Muscle Making Machines - What To Buy, What To Avoid
by Karen Millard
Fitness equipment, you've probably realized, is big business. Do a little
channel surfing and soon enough you'll see an infomercial promoting the latest
in miracle machines. And just like all the others, its spokespeople will
be trying to impress upon you just how easy and effective it is.
Well! If you've read my previous columns you already know what I think of
that! If it's easy, it's probably not effective.
Exercise is supposed to be hard. (Not painful, just hard.) By challenging
your body, you stimulate it to grow. No challenge, no growth. Okay, maybe
that's just a new take on the old slogan, "no pain, no gain". But nowadays
we understand that pain is bad. My little phrase may be less catchy, but
it's safer and more effective.
Nevertheless, these machines do look intriguing, don't they? Surely they
can't all be a waste of money?
Of course they're not. But let me first point out that there are two distinct
types of resistance-training machines: the total-body exerciser and those
targeted to specific muscle groups such as the abdominal exercisers popular
not so long ago.
The first type of machine I'd consider more of a luxury than a necessity.
As I've said before, you don't need a lot of money to get an effective workout.
Here, for instance, is how I started. I filled two liquid laundry detergent
bottles (the kind with handles molded into the sides) with water and exercised
in front of my bedroom mirror for about twenty to thirty minutes every day.
Biceps developed, shoulder muscles (deltoids) became sharply defined and
my legs began to tone up. Finally convinced that weight training worked,
I bought a set of 5, 8 and 10 lb. dumb-bells (known as free weights) which
I use to this day.
Still, I liked the look of those home-gym machines. The all-inclusive type
with plates and pulleys and a bench. What variety they seemed to offer! We
finally found one at a garage sale and brought it home. It made for a nice
change, but it took up a lot of space in our basement and my husband actually
outgrew the maximum-possible bench press weight in very little time. Since
I could easily exercise every muscle in my body with my free weights it
wasn't long before the home-gym was consigned to a garage sale of our own.
Since the introduction of the home-gym, total-body machines have swamped
the market. Some compact and neat-looking, others enormous contraptions with
an almost science-fiction look to them. So long as they provide enough resistance
to challenge the muscles, so long as they are able to target every muscle
group and so long as they don't place any stress on your joints, they might
be a good buy. (In terms of effectiveness. What they add to the interior
design of your home is for you to decide!)
But do you need one of these machines to get fit? No, you don't. You'll do
just as well with a set of free weights and a good instructional video, book
or magazine.
Let's take a little break here to discuss what qualifies as good instructional
material. There are literally hundreds of books and videos about weight training
on the market and dozens of good magazines on the newsstand. (Amazon.com
currently lists 75 bestsellers for the subject "weight-training") Just review
the material carefully to make sure it features equipment you can use at
home and that it's well illustrated and doesn't promote potentially dangerous
moves. My personal recommendation? Anything by Joyce L. Vedral, PhD.
Bodybuilders, in fact, prefer free weights because they require more effort
from the exerciser than machines do. Machines actually reduce some of the
effort required to move the weight.
The second type of exercise machine, targeted exclusively to home-based
exercisers, just makes me mad!
You've got a bulging belly? You need gadget #1. Jiggly thighs? Gadget #2.
Is your rear-end too ample? Then grab your credit card and dial 1-800...
By all means go to a gym and work your way around a roomful of muscle-specific
equipment. But what home-based exerciser has the space to devote to a whole
body's worth of equipment? Because that's what you'll need. You can't work
your abs in isolation. Or your thighs. You need a program designed to target
every muscle group or you'll end up with a lop-sided look and a higher risk
of injury.
Remember those abdominal exercisers? You're supposed to lie down inside the
contraption, position your arms and legs just so and proceed to do flawless
crunches.
What you need to know is that perfect, non-injurious form is ridiculously
easy to achieve with only a little instruction and a little practice. (Remember
those magazines, books and videos?) Why spend the money and give up all that
floor space when a few feet of carpet and some good instruction would
suffice?
So if you decide to buy, what will it be? My number one recommendation would
be a set of free weights – dumb-bells and a barbell – with enough
weight to challenge your muscles. Upgrade when the last few repetitions of
each set no longer present any difficulty. Add some instruction in the form
of a good book, magazine or video and you're all set. If you wish, and if
you have the budget and the room, you can invest in a total-body resistance
trainer. But investigate carefully. Watch those infomercials with the sound
turned off! Avoid the hype and watch with a critical eye. Look for unnatural
motion, knees bent beyond 90 degrees, arched backs. If at all possible, try
before you buy and be prepared to get some instruction in the proper use
of these, too.
Avoid gadgets which target only one muscle group. They're a waste of space
and money.
Remember, for fitness success, you need commitment and effort. Now what could
be easier than that?
About the Author: Karen
Millard is a mother of three and has been working out at home for a
frightening number of years. She is a freelance writer based in Saskatoon,
Canada and is currently working on a book of oral histories with co-author
Maryanne Zuzak. When the stress of transcribing interviews gets too
much, she puts on some very loud music and climbs aboard her cross-country
ski machine.
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