According to the existing fitness equipment on the market, it can be roughly divided into aerobic equipment, fixed equipment in the strength zone (upper body trainer, hip and leg trainer), free equipment in the strength zone, fixed equipment in the strength zone, and other sports equipment.
1. Aerobic equipment
Aerobic exercise means that during exercise, the body can easily obtain sufficient oxygen to support long-term activities. This type of exercise is usually characterized by moderate intensity and long duration.
In aerobic exercise, the body mainly relies on the oxidation of fat and glycogen to obtain energy. Therefore, it can effectively improve cardiopulmonary function and enhance endurance, and is suitable for long-term exercise.
Common aerobic equipment include:
Treadmill
Spinning bike
Elliptical machine
Rowing machine
These four are the most common, so I have compiled an article separately, as follows:
2. Fixed equipment in the strength zone
Newcomers can start with fixed equipment training when they first enter the strength zone. The advantage is that they can train the required parts in a targeted manner, so they can be subdivided into upper body trainers, hip and leg trainers, and comprehensive equipment
1. Upper body trainer
① Shoulder trainer: Mainly trains shoulder muscles, especially the anterior, middle and posterior bundles of the deltoid muscles. Through repeated push-ups and lowering movements, the strength and endurance of the shoulder muscles can be effectively enhanced, helping to shape a healthy shoulder line.
Detailed explanation of the action:
Adjust the height of the bench and the weight that suits you, tighten your shoulder blades, sink your shoulders close to the cushion, sit on the bench, and tighten your core with your chest up.
Hold the handles with both hands, exert force with your shoulders, and during the push-up process, exert force steadily and exhale. Do not lock your elbows at the top (slightly bend your elbows).
Slowly lower to the starting position, and inhale while lowering.
During the whole process, move on the coronal plane of the body, and do not swing your elbows back and forth.
② High pull-down machine: Mainly exercises the latissimus dorsi, but also exercises the biceps and shoulders, improving upper limb strength and stability.
Action details:
Adjust the seat and handle of the high pull-down machine to suit your height and arm length.
The distance between your hands and shoulders should be moderate, and do not stretch them too much;
Stand your feet steadily on the ground with your knees slightly bent
Grab the handles with your palms facing inward, and pull the handles toward your chest, parallel to your clavicle
When you pull down to the bottom, try to contract and squeeze with your back muscles and hold for a few seconds
③Seated rowing machine: Like the high pull-down, it is a machine for practicing the back, but its movement trajectory and the high pull-down are on two different planes, which makes it more able to exercise the muscles in the middle part of the back, deepen the back groove, and make the back muscles more three-dimensional.
Action details:
Inhale and lift your chest, and use your chest to press against the front baffle
Exhale and pull the handles, and use your abdomen to exhale when exhaling, and keep your chest lifted
When you pull the handles to the maximum extent, hold for 1-2 seconds and feel the squeezing of the back muscles
④Seated chest press: A common chest training fixed equipment in the gym, mainly training the pectoralis major. In addition, the forearms and triceps will also get some exercise.
Action explanation:
Adjust the seat height: The height of the handle can be flush with the upper chest.
Adjust the weight: According to your own muscle strength, insert the rod into the appropriate barbell plate, so that the bench press feels resistance.
Preparation posture: Sit on the seat, first lean your back against the back of the chair, and your legs are naturally perpendicular to the ground; then straighten your chest and abdomen, while ensuring that your shoulder blades are close to the back of the chair, and take a half-grip to hold the handle, that is, put the four fingers of both hands together, and bend the thumbs close to the palm side.
Bench press posture: Feel the chest force, push forward slowly, and exhale at the same time. When pushing to the fixed point, do not fully straighten the elbow joint; then slowly retract, and inhale at the same time, until the elbow joint is bent to form a straight line with the upper arm.
⑤ Butterfly chest clamp: also called butterfly machine flying bird, it is mainly used to exercise and depict the depth of the middle groove of the pectoralis major muscle, making the pectoralis major muscle look fuller.
Action details:
Adjust the seat position according to your height.
Choose the weight that suits you.
Straighten your chest and abdomen, hold the handles with both hands, push in a circular arc to your chest, imagine hugging, and do not let the weight plate fall completely after each push, repeat the exercise.
2. Hip and leg trainer
① Leg press machine: also called leg press machine or leg press machine, mainly used to exercise lower limb muscles, especially the quadriceps on the front of the thigh.
② Leg curl trainer: mainly used to strengthen the posterior thigh muscles, especially the biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembranosus.
Action details:
Adjust your sitting position so that the rotation axis of the machine is aligned with the knee position
Grab the handles with both hands, hook your toes, and straighten your thighs with force
Restore your legs slowly, and do not relax and fall directly
The leg press machine and leg curl trainer are used in a similar way, so in some gyms they are integrated, and the function can be switched directly by adjusting the pin.
③ Seated leg abduction/adduction device: mainly used to exercise the inner and outer thigh muscles, such as gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, and inner thigh.
Action explanation:
Adjust the position of the pin to open and close the legs as much as possible
Use the knees to exert force inward or outward, not with the feet
Restore the legs slowly, and do not relax directly
④ Buttocks training machine: Buttocks training machine does not only refer to a certain type of fitness equipment. Common ones include hip bridge machines, hack squat machines, standing hip abductors, and vertical hip tops... All are used to improve the hip lines and strength.
3. Comprehensive equipment
① Smith machine: also known as Smith multi-function trainer, mainly composed of a fixed track and a barbell. The barbell is fixed on the slide and can only move in the vertical direction, which makes it particularly suitable for strength training movements such as squats, bench presses, and deadlifts.
The design of the Smith machine limits the movement trajectory of the barbell, reduces the risk of imbalance and loss of control during the movement, and is particularly suitable for novices.
②Gantry: Also known as the power rack, it mainly uses different handles and ropes to flexibly adjust the body position and change movements, so as to train different muscle groups.
3. Free equipment in the power zone
Free equipment in the power zone refers to those equipment without fixed tracks or support frames, mainly including dumbbells, barbells, bench press racks, squat racks, etc. These equipment are characterized by rich training movements, large elastic range, high weight selectivity, and can derive a variety of training movements to adapt to people with different body shapes and fitness goals.
Dumbbells: Used to enhance muscle strength training and muscle compound movement training. Long-term practice can modify muscle lines and increase muscle endurance.
Barbell: Core training equipment, used for training to increase muscle strength, suitable for muscle endurance training of all parts of the body.
Bench press rack: Used for chest push-up exercises, can adjust different weights and angles, suitable for a variety of push-up movements.
Squat rack: Used for squat exercises for legs and buttocks, can adjust different weights and heights, suitable for leg strength training.
4. Other sports equipment: as supplementary training to increase interest and comprehensive ability.