Take a walk through your gym or fitness retailer and you'll see countless machines geared toward nearly any fitness goal. Choosing the best full-body workout machine for your goals can be intimidating, but once you evaluate your goals and understand your options, you'll be able to make the best choice for you.
Weight Machine Benefits
Most strength-training machines offer greater stability and support than traditional free weights. Machines force you to lift the weight correctly, preventing you from cheating on the last few repetitions. Most machines are easy to use. Total-body machines allow you to work most major muscle groups from one place.
Your Fitness Goals
What's best for one person may not be best for another. When you are choosing a piece of full-body workout equipment, you should first analyze your goals. If you seek to fit a basic workout into a busy schedule, you may not need a great many bells and whistles. On the other hand, if you plan to invest time into your workouts, you may want a machine that allows you a wider range of exercises.
Safety and Effectiveness
While most workout machines limit each exercise to a fixed plane of motion, giving you added support, others give you a free range of motion. A cable machine, for example, allows you to mimic many free weight exercises with two cables attached to weighted pulleys. Free range-of-motion exercises give your stabilizing muscles a workout, but you must pay careful attention to technique to avoid injury. Usually, machines that offer a greater range of motion also allow for a wider variety of body types. No matter what piece of equipment you use, always have a professional teach you proper technique.
Convenience
For many, convenience may be as important as effectiveness in choosing a weight machine. If you plan to exercise at home, you may want to consider a machine that can be folded and stored, like a Total Gym. If you have a space dedicated to your machine, a larger machine like the Bowflex or cable tower, will give you more workout options. If you want to exercise at the gym, most have a pair of cable towers where you can get a full-body workout.
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