Category Archives: Gym Workouts

Gym Machines Intro – Lower Body/Core

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Many people make the mistake of focusing solely on their upper body when working out, but starting with a strong core and powerful legs can do wonders for your body.  Here are some of the most popular gym machines to help you get started.

Lower Body:

Leg Press Machine

The lower body gym machines guide wouldn’t be complete without The Leg Press Machine.  It is a fantastic exercise for the full lower body.  The one pictured above is a horizontal version, but you may see variations where you are seated at an upward angle.


Leg Extension Machine


Leg Curl Machine

Besides the Leg Press, the best exercises for your legs are the Leg Extension Machine and the Leg Curl Machine.  Sometimes they are combined into one piece of equipment.  The Extensions are good for focusing on the quadriceps (the front of the thigh) and warming up your knees while the Curls are great at working your hamstrings.

Hip Adduction / Abduction Machine

Hip Adduction / Abduction Machine

To improve your outer and inner thighs, Hip Adduction and Abduction Machine will do the trick.  Depending on your gym it could be in one machine or separated into two.  While the name sounds confusing, the exercise couldn’t be easier.  You simply squeeze your legs inward or outward.

Standing Calf Machine

Seated Calf Machine

Finally, the last part of your leg to work on is the calves.  Pictured above are two of the most popular styles: seated and standing.  Both work your calf muscles equally and also help with a phenomenal stretch after running on the treadmill or doing other kinds of cardio.

Abdomen/Core:

Sit Up Machine

For the abdominal muscles, there are dozens of workouts that you can do that don’t involve machines at all, but to get results quicker a gym machine such as the Sit Up Machine pictured above can be a great help.  There are other variations that perform more of a crunch exercise and some will use stacked weights instead of manual plates.

Torso Twist Machine

One of my favorite of all the gym machines at my gym is definitely the Torso Twist Machine.  It works the abdomen while also exercising your obliques to help get rid of those pesky love handles.  Its a killer exercise and an excellent stretch for your lower back.

Now, to work on the upper body gym machine guide!

Gym Machines Intro – Upper Body

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While different gyms will have a variety of machines, there are some gym machines that are fairly consistent amongst most gyms and health clubs.  Get acquainted with these and you will have a jump start when you begin your exercise program.  Don’t forget to also check out the Lower Body Gym Machines Guide.

Arms:

Bicep Curl Machine

Bicep Curl Machines come in many varieties.  Pictured above are the two most common.  The machine above mimics traditional preacher curls while the gym machine below is a seated version that works your biceps in a slightly different manner, which makes both types important to incorporate into your gym workouts.

Seated Bicep Curl Machine

Tricep Press Machine

Tricep Extension Machine

While most arm exercises are eventually more effective with the use of free weights and dumbbells so that the stabilizer muscles can be better worked, the gym machines geared towards your arms are a great way to get started and incorporate along with the free weight exercises.

The gym machine on the left is a seated Tricep Press Machine.  There are variations on the incline of the seat, but the exercise remains the same.  On the right is a Tricep Extension Machine.  You will occasionally find this machine combined with a bicep curl machine since they are reciprocal of one another.  The triceps are often neglected in favor of being able to show off a big bicep, but doing these exercises in tandem can result in a more even looking arm build.

Back/Chest/Shoulders:

Chest Press Machine

Bench presses can be dangerous to do on your own, but a perfect alternative is the Chest Press Machine.  Be sure to focus on your pectoral muscles while doing your reps.  A common mistake people make is to use other muscles such as their biceps instead of using the muscles in their chest.

Chest Fly Machine

Another common gym machine that helps build your pecs is the Chest Fly Machine.  This exercise focuses more on the perimeter of the chest area to aid in better sculpting and toning of the chest.

Shoulder Press Machine

The Shoulder Press Machine is the single most effective machine for building the muscles in your shoulder.

Lat Pulldown Machine

The Lat Pulldown Machine is extremely effective and my favorite of the upper body gym machine guide.  It targets the shoulders, your upper back and your lats (the area below your armpits).  Sculpting this area can help to make sure you look your best.

Back Row Machine

One of the best exercises for your upper back is rowing a boat.  The Back Row Machine mimics that movement and creates a terrific workout for your upper back.

Back Extension Machine

To work that lower back, there is the Back Extension Machine.  The movement is essentially the opposite of a sit up.  I usually do this exercise last in my gym workout s because it is also a great stretch for the entire spine which feels wonderful at the end of a hard workout session.

Don’t forget to work your lower body as well!

Gym Machine Beginners Guide

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When working out at a gym or fitness club, gym machines can be an excellent time saving and safer choice over free weights, dumbbells and barbells.

The controlled movement of the gym machine makes the risk of injury much lower. Especially as a beginner, using gym machines can be a good jumping off point. Down the line you should also incorporate free weights to further develop your muscles, but as a novice, gym machines can be great.

When starting out it is important to find your starting points and make note. I find it important to workout with a pocket sized notebook to keep track of how many reps you are doing at which weight. There are also apps for iphones and other smart phones that can keep track of your progress and even make graphs or charts to show how you have improved.

Once you have your starting weights for your machines and you are keeping track, you will be able to see which machines you should start adding more weight to. Staying at the same weight may help to keep you toned, but if you are looking for bigger results with more muscle building, you have to add more weight little by little and push a bit harder to complete those extra reps.

Once you have got the hang of your gym machines, its time to start thinking about adding exercises to your gym workout that also include free weights and dumbbells. Good gym workouts include a variety of exercises so that your muscles don’t get too complacent. Keeping your body surprised will help get better results.

Another option, which I also uses, is to use your gym for the machines which are impractical to have at home, and then lift free weights at home. There are tons of great adjustable dumbbells out there that can help you to perform a variety of exercises at home. On those days I don’t feel like going to the gym, I can still get a good workout at home while watching my favorite TV shows.

For more information, check out: Upper Body Gym Machines Guide and Lower Body Gym Machine Guide

Varieties of Gym Workouts

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When creating a workout routine for yourself there are several directions you could go in. Depending on who you ask, you will get dozens of different answers. Essentially they come down to four categories of gym workouts with slight deviations.

  • Full Body – your workout would do one or two exercises for each of the major muscle groups. This should ideally be done every other day, giving your body time to rest.
  • Solo Focus – several exercises focused on one muscle group.
  • Alternating Muscles – by working two or three muscle groups that aren’t related, you can take less time to recoup between sets.
  • Combination – to prevent your body from becoming complacent, it is a good idea for your workout to have a combination of all of these styles.

Since every body is different, you should experiment to find your own perfect workout. My gym workout follows a pattern of three days of four days of alternating workouts then a rest day followed by a full body workout with another rest day after that and then start it over again. I find it is time efficient and helps me keep in shape.

The main deviation in the types of gym workouts is whether you use free weights and barbells or gym machines. With all things, I recommend a variety. Its never good to do too much of the same exercise over and over again. Starting off with gym machines is a good bet because there is less chance for injury. They also have a controlled movement which is helpful at first but can be a hindrance in certain circumstances later on when you want to also exercise the stabilizer muscles that dumbbells and other free weights can work more efficiently.

Most gyms will also have personal trainers to get you started if you are looking for specific instructions. But if you are the do it yourself type, there are a plenitude of books and videos on the matter. Here are some of my favorites.

Full Body Gym Workout

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While it would be amazing to be able to fully take as much time as you need at the gym, it is not a luxury that everyone can afford. Time savers can be life savers. Creating different gym workouts that hits all the major muscle groups in an efficient way is extremely important. My work schedule is quite sporadic which doesn’t give me an opportunity to set up a consistent workout regime. The gym workout I needed had to be under an hour. It might take you a little bit to figure out what works for you, but here is the best gym workout that I have come up with and it works extremely well for me.

I start and end with 15 minutes of cardio exercise. Usually I begin with the stair climber and end with the elliptical machine or treadmill. Once my heart is beating at a good BPM, I’ll begin my workout. The key is to keep that momentum going through the entire 30 minute workout section. Get from machine to machine as fast as possible and if you have to wait for a machine, do some jumping jacks or squats to keep your heart beating and your body burning calories.

Focus on 10 varying gym machines. Do as many reps as you can in two minutes and then get to your next machine and set it to your desired weight in under a minute. Keep this pace up and you are guaranteed to keep your pulse pounding and get a lot done in a small amount of time.

The ten machines that I usually use during my gym workout are:

  1. Leg Press
  2. Chest Press
  3. Abdominal Crunch
  4. Shoulder Press
  5. Leg Extension
  6. Bicep Curl
  7. Lat Pulldown
  8. Leg Curl
  9. Tricep Press
  10. Back Row

The order can vary based on availability of machines, but try to use alternating muscle groups to rest one while you are working out the next one.

For my final cardio session, I really like the treadmill. My whole body is feeling a bit tired and it feels surprisingly amazing to push it a bit further by doing some sprints on the treadmill and then taking the last few minutes of my workout to slow down to a stroll and let my heart rate return to normal.  If you are looking for gym workouts to lose weight, you will need to find time for more cardio activities to burn more calories.

With a workout like this that uses nearly every muscle in your body, it is extremely important to take a day off between workouts to allow your body to recoup. While this gym workout is effective, it may not necessarily give you huge muscles, but it will help you to keep toned and fit. Millions of people neglect their health because they feel like they don’t have the time. This gym workout requires three hours a week! Everyone has three hours a week to spare.

To get the most out of your workout and to be as effective as possible, it is a good idea to consult with a trainer.  Many gyms will have trainers that can assist you in so many ways: teaching proper form, introducing new exercises, pushing you to your limit, etc.  If the cost of paying for a trainer for each of your gym worries you, consider hiring the trainer once a week or at least for a few sessions in the beginning.  If you are looking for some gym workout plan advice, check out Beat The Gym: Personal Trainer Secrets Without The Personal Trainer.  Good luck and be safe!

 

Popular Weight Machines At The Gym

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Walking in to a gym or health club for the first time can be a bit harrowing with all of the weight machines as far as the eye can see.  With so many weight machines at the gym, you may not know which is best for you.  While each person may function better with a different weight machine, taking a look at which is popular with a lot of people can clue you in as to which is best for you.

Arms:

There are two main muscle groups to focus on for developing the arms: biceps and triceps.  The most popular bicep gym machine is the curl machine.  It replicates the classic bicep curl exercise but in a smoother manner using the aide of a machine.  You shouldn’t neglect the triceps, otherwise your arms will look unbalanced.  Popular weight machine exercises for the triceps include the tricep press, which has you seated and pressing down on the handles.  It is sort of like a reverse dip.  Use both of these to work toward better arms.

Shoulder/Back:

Of all weight machine workouts for the shoulders, the shoulder press is by far the most popular. It helps you avoid the risk of injury that can result from using free weights or a barbell.  To work the area between our shoulders and back, the lateral pull-down weight machine is a must.  To exercise your back extension machine. While seated, you lean back on a roller which exercises your lower back.  Using this weight machine with lower weights at the beginning or end of a workout if a phenomenal way to stretch.

Chest:

For the chest, there are two amazing weight machine workouts that are hard to chose between.  Both are amazing and work different parts of the chest.  The first is the chest press which takes the traditional barbell chest press exercise and transform it into seated weight machine exercises.

The important thing is find what works for you.  Your first day at the gym, take your time exploring and trying out all of the weight machines at the gym and see how they work.  Weight machine workouts are quite helpful, especially for beginners, but it is important to remember that using dumbbells will work the stabilizing muscles that weight machines don’t.  For a more complete looking build, it is vital to also integrate free weight and dumbbells into your repertoire.  And always remember that the trainers at the gym are there to help you and answer any question that you may have.

Best Three Tips on Rewarding Strength Training Exercises

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When doing your strength training exercises, it really is important that you do things right. Not carrying this out correctly, or carrying it out poorly, brings on terrible results. You may end up bulking up more than desired, or maybe even injuring yourself.

Listed here are 3 basic steps you could take to avoid failures of this type and succeed handily.

First and foremost, begin with light weights.

You will have to be careful and take it slow until you know which weights are going to give you results, because that can help to prevent muscle injury and unnecessary strain on your body. Not getting this done properly could keep you from being able to continue your workouts. So do not make the miscalculation of ignoring this crucial step!

Secondly, be dedicated to your exercise routine.

Of nearly an equal importance as starting with light weights while working with building and toning your muscles, is going to be showing up to your gym workouts regularly. I am here to inform you, you won’t want to overlook this. It helps to be mentally focused on your routine, and that is something anyone involved in strength training exercises wants.

Finally, speed is also crucial in strength training exercises. Don’t take long breaks between reps. Keep your heart rate up to achieve the best results.

And lastly, when you’re dealing with strength training exercises, just be sure to take time to learn the proper techniques. This would give assistance with increasing your energy and effective intensity, that’s an important component of achieving your desired muscle and toned body. Failing to do that could mean that you could possibly end up failing with your fitness goals — and we can likely agree that would be a very bad thing!

As stated above, when you wish to have success at your strength training exercises, you really want to make certain you won’t make mistakes that cause someone to finish up without getting your desired outcome, or even injuring yourself. What you really want is to get the body you’re desiring, and you will reach that goal by being attentive to the tips above.

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Gym Workouts – Three Things to Avoid

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Visit a Yahoo search window and enter in gym workouts ? People do this day after day. They verify whatever they entered then hit the search button. Just what motivates them to do that? The reasons will be more numerous than the individuals who ask, a great deal more numerous. There are both positive and negative reasons.

The positive reasons usually are pleasure seeking, to gain or get something they want to gain. Pain avoidance or negative reasons concern avoiding some negative thing you don’t wish to have or have occur. Most searches have both negative and positive components, but one or the other normally dominates. Here we will be working with the negative, pain avoidance side.

Let’s examine the 3 main reasons, points, mistakes or actions that any person may like to avoid here. Only for background understanding you will need to know what to avoid. More specifically, you need to understand what could be the end result if you do not avoid these things.

So what exactly are the problems, those items we have to steer clear of? And just why then would anyone like to avoid them? To be able to handle an issue like the topic of gym workouts, a nice approach is usually to know the things to be cautious of.

Let’s quickly have a look at and analyze the 3 items you really should avoid:

First off, avoid working out without warming up. The main reason for that is that it is potentially dangerous for the muscles to be put to work if not warmed up first. How do you know if you’ve warmed up enough? You should feel like you have started to break a sweat, and then your muscles should be ready to go! Injuries to your muscles can be avoided with proper warm-ups, so this is critical to healthy exercising.

Second, avoid doing both cardio and weights if you are just starting to exercise. Why’s that? Because it will end you up feeling very sore later – it’s better to start slow with just cardio in the beginning. After working out you would feel much better. Once you have stopped losing weight with cardio alone, start to incorporate a light weight lifting routine.

Thirdly, know your limits to avoid the risks.. Why would this be important? Safety is your main priority in your gym workouts – you should not risk getting injured by trying to lift weights that are too heavy or do cardio without the proper hydration or warmup. How can we know it’s enough? For those who have special risks or conditions, inform your trainer so they can help to plan your exercise routine.

You avoid the largest as well as the large majority of the various negatives by avoiding these 3. This will help you immensely in avoiding what ought to be avoided. The challenges that originally caused many people to type gym workouts into google and yahoo search windows to start with.

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