GYM EQUIPMENT - KNOW THE TRUTH

Ok people gym equipment, what’s the deal? Why write an article on it? I here you ask? Surely if its in a gym then it must have a purpose, it must benefit me, it must aid me in all my training needs……….eh…….no …. No……. and NO!!!We at PFT feel that its only fair that the trainee is given the best equipment to use to help them achieve their goals so before we get down to the nitty gritty of why, given the choice PFT would get rid of more than half of the current equipment used in gyms today we must understand the different types.

There are two types:

NO.1 - functional resistance machines(FR)

NO.2 – non-functional resistance machines(NFR)

 

NO.1 – This sort of equipment i.e dumbells, barbells, cables, squat racks, benches, pull-up/chin/dip apparatus, dead liftplatforms (if, like us you are smart enough to have one) etc.  This equipment trains movements as opposed to just training structure (even though there will be a carry-over and structures will get stronger and vice versa). It is designed to offer three-dimensional training and if used correctly along with additional items such as chains, bands, weight releasers,blocks etc will develop even the wimpiest of trainers into a gods!

Note- PFT should note that this equipment is also superior to any NFR equipment when training for sports but that’s a whole article in itself, whichwill be coming soon.

NO.2 – These machines we cannot stand, their inability to offer the trainer multi-dimensional, musculoskeletal and full range neuromuscular training (this is particularly important how in the hell can you train your body to be explosive while sitting in a machine)this makesus wonder why these machinesexist in the first place! Moneywasted and floor space wasted, buy more racks, benches hell yeah!

What gets us is the vast majority of these machines require the person to sit or lie or hang upside down (ok the last one was a lie but trust me some muppet will probably think it up) And more often than not this is causing the major stabilising muscles of the body to be ignored! And you wonder why you’re weak!  Remember this because we can’t be bothered writing this all the time!  These “structure training” machines are made by bodybuilding companies and are designed for that purpose.  Do we really need to explain this in every goddamn article?  If you are not a bodybuilder why are you using it?  If there is a valid explanation fair enough, but the vast majority are just misguided.

 

Now I know PFT are going to upset some Physio’s and they are probably peein there pants right now, saying “oh but they are good for rehab on certain injuries”fair enough but do you know what we say….bla bla blah,heard it all before, you see we at PFT feelif he/she had learned how to train in the first place using the correct training methods, followed a proper program,there would be less need for a lot of rehab work anyway (for the record if he/she got jumped by some psycho and broke their leg for example, that would be different, it was not caused by a machine or training).

And wedefinitely know all thebodybuilder’swill be ready to preach their argument that isolation machines made them the fine specimen we all see today, hell no!  Bodybuilding is one of the most basic forms of training and most can’t even get it right!  Bodybuilders train for building structure and nothing else, so they don’t need all aspects of fitness they just need to look good, for them trout’s machines will be appropriate but dedicating a whole programme to NFR training is madness and will eventually result in a overwhelming amount of problems, even they wouldn’t just stick to machine training.   For example “ sitting down on the bicep curl machine reppin it outmate” you’re a muppet do you realise you will eventually do more damage to you rotator cuffmuscles among other things, get a dumbbell and curl it!

 

NO MACHINE CAN RIVAL ANY FREE WEIGHT EXERCISE

 

It is the ignorance of this industry and its blatant ability to lie and preach to you that machines are safer than free weights, that really bugs us, what it really is the gym owners lack of understanding of how the body functions and is developed, and the trainers fault for not learning and being qualified enough to train someone correctly.Induction processes in any big gym are all the same how can we blame Joe public its not there fault they join a gym with the hope of being guided by a “professional trainer” but more often than not they are given some wack circuit based work out that offers no real benefit and will never aid them in achieving their fitness goals, GET YOU IN GET YOU TRAINED GET YOU OUT! Its all about turn over people money makes the world go round; there is no real care for client progression.

What we at PFT will do is educate you on a few of the machines that are currently on all gym floors these include some of the old favourites you will be familiar with and why they are mis-leading and are causing more harm than good. So the top 5 on our list in no particular order are:

 

NO.5 SEATED LEG PRESS

All the pressure is on the knees.The machine sits in a position that causes 4 times more stress to the spine compressing it laterally, this is why if you can leg press 5 million kilos you could probably only squat 10.  The squat even though it will also compress the spine is a far more beneficial exercise as it trains ankle, knee, hip, spine, shoulders, head carry etc.

 

NO.4 PEC DECK

Starting position sucks, starting from the weakest point and at that angle with the rotation in the shoulder in a fixed movement pattern is dumb. Wouldn’t doing a fly on a bench make more sense?

 

NO.3 BICEP CURL

You are sitting down for a start (lazy trout) and all you are trying to do is flex the elbow! Bicep curling machines if overused (which they are) will destroy your elbows and even though they isolate muscles in that area for work, doing freestanding curls and chin-ups will work the bicep much more.

 

 

NO.2 ADDUCTOR/ABDUCTOR

Oh my god! These must be the greatest inventions known to man; I cannot think how I could possibly survive in the gym-training world without these! (This is actually sarcasm people!)   Apart from looking at the hot birds when they are on these I don’t even know where to start.  In human movement if the movement pattern is wrong then it should be addressed possibly in isolation, fair enough but these things are useless, that’s it.  They are probably more suited in a porno!!!!

 

 

NO.1 THE SEATED POSITION HAMSTRING CURL

What the f&*k?! Apart from needing five people  (not including the person using it) to figure out how to work it what does it do?  It sure as hell does not work your hamstrings, anyone who is tried to rack weight on it end up getting a killer lower back workout instead (killer, not good way).  It crushes your knees and there is no way you can isolate yourself on it, since at the end of the set you have probably slid off the chair already.  Doing close-chained exercises like good mornings would hurt your hamstrings more as opposed to just hurting you.