Some questions about gym equipment

Hyperbullet

I have a few questions about the equipment in my local gym.

The instructor at the gym gave me a fitness programme, and considering I want to lose weight its 90% cardio based by the looks of it.

Is a cross trainer any good at all? I find myself using it for 30mins and I really dont know if its doing any good. Would I be better off using the exercise bike instead to push the heart rate and burn some fat, or a rowing machine?

G-Money

It depends what your goals are. I like the cross trainer as it's very easy on the joints. If you aren't even working up a sweat on it, it means you're not going at it hard enough. You can increase the resistance and try to keep it at the same speed as you were going, or try increasing your speed as well as increasing the resistance and see how you get on.

Hyperbullet

grandmaster wrote: »

It depends what your goals are. I like the cross trainer as it's very easy on the joints. If you aren't even working up a sweat on it, it means you're not going at it hard enough. You can increase the resistance and try to keep it at the same speed as you were going, or try increasing your speed as well as increasing the resistance and see how you get on.

I was in the gym this morning and I did exactly that. Worked a lot better. Got the heart rate up and kept it constant.

On another note, I'm confused about the ab machines they have there. There's one which is like a bench you lie on, and you pull yourself up to your knees, you can add weights to the end to up the resistance and then another which is a standard ab crunch machine. Which of these is better to use?

TommyKnocker

Hyperbullet wrote: »

I was in the gym this morning and I did exactly that. Worked a lot better. Got the heart rate up and kept it constant.

On another note, I'm confused about the ab machines they have there. There's one which is like a bench you lie on, and you pull yourself up to your knees, you can add weights to the end to up the resistance and then another which is a standard ab crunch machine. Which of these is better to use?

Hi There

IMHO both of those machines are of little to no use. Do a proper core routine. Have a look at this video below. The guy in the video posts on these forums. His forum name is "Transform". Also look up the following exercises

• Hyper Extension
• Reverse Hyper Extensions
• Glute/Hamstring Raises
• Good Mornings

to strenghten your lower back, so you develope your whole core and not just your abs.

brianblaze

Hyperbullet wrote: »

I have a few questions about the equipment in my local gym.

The instructor at the gym gave me a fitness programme, and considering I want to lose weight its 90% cardio based by the looks of it.

Is a cross trainer any good at all? I find myself using it for 30mins and I really dont know if its doing any good. Would I be better off using the exercise bike instead to push the heart rate and burn some fat, or a rowing machine?

If this was a Ben Dunne gym, don't even waste your time with their copy and paste bloody programs...

They always reccomend stupid stuff and don't tailor their plans

Transform

brianblaze wrote: »

If this was a Ben Dunne gym, don't even waste your time with their copy and paste bloody programs...

They always reccomend stupid stuff and don't tailor their plans

yes its called cookie cutter programs - give everyone the same program regarless of goals and imbalances.

God i must do a video on what you should expect from a trainer/PT session - how to do it right/wrong.

I have done some consulting for a few gyms around the country (train the trainers etc) and am always shocked at the absolute lack of thought that goes into design of a program - its like they pick whats easiest to teach to a client so they can go back to chatting among themselves or talk to the wanna be bodybuilder and the pretty ladies!

InKonspikuou2

Only ab exercise i've pretty much done in recent years is weighted hanging leg raises or weighted crunches. I hit my abs enough with deadlifts and squats. Always found the results better without having to hit them directly. Obviously not something for everyone as it's goal depending.

Hyperbullet

Having read the responses here, it seems i'm doing alot wrong in terms of core training. My cardio training is going well, but looking at my weights programme, its all based around using the machines. Is this wrong?

brianblaze

Hyperbullet wrote: »

Having read the responses here, it seems i'm doing alot wrong in terms of core training. My cardio training is going well, but looking at my weights programme, its all based around using the machines. Is this wrong?

Personally, I never use machines. I find them restrictive and uncomfortable. Free weights are where it's at. It's more challenging and you get more bang for your buck. The closest I come to using weights is the Smith or the Cables.

I know machines are specifically built for certain things but there's no replacement for grafting on a set of dumbells!

Red Cortina

Transform wrote: »

God i must do a video on what you should expect from a trainer/PT session - how to do it right/wrong.

Would be really interested in looking at this.

Also on a different note I'm checking in on your blog daily, Transform, as am looking forward to reading more about what training you have done in the past year to progress your own personnel transformation which (btw) is incredible.

Transform

i will try to get that up this week.