Walking in to your local Hussle gym should always be a positive experience. You’re setting new standards for yourself, taking charge of your physical and mental wellbeing and if all goes well: blasting those fitness goals out of the park.
At Hussle, we exist to help you achieve exactly that. But as we grow and set exciting new goals, just like our amazing members.
We know that not everyone is a seasoned or experienced gym-goer.
It might be an amazing experience to glide through the doors of your local Hussle gym, ready to do your thing.
For those at the start of their fitness journey or those looking for fresh, new workout ideas, those gym visits can start to feel a bit mundane. If your new, then perhaps even a bit confusing!
Where on earth do you start?
Getting to Know The Most Common Gym Equipment
There is a wealth of amazing equipment just waiting to help you fulfil your fitness goals, so let’s get familiar with some of the machines on offer at your local Hussle gym.
Maybe you’ve avoided them in the past, maybe you’re wondering what on earth they do!
Remember, knowledge is power, just the same as toned muscles and strong core!
Treadmills
Running outdoors is amazing, but not for everyone. Topography, geography, time constraints; they can all play a part in the opportunities we have to run.
Treadmills solve that problem, simply by empowering us to run, walk and jog in the gym while staying in roughly the same place.
Basically, modern treadmills are a moving platform made with a wide, stable conveyor belt. The belt moves at a pre-determined speed driven by a motor, the user matches that speed for as long as they want to.
Treadmills are one of the most popular types of exercise, it isn’t unusual to see rows of them in your local gym. Many come with heart monitors, step counters and the option to simulate hills as well as custom programs to suit the time available.
The Benefits of Treadmills:
– Treadmills are fantastic for weight loss, one of the key reasons that people decide to start using their local gym
– Whatever the weather and even if you want to watch TV or read while walking or jogging, you can on a treadmill! (We wouldn’t recommend that at your local park though)
Cross trainers
Also known as elliptical machines, cross trainers look familiar to many with their unique pedals and handle lever design.
Yet they are often overlooked in favour of gym equipment that seems more straightforward to use, such as treadmills and bikes.
Unlike those machines however, cross trainers utilise a secondary source of driving power, the arms!
Coordination is the order of the day here as the alternating pedal motions combine with the oscillating hand motions of the handles.
Some cross trainers come with the ability to adjust the angle of use, allowing users to target specific muscles. Even without that though, cross trainers are an excellent way to enjoy a workout targeting the whole body.
The Benefits of Cross Training:
– Cross trainers are an amazing introduction to cardiovascular exercise and to develop aerobic fitness at your own pace
– They also engage the muscles in the arms and legs which work in unison to drive movement, making cross training a great form of resistance training too!
The Seated Bike
They are both familiar and very pieces of common gym equipment in every venue, for many of the same reasons that treadmills are.
Seated bikes give us all the benefits of conventional bikes, along with the added convenience of using them in a stationary way. Well away from the elements and busy roads.
There are different flavours of seated bike, exercise bikes, spinning bikes, watt bikes and exercycles. One thing almost all of them share in common is the lack of wheels.
What exists in their place is a resistance mechanism, which can be magnetic, fan-based, weighted flywheel or friction. These provide the resistance and control that delivers a great, low impact workout that is perfect for honing general fitness.
Seated Bikes are Ideal if:
– You are looking to burn calories and body fat, while strengthening lower body and leg muscles, heart and lungs then seated bikes are both efficient and effective
– You are looking to avoid joint stress but still need a solid aerobic workout, then the seated exercise bike is a great piece of equipment to use
The Stair Stepper
For those who shy away from elevators in favour of taking the stairs, the stair stepper is ideal. It is piece of gym kit that can make a big impact.
On the High Street, there is a range of mini stair steppers which are simple to use. In the gym however, bona fide stair steppers are a different, more impressive beast altogether.
Stair steppers mimic the act of climbing stairs, with foot pedals that move in an alternating way. Placing your foot on one pedal will force downwards with pre-set resistance. You simply alternate the pedals for the stepping motion.
Many gyms now are offering a variation on this machine, known as the stepmill, a sort of treadmill with stairs, much like a mini-moving staircase.
Why Give Stair Steppers a Try?
– Stair steppers and stairmills are all fantastic for a workout that focuses on similar muscle groups, just like climbing real stairs. The quadriceps, hamstrings, legs, calves and buttocks will all benefit
– As well as improving your stair climbing, stair steppers are great at promoting strength and resilience for other sports such as cycling and running, as well as general cardio fitness and weight loss
Rowing Machines
Getting out on the water isn’t for everyone, but thanks to rowing machines, the physical and mental benefits certainly can be.
Those benefits are incredibly worthwhile too, because rowing machines deliver a full low-impact body workout and an introduction to the importance of technique.
Combining both the lower and upper body for every stroke, rowing machines tone and strengthen the body, drive endurance and are ideal for people of any fitness level to have a go at.
They are also well suited to those with visual impairments, poor back strength and often recommended for people with the early stages of conditions such as osteoarthritis.
Using a rowing machine is not complex; you simply keep a straight spine, shoulders straight and chest out. The drive is done by pushing your feet into the plate with tension on the handle, pushing away with the legs then completing the stroke by pulling the arms in towards the ribs, to finish before moment of recovery.
The Benefits of Rowing Machines:
– Rowing can generate a real body-mind connection; many people describe it as a meditative form of exercise
– Rowing machines can be a great substitute for those who might feel like treadmills and stair steppers aren’t for them
Now you’ve been introduced to some of the most common gym equipment, why not try some of the above, for yourself as part of Hussle’s One Network. Thousands of Gyms, and Zero Contracts!
All the machines in our equipment 101 can be found in your local Hussle gym, just waiting for you, why not try them out without the commitment of contracts!
Common Gym Equipment Part 2
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