untitled

You may also come across machines that don’t have a weight stack. Instead,

you adjust the poundage by sliding donut-shaped weight plates onto a thick

peg. Jargon-heads call these plate-loaded machines.The weight plates are the

same ones used for loading up barbells. (See the “Free Weights” section later

in this chapter for details about weight plates.) The two most popular brands

of plate-loaded machines are Hammer Strength and CYBEX. Many plate-loaded

machines are designed so that each arm or leg works independently of the

other, a feature we like because it forces your weaker side to work hard.

Weight machines have been around for more than a hundred years. Back in

the ’60s, Arthur Jones, inventor of the Nautilus machines, created the most

significant innovation in weight machines to date. Jones realized that when

you lift a barbell or dumbbell, there are certain points during the exercise

that feel very heavy and certain points that feel light. (Try a biceps curl with

a dumbbell, and you see that the dumbbell is hardest to move when your

forearm is parallel to the floor.) Because your muscle is only fully working at

the instances where the weight is difficult to lift, Jones concluded, traditional

exercises don’t give your muscles a complete workout. Then Jones realized

that if you use a machine with a kidney-shaped pulley rather than a round

one, your muscles feel resistance during the entire exercise and can be

strengthened more completely.

Most of today’s weight machines still work under the same principles that

Jones discovered, but they have become smoother, safer, and more comfort-

able to use. Most of the top brands, including Body Masters, CYBEX, Hammer

Strength, Nautilus, LifeFitness, and ICARIAN do an excellent job. The brands

generally differ in the size and shape of the pulleys; the angles of the bars,

seats, and weight stacks; and the type of seat and handle adjustments. You

may like the Nautilus chest press but prefer the CYBEX back machine. Try

every machine in your gym at least once. Even if the machines are all the

same brand, you may feel more comfortable using, say, the vertical chest

press rather than the horizontal one.

The weight machines designed for home use — called multi-gyms— generally

aren’t as sophisticated as health-club machines, but in many cases, your

muscles won’t know the difference.

The advantages of machines ...........................................................

Machines are ideal for beginners, because they’re quite safe. If you can’t

muster the strength to finish an exercise, you don’t have to worry about

dropping a bar on your chest. But one caveat: Don’t stick any body part near

a weight stack that is being lifted or lowered. Liz saw a woman place her

hand on a weight stack as she pulled out the pin. Sixty pounds of weight

came crashing down on the woman’s palm. She was rushed to the hospital,

where her hand was repaired with eight stitches. Liz also saw a woman with

long hair lean over to pull out a pin before lowering the weight stack; the last

192 Part IV: Lift and Curl: Building a Stronger Bod with Weights