What is that thing?

OK, I've convinced you to go to the gym and give the weight room a try. But what in the world are all those strange pieces of equipment and how do I use them. Do I even need them? Never fear, I’m not going to leave you hanging. Here are some of the common things you will see and what they are used for.

The Power Rack.- The most useful thing in the gym:

Below are pictures are two different types. These can be used for Squats of any type, overhead presses, rack pulls, good-mornings, and even bench presses, if you pull in a bench. The adjustable safety bars can be good if you don’t have anyone to spot you. Just please, don’t curl in the Power Rack.

This one is very basic one.

This one is much more advanced and you could do Pull-ups, as well as several other exercises with this type.

The type you see will depends on the gym and there are some other variations.

Pre-loaded Barbells:

These are great for starting out with barbell work at low weights. For the first few months I used these for almost everything. The standard Olympic barbell alone weighs 45 pounds and is quite long. The pre-loaded ones are great while working up to using the Olympic bar.

They usually start at 20 pounds and go up to around 110 pounds in 10 pound increments.

Trap or Hex Bar:

These can be used for Trap Bar deadlifts, shrugs, or farmers walks.

Leg Press:

Used for Single or Double leg presses in different positions.

Just don't leave the plates on when you are done as someone has done here.



Bench Press :

These come in several variations as well. Pictured is a basic one.

Incline Bench Press:

Not much explanation needed. But I also use the platform on back for step ups when needed.

Deadlift Platform with loader:

This is for doing deadlifts and the red bar helps you load the plates on. It makes life much easier and is a must have when doing this. I didn't know how great it was until I used one.

The Smith Machine.- the dumbest thing in the gym

There have been a million blog posts and articles written on why not to use the machine, so I won't go into detail. Run away from anyone that wants you to lift weight on it. I do use it for reverse body weight rows, because you can adjust the bar height to make it more or less easy. But, it is horrible for squats. Just say NO.

That covers most of the things relating to free weights you will see in a commercial gym that does not specialize. I couldn't get a picture of the cable machine because someone was always on it. I want to thank Atoka Fitness and NBS Fitness for letting me take some pictures.


There are lots of other machines I could have covered but I had to stop somewhere. My favorite is the prowler but most gyms won't have one. There is also the Glute-Ham Raise and the T-Bar Row. If you see an unfamiliar piece of equipment just ask someone how to use them before you play around. It is easy to put on too much weight and pull something.

Hope to see you all next week!