Starting an exercise program
can be a daunting experience. A visit to your local gym can seem very
intimidating. You look around and are dazed by the array of machines
and exercise equipment. What is it? How dose all this stuff work?
Even the vocabulary seems like a foreign language. In this article I am
going to explain some of the most common pieces of exercise equipment
and workout accessories that you will find in a gym.
Free weights are the most
basic form of bodybuilding equipment. The reason they are called "free
weights" is because there are no attached pulleys, cables, pins, or
weight stacks. They consist of barbells, dumbbells, and weight plates.
The barbell is a long iron bar that is between 4 and 7 feet long on
which weight plates and placed. Barbell exercises are performed by
holding the barbell with both hands.
At the top of the list are Olympic barbells. They are 7 feet long and
weigh 45 lbs. These are heavy-duty bars that can handle huge weight
loads of over 800 lbs. Some Olympic bars can handle weight loads of over
1000 lbs. Because they are so big they are used mostly for heavy basic
exercises such as bench press, squats, and dead lifts.
There are smaller versions of the Olympic barbell that are between 4-6
feet long. These bars are generally used for smaller exercises such as
barbell curls, shoulder presses, bent rows, etc...
Many gyms also have a barbell rack that has an assortment of fixed
weight barbells. They usually have barbells that are from 20 - 100 lbs.
in increments of 5-10 lbs. (i.e. a 20 lb. bar, 30 lb. bar, 40 lb. bar,
etc...).
