Which exercise equipment should beginners at a gym know about?
- Cardiovascular equipment
- Strengthening equipment
- Flexibility equipment
As a beginner in a gym in Makati, one of the most important things you can do is to avoid overworking your body. You may be tempted to do this to get fast results, but this can lead to you possibly pushing your physique beyond its limits and capabilities. This attitude can lead to worn joints, fractures, and muscle pain. To avoid these problems, you should stick to workout equipment that is easy to use and doesn’t put a high amount of strain right away.
These are the exercise equipment you should use a beginner in a Makati gym:
Cardiovascular Equipment
Cardiovascular or cardio equipment allows you to build endurance. As you use these machines more and more often, you will able to exercise for longer periods of time and do more complicated workouts without getting tired.
Stationary bike
The bike is great to use for newbies like you because first, your back is not too strained because it lets you sit down. Second, the equipment lets your knees and quads build strength while placing little impact on the rest of your joints.
If you are a newbie to the stationary bike, it would be good to start with 20-minute workout sessions. During that set of time, these are the steps you should follow:
- Slightly bend your knees before pressing the pedal stroke and adjust the bike until it fights your height.
- With the bike, warm up your legs at an RPE (rate of perceived exertion) of 4 for 5 minutes.
- Increase the RPE to 6 and leave it at that number for 5 minutes before decreasing it to 5.
- After 3 minutes, finish the rest of the workout on an RPE of 4.
Treadmill
The treadmill is a piece of exercise equipment that replicates the experience of outdoor running without the drawbacks of hard and uneven pavement under your feet. Because of this aspect, the treadmill is a great workout tool for beginners since your joints will not be subject to repeated impact. While running outdoors is great, the uneven pavement of the road can be uncomfortable and even dangerous if you are not careful.
When you are using a treadmill for the first time, it would be advisable to use it for 40 minutes and switch it from speed levels of 3 to 5 MPH to challenge your body. Additionally, keep the incline level to 1 to provide a suitable level of difficulty.
Strengthening Equipment
Strength training with these different equipment allows you to burn calories faster and reduces bodily pain caused by other workouts.
Free weights
Free weights are strengthening equipment that allows for a variety of exercises. It helps your muscles develop by acting as a load that provides force to them. You can find them in almost every gym, and they can be used in a lot of different ways.
As a beginner, it is advisable to stick with three main exercises: deadlifts, squats, and presses. Deadlifts focus on the back muscles while squats are for the legs. Lastly, presses develop your shoulders and chest.
Resistance bands
Resistance bands are great for core fitness because it pushes you to stabilize your muscles through the help of added tension.
Strengthening workout moves you can do while using a resistance band include:
- Sidestep squats
- Wear a resistance band around your ankles.
- Squat halfway with hands on your hips before sidestepping to the right.
- Sidestep to the right 10 times and doing the same to the left.
- Bicep curls
- With both feet, step on the band and hold the other end on both hands.
- As you inhale, bring up both your elbows. Then, bring down your elbows as you exhale. Do both of these movements fifteen times.
- Band rows
- Sit on a chair with the band under both your feet.
- Relax your arms and then, extend your arms before pulling the bands with your hands. Pull, and hold for one second, before letting it go again.
- Do this movement 15 times.
Flexibility Equipment
After a hard workout, your muscles are definitely going to need some cooling down in the form of flexibility exercises. Not only does it relax you, it also improves your balance and range of motion. To help you stretch better, these are the equipment to look out for at a gym in Makati.
Exercise ball
An exercise ball can help improve your flexibility by making static stretching positions easier to do. When you just use the floor, the hard ground can make it hard to stay in a certain position for a period. Find out if exercise balls are offered in your choice of gyms in the Philippines since some core fitness routines rely on this equipment.
Exercise Mat
An exercise mat is one of the most versatile equipment you can take advantage of when it comes to developing flexibility. These foam rubber paddings provide you with the needed support while you stretch different parts of your body.
Key Takeaway
As a beginner, you should prioritize your safety while pursuing your workout goals at the gym. To do this, you should exercise with equipment that is least likely going to cause you injuries. Great beginner gym equipment should be easy to use while also targeting different parts of your body. With these listed options under the three different types of equipment, both criteria are satisfied.
