dear new photobucket, fuck you

[alexseanchai]

So I went to the development community center gym and took pictures of the machines there. Can someone identify them for me and tell me what might be done with them and whether any of them might be useful to a rank beginner?



First machine. Or first part of a three-part machine, since they're all attached together in the middle



Second machine.



Third machine.



Free weight rack. I spy with my little eye a MINOR PROBLEM HERE. (ETA: apparently the absence of 20lb and 40lb weights is deliberate? wtf.) And yes, tiny gym, two treadmills, two stationary bikes, a thing I don't know the name of looks like it's for running in place, the three-part monster, the weights, and not a hell of a lot of room to try stretching or yoga before, during, or after.

And as long as I'm posting: only one set each :( and 5 lb weights for everything except the lateral raises (I swiped Mom's 2 lb weights to bring with me, and they were absurdly easy, next time I'm taking the 4 lbs), and ten reps bicep curls, nine each side triceps kickbacks, seven forward raises, twelve lateral raises, twelve each side bent rows, nine squats, five each side lunges. Which is to say, this workout off hearthealthyonline.com. (Then ten minutes treadmill, 3.0 mph at a 2.5 incline, whatever 2.5 means, and cool down same way I warmed up, with the three-block walk between gym and home.) I'm not sure what in there works my back, though. I'll worry about that in a couple days.

Comments

[quartzpebble]

1. Bench press machine. Not sure how useful it is compared to stuff like pushups or seeing if you can use the bench without the handles and doing dumbell bench presses. It adjusts to do incline or decline presses.

2. Lat pulldown and rowing machine. Attaching the bar up top and bringing the bench closer will give you lat pulldowns; attaching it to the lower cable and keeping the bench out there will let you do rows. Both of these are great ways to exercise your back.

3. Leg extension machine. Squats, lunges, and deadlifts will work more muscle groups, but I don't know if it will be useful to you. Works the hamstrings.

The bent rows will definitely work your back; not sure about some of the raises.

Go you, and good luck!

[alexseanchai]

Thank you very much!

[rydra_wong]

Not sure how useful it is compared to stuff like pushups or seeing if you can use the bench without the handles and doing dumbell bench presses.

FWIW, I've sometimes found it useful to use machines (a Smith machine) to do heavy bench presses, as I don't have a spotter and one of my shoulders can get cranky and unstable.

In general, I tend to agree that free weight stuff is better because it makes your body work harder and do the work of stabilizing things itself. But sometimes it's helpful to have the reassurance that you're not going to wrench your arm or drop something on yourself if it goes wrong. *g*

[rydra_wong]

Second machine looks a lot like a lat pulldown machine. Is there a chair-type thing at the left of the photo that you can pull up and sit on? If so, then the round padded things come down and sit on top of your thighs to stop you being pulled into the air as you pull down on the hanging bar you can see right at the top.

This is actually a very useful thing if you want to add some pulling action into your program to balance out the overhead pressing, and/or if you like the idea of working towards a pull-up.

Lat pulldown machines are one of the very few machines that even the most ardent free-weight proponents will concede are pretty useful.

Third machine is a leg extension machine. This is probably very pointless if you're already doing lunges and squats; they're better for you and if you want to add weight, you can do them holding dumbbells.

I have no clue what the first machine is.

Wait, hang on -- does the overall triad-of-machines look like this?

http://www.matrixfitness.com/product/view/g1-mg30-3-stack-multi-gym (fear my Google-fu)

In which case, the enigmatic first machine is a "multiple position chest / shoulder press".

[alexseanchai]

That picture is exactly it, thank you.

[abyssinia]

The lat pulldown would be a great combination to the things you're already doing. I highly recommend avoiding the leg extension machine, especially if you have knees that aren't perfect - it can put a lot of stress on your knees compared to other ways to use those muscles. As everyone else has said, generally free weights are better than machines, but the lat pulldown/row machine is a good option.

You could also think about incorporating some bodyweight exercises into your routine. Squats, planks, push-ups, lunges are all really great at strengthening your legs and core and you don't need anything besides a floor and maybe a wall. The nerdfitness site Rydra linked to in the last post has whole videos of ideas for these, and the crossfit.com site also has videos - so you can work on making sure you have proper form.

[alexseanchai]

I will look into those, thank you!