Fitness Equipment for Women
Fitness equipment for women should contribute to personal fitness goals. The different types offer advantages as well as drawbacks depending upon your purpose.
General types of apparatus include free weights, weight lifting machines, exercise balls, and elastic bands that offer resistance.
Free weights
are generally thought of as exercise bars and dumbbells. But any object that we might use that is not guided or restricted could technically be called a free weight. Kettlebells are examples.
Weight machines
are generally considered pieces of equipment with moving parts that in some way restrict movement. However, some have no moving parts but allow us to perform activities that might otherwise be less effective.
For example, the back hyperextension "machine" or captain's chair simply offer support for low back and abdominal exercises, respectively. They have no moving parts, yet they allow us to perform demanding core exercises against gravity.
Other forms of equipment vary greatly from balls of various sizes and weights to elastic bands and rolls, each offering certain exercise advantages and limitations.
The key is to choose the type that will target your goals, as well as allow you to follow the guidelines set forth in the
training principles.
Topics under this heading target the types of devices along with their advantages, limitations, and when we might use them. They include:
Free Weights
Weight Lifting Machines
Free Weights vs Machines
Medicine Ball Exercises
Bosu Balls for Core Strength and Balance
For related advice about reviewing consumer fitness issues (e.g., fitness fraud, claims that fall short), go to
Top of Fitness Equipment for Women
Back to Home Page
Contact Us
|