Gym fitness equipment names and how to use them

Conventional gym equipment is mainly divided into three categories: aerobic, fixed strength, and free strength. The general principle of use is to "adjust the parameters of the equipment to suit yourself first, then find the target muscle strength, and finally gradually increase the load." The bottom line of operating all equipment is to avoid compensatory damage to the three major joints of the waist, knees, and shoulders. There is no need to forcefully benchmark other people's weight and movement standards. Adapting to your own training level is the first priority.

I had just applied for my first fitness card. When I entered the strength area for the first time, I looked at a row of iron bumps that looked like alien equipment. I stood next to the Smith frame and hesitated for ten minutes, not daring to touch it. Finally, I forced myself to do two high pull-downs. My trapezius muscles were sore for three days. Later I found out that the height of the seat was not adjusted correctly. Many people who stepped on the trap did not do the wrong action at all, but did not do the right step in adjusting the equipment in the first step.

The aerobic area is probably the place where most newcomers touch equipment for the first time, and the most familiar one is definitely the treadmill. Don’t just turn on the 12-speed and run like crazy. There are actually two mainstream views on the use of treadmills in the fitness circle now: one advocates fast walking/jogging combined with maintaining a fat-burning heart rate, which is suitable for beginners to burn fat. Adjust the speed to a level where you can speak a complete sentence without gasping. ； The other group likes to do intermittent hill sprinting, a 1-minute walk at 4 speed on a 15-degree slope, and a 30-second cycle of running at 10 speed on a flat road. It puts less pressure on the knees and is more efficient in burning fat. I used the latter during my fat brushing period and lost 4 pounds of pure fat in half a month. You can all try it and find what you can stick to. By the way, when running, your feet should be in the mid-foot position. Don't tiptoe or hit your heels. Remember to clip the safety buckle to your clothes before running. If you step on the air and fall, you can stop the machine immediately. I personally saw the guy next door who fell out too fast and broke his chin. He needed three stitches for a long time.

The elliptical machine, which is often placed next to the treadmill, is considered by many to be a "magic tool for catching fish". In fact, it is more tiring than the treadmill when used properly. The soles of your feet should be pressed against the pedals, and your hands should be lightly holding on to the handrails. Don't hang your whole body on them, otherwise your legs will not be sore after half an hour of practice, and your trapezius muscles will swell into small hills first. Here is an uncontroversial conclusion: People with old knee injuries or a large body weight should give priority to elliptical machines instead of treadmills. This is what orthopedic doctors recommend. As for the spinning bike, adjusting the seat height is the most important thing: stand next to the bike so that the seat is at the same height as the tip of your hip bone (i.e., the iliac bone). Don’t buckle your knees in when riding. I once saw a little girl in a group class who had knee pain for half a month because she was pedaling hard to keep up with the instructor’s rhythm. It’s really unnecessary. If you can’t keep up, just slow down. The rhythm of the group class is for the average level, not for you.

If you brush fat and reach the bottleneck, or want to practice some lines, you will definitely drill into the strength area. The first thing novices touch are basically fixed strength equipment, and the trajectories are preset, so it is not easy to get injured by practicing blindly. The first one is the high pull-down machine. Don't pull the same weight as your own weight as soon as you get up. Adjust your seat first: the stop bar in front of your chest should just press your thighs. When you pull, lower your shoulders and bring the bar to the upper edge of your chest. Don't lean back so much that you're almost lying flat. There is also a lot of quarrel about the grip distance: a wide grip trains the width of the latissimus dorsi, and a narrow grip trains the thickness. In fact, novices don’t have to worry so much. The grip distance is only 10 centimeters wider than the shoulders. First find the feeling of exerting force on the back. Don’t stretch for a long time until your arms are so sore that you can’t lift them. Your back will not feel at all.

My personal favorite among fixed equipment is the leg press machine, which puts much less pressure on the knees than free squats, and you can safely lift heavy weights. The position of the feet is very particular: the upper position is used to train the buttocks, the lower position is used to train the quadriceps, the wide stance is used to train the thigh adductors, and the narrow stance is used to train the outer sides. The only taboo is not to lock the knees. When pushing to the highest point, the knees should be bent at about 15 degrees. A buddy next to me insisted on locking and pushing 180kg, and the meniscus was directly abraded. It took three months before he dared to come to the gym again.

After practicing for about half a year, you can't help but touch free strength equipment. After all, it has a high degree of freedom and can stimulate more small muscle groups that cannot be trained with fixed equipment. The first one must be talking about dumbbells. This thing is really a "universal equipment". You can do presses for shoulder training, flyes for chest training, rowing for back training, and lunges for leg training. It's not shameful for novices to use 3kg at the beginning. Don't be shy and shake it with 20kg. If you hit it, your feet will really break. By the way, don't open your arms too straight when doing dumbbell flyes. Open your arms like a big bird. Leave an angle of about 120 degrees at your elbow joints, otherwise the impact of the shoulder joint will hurt and make you doubt your life.

There is also a barbell, which is used for the three major events of squats, deadlifts, and bench presses. Here is a point that has been controversial for several years: Should I wear a belt when practicing the three major sports? If your weight is not 1.5 times your own body weight, you don’t need to wear it at all. Practice core stability first. If you wear it too early, your core will not be exercised and you will be more susceptible to injury. I only started wearing the belt when I squatted to 80kg. In the past, wearing it hard made my waist more prone to soreness. Oh, by the way, does the Smith frame count as a free force? There has been a lot of quarrel in the circle and there is still no conclusion. Some people say that a fixed trajectory does not count as free strength. Some people say that it is safer to lift heavy weights. I think it does not matter at all. You only need to use it to train the target muscles. No matter what classification it is, the most important thing in fitness is that you are comfortable and effective.

In fact, you really don’t need to think about the fancy gym equipment. I’ve seen many big guys who have been practicing for ten years, and they can train much better with just a pair of dumbbells and a treadmill than those who do fancy things every day and use all kinds of unpopular equipment. The point is never about the expensive or unpopular equipment you use, but whether you find the strength of the target muscles every time you practice, and whether you do it step by step and don't rush the weight blindly. After all, we go to the gym to be healthier, not to compare weight with others to make friends, right?