Strength Training Equipment

So you want to get started. The how-to's of strength training equipment.

First of all, there are different types of muscles and different goals people can have in maintaining and building their muscles, therefore there are several types of strength training equipment. And that's right, you guess it, each form of equipment has a specific purpose. A key to any type of piece of equipment is that it provides progressive training. Progressive training means that you can adjust the levels and increase resistance or weight as you get stronger. So wimpy little Gilligan will start at a much lighter weight than the Skipper, but he can work his way up as he gets stronger.

As a quick introduction, there are three main kinds of strength training equipment. The first is free weights and benches. These are the dumbbells, barbells, and hand weights. So those little pink weights women job with and those gigantic monstrous barbells that bodybuilders use belong to the same category. Free weights demand that you have a stable balanced place to work out, like a weight bench, or else you could cause damage to those dear muscles. The advantage of free weights is that they are relatively inexpensive and easy to use.

The second kind of strength training equipment is of multi-station weight machines. These are like the new fangled contraptions you see on infomercials at night. These machines generally have built-in safety features so when you poop out, you don't have to worry about dropping a ton of weights on yourself. Now-a-days these machines are becoming more and more compact and some home-gyms even come with multiple stacks of weights that can be used to work-out many different parts of the body. Multi-station weights most often are very safe to use because they encourage correct movements. But then again they are generally expensive, although worth the money if you shop wisely.

And the final type of strength training equipment is the pulley or cable systems. This type of equipment utilizes handlebars attached cables connected to weights. These machines keep movements safe within an easy and wide range of motion and can often workout the entire body, so they are often seen in rehabilitation centers.

So there's many different ways to incorporate strength training equipment into your new strength training workout regimen.

So be sure to check out our pages on Strength Training Exercises, Weight Loss Training Strength, Strength Training Routines, High Intensity Strength Training, and Strength Training Without Weights elsewhere on this site.