You Asked: What ’s the Most Effective Machine to Use at the Gym?

Most machines you find at the gym are engineered to train specific muscles—usually a primary muscle and one or more secondary muscles. The chest press machine works your pectorals and shoulders, while the leg curl machine hits your quadriceps and hamstrings. So depending on the muscles you want to train, every machine is effective in its own way. But let’s say you only have 20 or 30 minutes at the gym, and you’re looking for machines that offer the most total-body training benefits. “If you’re pressed for time, there are some machines that train your muscular fitness and cardiovascular fitness at the same time,” says Chris Gagliardi, a certified personal trainer and weight management coach with the American Council on Exercise. Rowing machine Like running or swimming, rowing is a good aerobic workout that fires up your heart and lungs, Gagliardi says. But rowing also trains a diverse set of muscles. “You drive through your hips and legs to start the rowing movement, you have to activate your core to maintain posture, and then you have arm, shoulder and back involvement,” he explains. “It’s really a great workout.” He recommends asking a trainer at your gym to help you with your rowing form. (In fact, that’s good advice for any machine at the gym.) When rowing, “you don’t want to lock your knees, and you also don’t want to hunch way over and arch your back,” he says. These mistakes...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Exercise/Fitness Source Type: news