So my first day of the new rules of weight lifting.

Do not use the Smith Machine unless you have a very specific reason for using it and know how to use it. Your chance for injury is actually greater than free squatting in a power rack.

If you're unsure of proper form checkout:
1. Squatting: (YouTube) So You Think You Can Squat
2. Bench Press (YouTube) So You Think You Can Bench
3. Deadlift (YouTube) Search for, "Deadlift and Dave Tate"

Good luck

Can you remove the bar from the rack? If so, it's probably a squat rack. If not, and the bar moves up and down along a track within the machine, it's a smith machine.

Based on your replies already it sounds like you should really get some personal instruction before diving into exercises like squats and deadlifts, they are incredibly complicated.

a squat rack looks kinda like this

bits pointing upwards with pegs in it allow you to set the bar at a suitable hight for your starting position (just below the shoulders for a squat). you stand between the bits parallel to the floor and, if you manage to fall or drop the bar, it should be caught on them rather than squishing you. the squat rack is just a frame of iron/steel bars welded together with no moving parts, the bar is completely separate.

a smith machine looks like this

the bar is trapped between two rails so it can only go up and down so there is no chance of you toppling over forward or backward. however, it also means that you can only move at the angle the rails allow you to which is not really a natural angle for the squat and lots of people think it's evil for teaching/forcing you into bad forms.


both the smith machine and the squat rack will probably be equipped with an Olympic bar which is 20kg with chunky 5cm diameter ends. if your gym has any smaller/lighter bars around (my gym has a bunch of 12kg bars which are used in body pump classes and the like) they can be a nice place to start 'cause they are light enough to pickup & lift into position without too much hassle but allow you to get the feel of holing a weight in the right place for the squats etc.

i was terrified of making a fool of myself the first time i picked up the bar, way more than i was of using the dumbbells for the first time but take it slow and pay attention to the line of your back and hips & you should be fine. Of course, if you can get someone decent to give you some pointers in person, that's even better.

The gym I go to is a planet fitness

I found your problem right there.

Honest response though, if you have no way of getting access to a barbells+squat/power rack (and I mean legitimately no way of finding a better gym or having a home set-up), then I would go with a Goblet Squat over a Dumbbell Squat where the DBs are to your side. I believe it will help you achieve better depth because it gives you a built-in depth check.

P.S. If it's a money thing, which is understandable, look at other Planet Fitness franchises in your area. They all have slightly different rules, and some do have squat racks and barbells.

The issue is I live in an area with few gyms.

My town has just the YMCA which is expensive (because I wouldn't make use of the classes and pool) or planet fitness. Oh there is a curves too but the one in our town last I knew had no free weights just a circuit that everyone went around.

There is a retro fitness and another planet fitness in the town I work in but I'm not sure I would honestly go work out as much if I had to drive 35 min to get there and 35 min back. So it would only be good for going right after work and I probably wouldn't go on the weekends.

I don't have the space to get stuff at home. I live in a smallish apartment.

When do you work and how many days a week is NROWL4W? Because 3x a week is all I go to the gym myself. I do cardio outside (i.e. jogging/walking).

Planet Fitness doesn't allow deadlifts? o_O I can't quite wrap my head around that.

You could prob get away with deads at Planet Fitless, they just don't want ppl like me doing them. Use the bench for stepups, it's not too high unless your less than 5 feet tall. I doubt there will be any good trainers at that place so even if you get instruction watch it. The absolute best thing would be hire a trainer to come in with you and check form and modify New Rules for you on that equipment. Just find a good one ( one that has a CSCS) and tell them exactly what you want.

if a bench is too high to step up on new rules may not be for you, (is there something wrong?) cause unless your elderly, most can step up on a bench. Not slammin you but that doesn't sound rite.

For trainers, the only certs I would accept are NASM, ACSM and NCSA, most of the others don't know enough unless they have a BA in it as well. So ask around your gym to see if anyone has one, there must be someone in the community if it's big enough to have a Planet fitless, there should be a trainer around somewhere, your local vitamin store may know also.

Maybe start doing step ups without the weight?

congrats on starting the program check out the NROL4W group. Lots of good ideas and support for adapting workout and links to good videos showing you how to do the workout and plenty of people working out at home even. I move equipment around. My gym is crazy crowded on Mondays for some strange reason and I have NO reservations stealing a bar from one of the benches not being used and setting myself up on the floor for deadlifts. I use a step from the step classes for my steps with 4-5 risers under it. I move my dumbbells to the cable machines with me and then I drag the swiss ball over for jacks and crunches. It limits my movements and keeps my machines form getting jacked while I switch off.

Best of luck to you. Don't be afraid to do the extra weeks of stage1 to build up your strength. I pretty much did 2.5 months of stage 1 in a round about way since I also started with body weight. Now I'm officially doing Workout B6 and deadlifting 90lbs (45lbs on the olympic barbell)!

Well then apparently I suck because no I'm only 25 but will not be able to do step ups to a platform that is as high as my knee without losing my balance, especially while holding weights.

You probably don't suck that much lol. I have to say I had/have a mental block regarding push ups (so I didn't do them the first time I did a round New Rules). Of course after a couple months I quit . . . I let life interfere.

BUT I did use a bench for step ups. When I first started doing them I didn't use weights though. I have the balance of a drunk chicken, was a newbie, and I'm short so I think if I can do it you can probably do it. However you may be plagued by the type of mental block I had regarding push ups. Who knows. Those step ups were an awesome workout though.

Best of luck to you. Don't be afraid to do the extra weeks of stage1 to build up your strength. I pretty much did 2.5 months of stage 1 in a round about way since I also started with body weight. Now I'm officially doing Workout B6 and deadlifting 90lbs (45lbs on the olympic barbell)!

I've also added the extra sessions to the NROL4W so I could work on my form and build more strength. You can get away with doing the program just 2 days a week, which I've done a lot of the time (I work full-time and have three children 5 and under, it's a miracle I can form coherent sentences). It's taken me about 3 months to get through the first section.

I think a lot of people worry about looking like complete buffoons at the gym. At some point everyone ends up with their very own "I made a complete *kitten* of myself" story from the gym.

I'd avoid the smith machine like the plague. I tried that thing once and it was unbelievably uncomfortable because it contorted my body into unnatural positions.

Your husband could also follow the NROL4W. It's not exactly a women's program. My understanding is that the NROL just focuses on arms more and has more programs to follow. I believe a number of women actually start the NROL after they finish the NROL4W so they have more workout routines. I'd say squats, deadlifts, presses, etc are equal opportunity exercises.