By Julia Buckley
It's a happy fact that the days of muscle-men and lycra lovelies dominating our gyms are over. Step foot into a modern health club and you'll spot people of all shapes and sizes working towards their goals - most commonly to lose weight - with not a thonged leotarded lady or bloke in butt-high denim cut-offs in sight.
But if you're new to exercise, the array of equipment can still be daunting. At first glace some of the machines look capable of grating, grinding, and possibly even garrotting you! When you understand what each of them does however, most of the equipment is a lot simpler than it looks.
Most fitness equipment fits broadly into three types - CV machines, free weights and resistance machines.
CV machines
CV stands for cardiovascular. CV exercise is all about getting your heart going and your blood pumping. These include things like the stationary bikes, rowing machines, treadmills, cross trainers, and step machines. On this type of machine you'll be making large, fast movements continuously, usually for at least five minutes at a time.
Use a CV machine to warm your body up at the start of your workout and to gently bring down your heart rate and flush out the waste chemicals your body creates during exercise at the end of your programme.
If your goal is to improve your aerobic or endurance fitness - that is, you want to be active for longer periods without getting tired or out of breath - use a CV machine as a main component of your exercise programme as well. But try and mix it up, so if you're using a bike to warm up, go for a rower or treadmill for your cool down.
Free weights
Weights that you lift directly, without handles, chains, or levers, is probably the simplest way to define this category, which basically describes all weights that aren't part of machines. Dumbbells, barbells, and kettlebells are the types you'll most commonly find in gyms. Dumbbells are small weights that you hold in each hand, barbells are weights you place at each end of a long bar and lift with both hands, and kettlebells are ball shaped weights with square handle at the top which can be held either with one or both hands.
Free weights have several advantages over machines. They force you to work several muscle groups at once because your body needs to support and stabilise itself in order to perform the exercises. You can perform many different exercises with them, rather than moving from machine to machine, and the movements you perform with them tend to feel more natural (like lifting, squatting, etc.) than those that some resistance machines require.
However, free weights exercises can be a little trickier to get right, which means that working with them carries a higher risk of injury. So have an instructor demonstrate simple exercises that work the muscles you want to target and pay attention to performing the movements correctly every time you use them.
Resistance machines
Despite their tendency to resemble torture equipment, resistance machines (sometimes called strength or weights machines) are actually very beginner-friendly.
They're designed to ensure you perform the movements correctly, so there's less chance of injury than with free weights. Plus, most modern resistance machines have instructions printed somewhere on them, which is handy if you haven't used them before or need a refresher. They usually also tell you which muscles they work.
Machines tend to target specific muscles, so if you're wanting strengthen or tone a particular part of your body they will allow you to focus your energy solely on working that single area.
But they're not entirely foolproof and even with the instructions it's not always obvious how to use them properly, so do get help from an instructor the first time or two that you use them.
Now, get training!
You're also likely to spot various other bits of equipment like stability balls, vibration trainers, foam rollers, etc. But the three types above will provide an ample range of exercise to get you started in fitness. When you join your gym you should be offered an induction - if not, ask for one - where an instructor will put together a programme designed to help you achieve your fitness goals and demonstrate all the exercises. If you feel like you need additional support and motivation or a programme that varies from week to week, get yourself a personal trainer. PTs are no longer the preserve of the wealthy and there will almost certainly be several based at your gym.
Julia Buckley is a reknowned writer in the field of fitness, exercise and healthy living, as well as being a qualified gym instructor and marathon runner. She regularly posts articles aimed at beginners to fitness on her website, Fitness Rocks. There is a wealth of beginners exercise information on the site and if you have any questions you can leave Julia a message in the comments section at the bottom of this article on exercise equipment.
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