Machines in gyms

devil_in_a_blue_dress

I think everybody should hula hoop, do resistance exercises with therapy bands, run, and belly dance. It's the ONLY thing that works really.

You forgot the mini trampoline! :noway:

What about a full size tramp? Will I build muscle?

dbmata

You see it alot these days that machines are the core of someones workout plan and i mean i get it! a leg press is way easier than squatting, I do believe though if you build a body using mostly machines and very little free weights it can lead to a disfuntional body, or atleast muscular imbalances.

What do you consider a dysfunctional body caused by working out on machines?

Hm, how about "Never legs day" dude?

RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle

I think everybody should hula hoop, do resistance exercises with therapy bands, run, and belly dance. It's the ONLY thing that works really.

You forgot the mini trampoline! :noway:

What about a full size tramp? Will I build muscle?

^absolutely! Another advantage of a full size tramp is that you can do an adapted *prancercise* routine on it.

RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle

I think everybody should hula hoop, do resistance exercises with therapy bands, run, and belly dance. It's the ONLY thing that works really.

only if you eat 80/10/10.

With raspberry keytones sprinkled on top.

QueenBishOTUniverse

I think everybody should hula hoop, do resistance exercises with therapy bands, run, and belly dance. It's the ONLY thing that works really.

You forgot the mini trampoline! :noway:

What about a full size tramp? Will I build muscle?

^absolutely! Another advantage of a full size tramp is that you can do an adapted *prancercise* routine on it.

Sorry, I only use full size tramps for *other* things.....

RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle

I think everybody should hula hoop, do resistance exercises with therapy bands, run, and belly dance. It's the ONLY thing that works really.

You forgot the mini trampoline! :noway:

What about a full size tramp? Will I build muscle?

^absolutely! Another advantage of a full size tramp is that you can do an adapted *prancercise* routine on it.

Sorry, I only use full size tramps for *other* things.....

^yes! Full sized tramps are also very good for *other* things:)

whitebalance

I think everybody should hula hoop, do resistance exercises with therapy bands, run, and belly dance. It's the ONLY thing that works really.

You forgot the mini trampoline! :noway:

And the hot tub. Don't forget, a hot tub is good cardio because it elevates your heart rate. True story.

QueenBishOTUniverse

I think everybody should hula hoop, do resistance exercises with therapy bands, run, and belly dance. It's the ONLY thing that works really.

You forgot the mini trampoline! :noway:

And the hot tub. Don't forget, a hot tub is good cardio because it elevates your heart rate. True story.

Oh lawd, now you're just making it too easy......

geebusuk

No, I meant to build up the muscle in it and trigger the overall burn.

I had started at the gym picking up the weights and pushing really high amounts of weight, but instead of decreasing sizes on my limbs & bum (I'm very large), my limbs were turning really hard to the touch and remained the same size and weight (even after water weight was lost) and fat/muscle percentage was still over 50%.

TL;DR I was working out in a level 200 when I was meant to start in a 20 :frown:

If you mean 'burn' by muscles feelings tired - that's not directly linked to results. There's plenty of ways you can get that feeling that don't give great results.
If you meant burning calories, you won't burn many doing weights and most research suggests the 'after burn' stuff won't burn that much either.

The only way to reduce the size is a calorie deficit. As above, doing weights generally isn't that great a way to burn calories.
What doing weights WILL do is to help preserve the muscle you have under the fat, so that when you get a lower weight you'll have closer to the sort of body composition most people are after.

if your limbs were turning 'hard', it's probably more a fluid retention thing from being used. Longer term I'd say typically both sexes do tend to look for a firm 'tone', though of course being 'rock hard' tends to be something men particularly look for .
However I suspect what you were getting was merely a post-exercise 'pump'.

I don't particularly find female competition body-builders attractive in a competition state - but even just around competition fat levels but not prepped for competition, tend to find them more attractive.
I'm sure my muscles don't normally looked as defined as in my profile pic, but I'd just been doing some pull ups which presumably got a bit of a 'pump' going, noticed the shadows were working nicely in my truck mirror and thought it was worth a pic while I looked like that .

gym_king_carlie

You have a point, but I think you're missing the big picture.

Machines give someone a starting point to take responsibility for their own fitness goals. If what you're doing on a machine is more comfortable and gets you doing resistance training, then by all means do it. It's not for everyone just like SS or SL5x5 isn't for everyone. That's the point. Machines are, in a lot of cases, the catalyst for change. It's important what you do long term, yes, but overall it's more important that you start doing SOMETHING, to move toward your goals.

Telling a morbidly obese person that they need to be in the gym squatting plates in order to be 'fit' is just as bad. You've tried to get them to run before they've even started walking. They may even get injured.

There's also a lot of stigma around free weights ESPECIALLY for (a lot of) women. Hell, the dudes at my gym whipping around 110 dumbells and 'Broing out" in the free weight area is enough to make _me_ want to start working out at home and I've been lifting for years. It's intimidating at times.

So, if working on a machine gets you in the gym and doing something to better your life, so be it. While it may not be for you, it is a good launching pad to get someone in the habit of weightlifting. Especially if they have a lot of fat to lose or a lot of muscle to gain.

I relate to this a lot. I completely agree.

SheGlows

I see so many people in gyms come in, sit on machines, get confortable and push the lightest weight possible, ...

There's the problem right there. Pushing the lightest weight possible, unless that's truly all one can do, isn't going to help much. I personally like both free and machine weights. I find both can give me effective workouts as long as I'm lifting heavy and giving it all that I've got. Personally, I like incorporating both into my lifting routines. I can see where you're coming from though.

RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle

I think everybody should hula hoop, do resistance exercises with therapy bands, run, and belly dance. It's the ONLY thing that works really.

You forgot the mini trampoline! :noway:

And the hot tub. Don't forget, a hot tub is good cardio because it elevates your heart rate. True story.

Thank you for reminding me! *dons bikini and hops in*

helenarriaza

No, I meant to build up the muscle in it and trigger the overall burn.

I had started at the gym picking up the weights and pushing really high amounts of weight, but instead of decreasing sizes on my limbs & bum (I'm very large), my limbs were turning really hard to the touch and remained the same size and weight (even after water weight was lost) and fat/muscle percentage was still over 50%.

TL;DR I was working out in a level 200 when I was meant to start in a 20 :frown:

If you mean 'burn' by muscles feelings tired - that's not directly linked to results. There's plenty of ways you can get that feeling that don't give great results.
If you meant burning calories, you won't burn many doing weights and most research suggests the 'after burn' stuff won't burn that much either.

The only way to reduce the size is a calorie deficit. As above, doing weights generally isn't that great a way to burn calories.
What doing weights WILL do is to help preserve the muscle you have under the fat, so that when you get a lower weight you'll have closer to the sort of body composition most people are after.

if your limbs were turning 'hard', it's probably more a fluid retention thing from being used. Longer term I'd say typically both sexes do tend to look for a firm 'tone', though of course being 'rock hard' tends to be something men particularly look for .
However I suspect what you were getting was merely a post-exercise 'pump'.

I don't particularly find female competition body-builders attractive in a competition state - but even just around competition fat levels but not prepped for competition, tend to find them more attractive.
I'm sure my muscles don't normally looked as defined as in my profile pic, but I'd just been doing some pull ups which presumably got a bit of a 'pump' going, noticed the shadows were working nicely in my truck mirror and thought it was worth a pic while I looked like that .

Yeah, the thing is that I was basically doing weights and I could not do it yet. My whole body was still chubby, not even leaning at all, but fat limbs hard to the touch, could be water retention or stress since I jumped on that wagon pretty fast.

Also, I am following the calorie deficit now, at that time we were still working with my Dr and trainer to get meals on my body since I was a crappy eater (1 or 2 huge meals and then nothing the rest of the day) so my metabolism was pretty much busted.

rafern301

I can see where you're coming from as well. I hardly ever use machines. I stick to mostly free weights and I've had great results. I also run a couple of times a week. Although, someone posted on here about how machines are better than nothing and I completely agree. There should be a balance, and what works for someone, may not work for everyone else.

BenjaminMFP88

Ok call me out on this if you disagree but i think machines in gyms are the worst thing for people looking to get better bodies and generally be healthier. I see so many people in gyms come in, sit on machines, get confortable and push the lightest weight possible, training shouldnt be comfortable, I really believe if the general population did more barbell or even dumbell training the world would be a fitter place. Machines dont work any stabilizing muscles and more importantly they dont work on posture like barbell movements do. anyway thats my opinion if you disagree let me know. I'm not to offend anyone with this by the way, i know some people can get sensitive with this stuff:p

Machines serve a purpose, just like free weights.

Unchained_Woman

This has been really interesting to read. I'm new to the gym, and so far have only done cardio because quite frankly, the machines, free weights, etc. scare me. You would think that for the amount of money that I am paying for a membership each month, the gym would have given me a free session with a trainer to show me around the weight room. But no. And I do not know anybody personally that goes to the same gym that could show me. While on the treadmill or elliptical, I have been observing others while they work out, to see if I could figure out how some of the stuff works....but nothing makes sense to me. After reading this thread, I'm still not sure what to do, ha ha! It seems more preference, to me, than anything? Maybe not. All I know is I am so far out of shape, it's unreal....so I am probably going to feel like I'm dying regardless of what I do, ha ha!

rafern301

This has been really interesting to read. I'm new to the gym, and so far have only done cardio because quite frankly, the machines, free weights, etc. scare me. You would think that for the amount of money that I am paying for a membership each month, the gym would have given me a free session with a trainer to show me around the weight room. But no. And I do not know anybody personally that goes to the same gym that could show me. While on the treadmill or elliptical, I have been observing others while they work out, to see if I could figure out how some of the stuff works....but nothing makes sense to me. After reading this thread, I'm still not sure what to do, ha ha! It seems more preference, to me, than anything? Maybe not. All I know is I am so far out of shape, it's unreal....so I am probably going to feel like I'm dying regardless of what I do, ha ha!

Don't be discouraged! You can do it! I would start with brisk walking on the treadmill. You can even start with the bike or elliptical, whichever you feel comfortable with. Maybe you can start with higher resistance and then you decrease it every minute or so for the entire time that you're on there (i.e. start with the treadmill on an incline and then lower it) until you're back at the beginning. However, keep your speed up regardless of the resistance level.

Strength training is so important too. You can start with weights at a resistance in which you can finish 8-10 reps. Then you build it up. Does your gym offer classes that you can take?

jimmmer

This has been really interesting to read. I'm new to the gym, and so far have only done cardio because quite frankly, the machines, free weights, etc. scare me. You would think that for the amount of money that I am paying for a membership each month, the gym would have given me a free session with a trainer to show me around the weight room. But no. And I do not know anybody personally that goes to the same gym that could show me. While on the treadmill or elliptical, I have been observing others while they work out, to see if I could figure out how some of the stuff works....but nothing makes sense to me. After reading this thread, I'm still not sure what to do, ha ha! It seems more preference, to me, than anything? Maybe not. All I know is I am so far out of shape, it's unreal....so I am probably going to feel like I'm dying regardless of what I do, ha ha!

If you want an introduction to free-weights, Starting Strength is hard to beat. It'll show you what's what with the main lifts and has a good program laid out in the book, too.

Not sure if he actually describes machine exercises, but LM has a beginner program built around machines:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/beginning-weight-training-part-4.html

described in the article and compared with other beginner's routines. Whole series might be worth a read. He lays out sets and reps for machines in the right hand column of the table...