the bar with an underhand grip and pressing your upper arms against your sides, lift and lower it by bending your elbows and contracting your biceps.
Member Comments