DD and I joined Planet Fitness

[sheryl]

Title explains it all - ha!

 

I really like it and love dd and I go together and workout together!

While they have machines that most of us don't have, what are comparable exercises, etc. to do at home?  For instance, PF has: treadmill (I have one of those and I walk outside in our hilly neighborhood), stationery bike (I have one but the digital part if broken so I can't emulate hills), elliptical (we don't have one), stacked weights machines (we do NOT have) - rowing machine vs. real life rowing, ab crunches machine vs. floor abs, etc.

 

I guess the machines just help with so many different muscles that really there is no match.   Right! ?  :)

 

[kiana]

Machines are good to get you going because there are instructions on them and they restrict the range of motion so usually you're not doing exercises with weird form and hurting yourself. But there are other exercises that work the same muscles that don't require a weight machine although frequently they do require some equipment. Many people use a free weight set eventually although this is a hefty purchase and not desirable for beginners. There are also bodyweight or dumbbell exercises that work these muscles as well that can be done at home.

 

For example, you can do chest press on a machine. You can do bench press with a bench. You can do dumbbell bench press with dumbbells. Or you can do pushups and pushup variations if you don't want to use anything. Some exercises are easier to substitute than others. 

 

I really love bodyweight fitness and get a kick out of it although right now I'm rehabbing an injury so using only dumbbells :/

[Amy in NH]

I love planet fitness. I wish there were one near me so I could afford a gym membership.

[1GirlTwinBoys]

I love PF too.

 

[wintermom]

Great that you and your dd are going together!

[zaichiki]

My dd and I also workout at a gym together. It's so wonderful and positive to spend that time together and we both enjoy it!

[foxbridgeacademy]

DS, DN, and I also signed up last week.  We're going every other day and I'm doing stretches and some general stuff from videos (a bit of yoga and pilates) on the other days. Instead of recreating the gym workout I wanted to working different muscles in a different way.

[Pawz4me]

 

 

I guess the machines just help with so many different muscles that really there is no match.   Right! ?  :)

 

 

 

If you haunt the body building forums you'd see lots of disagreement on that. There's definitely one line of thought within the fitness community that free weights and body weight exercises are much better than machines. One reason is that using free weights or body weight requires one to stabilize the entire body and thus engage more muscles for each activity. Most machines do much or all of the stabilization, so fewer muscles are activated. Machines almost always isolate muscle groups whereas free weights and body weight exercises use large groups of muscles simultaneously.

 

You might want to research "functional fitness exercises" for at home ideas.

[Carrie12345]

I'm jealous that you have a Planet Fitness!  I just moved from an independent gym to an Anytime, but PF appears to be nearly identical for SO MUCH LESS money! We just don't have any nearby.

 

I happen to *love* weight machines, for the most part.  I almost always avoid the ab machines because planks and all sorts of crunches, etc. hit many more muscles.  And ab machines tend to make it easy to forget about giving the back equal attention.  Push ups and squats are, imo, THE cornerstone body weight-only, home exercises.  (Though squats + weights = Even Better)  But, for me, that's more about what I do (or think about doing, lol) if I can't make it to the gym, or if it was crowded and there was no good space to do them there, not as an additional strength training workout.

 

My obsession with the machines is really an obsession with form.  I still don't trust myself to maintain proper form with free weights.  Even with plenty of mirrors!  It's something I should work on, I suppose, but I'm happy with the way things are!  

[Kassia]

If you haunt the body building forums you'd see lots of disagreement on that. There's definitely one line of thought within the fitness community that free weights and body weight exercises are much better than machines. One reason is that using free weights or body weight requires one to stabilize the entire body and thus engage more muscles for each activity. Most machines do much or all of the stabilization, so fewer muscles are activated. Machines almost always isolate muscle groups whereas free weights and body weight exercises use large groups of muscles simultaneously.

 

 

 

I agree with this.  Machines have their place, but free weights and body weight exercisers are better for the reasons stated above.  

 

At home, you could still do push-ups, squats, lunges, tricep dips, planks...  If you don't want to invest in weights, you could get good quality resistance bands.  You can work your upper and lower body with those.