This guide to weightlifting equipment will help you recognize equipment in the free weights section, know how to properly use them, and gives a few exercise squat rack suggestions that can be done with each piece of equipment.
The gym can be a daunting place for many, but the free weights section seems to invoke a certain type of fear for beginners. If you have been curiously staring at the weightlifting room from afar in the cardio section, now is the time to take the leap! Below is a guide to the most common free weight equipment found in gyms, and their uses.
*PSS!* Need a workout plan for the weight room?
For those looking squat rack to build strength using simple barbell lifts, squat rack our Beginner Strength plan follows a 3-moves a day, 3 times a week schedule.
For ladies who are tired of cardio-heavy workouts, check out squat rack Transform Your Body: a workout plan designed specifically for women who want to try lifting something heavier than a 2-lb dumbbell.
You can find more details for squat rack about these workout plans by clicking on the above links, or scrolling to the bottom of this post for summaries of each squat rack.
A Guide to the Weightlifting Room
Dumbbells:
You are probably familiar with this weightlifting room staple, squat rack but dumbbells are very versatile and great for isolation exercises. If you are looking to build strength in specific muscles or muscle groups, dumbbells are your best choice squat rack .
A few suggestions for squat rack dumbbell exercises are alternating bicep curls,lateral raises, and triceps kickbacks.
Weight Plates:
These were originally designed to be put on the ends of barbells (covered below). However, weight plates are also great for making bodyweight exercises more difficult. For example: placing a plate on your back while holding a plank position, or holding a plate overhead during lunges.
Barbells:
There are a few variations of barbells, and you should choose wisely depending on your goals.
Olympic Barbell
An Olympic barbell is 7 feet long and 45 pounds. It can hold up to 800 pounds of weight. This barbell is the choice for Olympic Lifts. Check out this Olympic Lifting Starter Plan for how-to video tutorials on barbell lifts.
There are also smaller, straight barbells ranging from 4-7 feet, and 20-35 pounds. The smaller barbells are good for squat rack exercises such Gabriella curls and military presses.
Fixed Weight Barbell
These are barbells shorter in length, and of a fixed weight. Theoretically, you can use them exactly the same as non-fixed weight barbells. However, it is squat rack less common to use fixed weight barbells for Olympic lifts.
Fixed weight barbell exercises include barbell lunges numskull crushers.
FEZ-Curl Bar
This is the funny, wiggly-shaped bar squat rack at the gym. Like the name implies, it is designed specifically for curling exercises (mostly biceps). The funny shape actually allows for a more “natural” hand grip when curling, and some say they can curl more weight with an FEZ-Curl bar than with a straight barbell. Fez-Curls come as bar-only, and as fixed-weight.
Two exercises you can do with the FEZ-Curl bar are spider curls and triceps presses.
Barbell Collar Clips
If you are going to add plates to your barbell, you must use barbell clips to hold them in place, otherwise they will fall of the ends once you start moving the barbell around.
Benches:
These will probably be scattered throughout the free weights section and have a plethora of uses. There are flat benches, incline benches, squat rack and decline benches. “Olympic style” benches mean that there is a barbell rack attached to the bench.
Olympic benches are for barbell exercises, while benches with no racks are generally for dumbbell & bodyweight exercises.
Flat Bench
These benches are the most versatile,squat rack and can be used to support you in a huge variety of exercises.
To give you a few ideas, flat benches can be used formularizing split squats, bench triceps dips, decline push ups, chest presses, dumbbell rows, and more.
Incline Bench
These benches are for performing exercises while you sit, the advantage being back support.
Exercises you can do on the incline bench includes shoulder presses, incline bench presses, and dumbbell flays.
Decline Bench
These are benches for performing exercises during which your head is below your feet.
Exercises include decline sit ups and decline triceps extensions.
Olympic Bench
These are most commonly used for bench presses. However, some Olympic benches are adjustable to be incline squat rack and decline, as well as flat. On those Olympic benches you have more choices for exercises, such mainline military presses or decline bench presses.
Hyper Extension Bench aka Roman Chair
This confusing looking bench is for strengthening your core & back muscles. Use this bench squat rack by hooking your feet around the rollers, and resting your thighs on the padding, so that your torso hangs off the bench (here is picture of how to sit on the roman chair).
You can do HD sit ups or back extensions on the roman chair.
Preacher Bench
This is a bench with an angled pad for squat rack you to rest your upper arms on for stability during bicep exercises. You can use either dumbbells or a barbell for bicep curls on the preacher bench.
Racks:
This section covers exercise racks, which are different from weight storage racks (not covered in this post).
Squat Rack
The squat rack is for squatting, obviously. The basic squat rack will have pegs on the side for holding plates, hooks for storing the barbell, and two spotter “arms”. The spotter arms are there the catch the weight in case you fail on a squat.
However, along with back, front, and overhead squats, it is also socially acceptable at the gym to use the squat rack as a station for dead lifts, cleans,thrusters, and other Olympic lifts. To do lifts other than squats, simply back out of the range of the spotter arms. Keep in mind that if you do so, you must be much more careful because there is no spotter if you drop the barbell.
Power Rack
The power rack is squat rack probably the single most versatile piece of equipment at the gym. A good power rack will include a pull up bar, dip bars, and spotter arms/hooks that are adjustable. This is a big deal because unlike the fixed spotters of the squat rack, spotters that are adjustable to any height for any exercise means you can safely do almost every heavy lift alone.
Any barbell exercise can be done in the power rack, but it is considered “rude” to do isometric exercises (such as bicep curls) in the rack. The power rack should be used for heavy, multi-joint lifts that require a spotter.
Smith Machine
The Smith machine is a squat rack cross between a machine and a free weight barbell. It is a barbell that slides on a fixed rail, and can lock into certain places on the track. there is a simple J-hook locking mechanism that acts as a spotter. The Smith machine is good for exercises in which the barbell moves only along the vertical plane. For instance, this would be squat rack a horrible choice for practicing snatches, but a good choice for bench presses.
Note: This is a barbell rack (pictured to the left), squat rack fostering multiple barbells. You should not try to do exercises in this type of rack.
Power towers:
These are great for working on dips, pull ups, or any hanging exercise such as L-hangs or toes-to-bar. They come in a variety of arrangements, but if you see a big,squat rack tall piece of equipment with zero gears, pulleys, cords, or weights- it’s probably a power tower.
Captains Chair
Any good gym should have at least two of these. A captains chair will have a pull up bar, dip bars, and back & arm padding (the “chair” part) squat rack for leg raises. Here is picture of how to use the captains chair for leg raises.
Pull Up / Dip Station
These are less common in gyms, as there are usually multiple other pieces of equipment with pull up and dip bars attached. However, if you see an squat rack object like this, it is for pull ups and dips.
Beginner Gym Workout Plans:
Both of the following workout plans include instructional videos. These videos introduce & teach all of the lifts & technique for the exercises used in the training plan of squat rack.
Beginner Strength: This basic workout plan aims to build functional strength by practicing big barbell lifts.
Ideal for: Men & women with a beginner to intermediate level of fitness squat rack, looking to build overall strength that will improve their quality of life through increased functional fitness & strength capability.
Not ideal for: Men & women looking for a weight-loss plan, or bodybuilding.
Equipment: One barbell, and additional weight plates
The 5 lifts: Back squat, bench press, dead lift, military press squat rack, & barbell row.
The method: Lifts are separated into “A” days & “B” days. Each workout you add 2.5-5 lbs of weight to the lifts from your last workout. By the end of the plan, you squat rack should be strong enough to handle lifting 20-35 lbs more weight than your numbers in the beginning.
Transform Your Body!: A 4-week functional fitness training plan designed specifically for women who are tired of cardio & want real results.
Ideal for: Women of all levels of fitness,squat rack especially women frustrated with the lack of results from their current workout regimens. Cardio bunnies looking to add shapeliness to their bodies, women who want to stop looking “skinny-fat” (slim arms & legs, but rounder midsection), and those who struggle to lose weight through traditional methods would especially benefit.
Not ideal for: Those with health squat rack conditions or existing pains that do not allow for high-impact movements (ex:jumping), or high intensity workouts.
Equipment: Depending on the day, a barbell + weight plates, dumbbells, the rowing machine, & the Air Dyne (or indoor bike).
The movements: squat rack Depending on the day, exercises can include squats, sprints, dead lifts, push presses, rowing, running, lunges, burgees, and more.
The method: squat rack This Functional Fitness workout plan uses a combination of high-intensity conditioning to shed fat, and functional strength moves to squat rack build shapeliness, confidence, and power.