Weight Training Equipment: A College Student's Guide

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You've just moved into your new dorm room, and are loving the college life so far. You've met some new people, figured out where your classes are, and are awaiting the start of classes. Feeling proactive, you decide to check out your school's gym and see what they have to offer.

Whoa! What is all of this stuff? You recognize the treadmills and the other aerobic machines, but you're not sure what all the weight training equipment is about. In fact, you always viewed weight training as something done only by a select few hoping to resemble Arnold in his prime.
As it turns out, weight training is for everyone. You can benefit in many ways by adding a strength training program to your fitness plan. You will get stronger and feel better, almost guaranteed.

"Well, that's great" you say. "But what is all of this stuff?" I'm glad you asked. Let's start with the basics. See all those funny looking devices with the cables, pulleys, plates, and handles? The ones that sort of look like medieval torture devices? Those are weight machines. I don't recommend using those, as they aren't really a natural way of building strength. You'll want to focus on the free weights, which are the kinds of things you would imagine Arnold lifting.

The most basic free weight is the dumbbell. Dumbbells are simply heavy pieces of metal with a handle in the middle for you to hold. These are very easy to use, and very versatile. Many lifts can be done using only dumbbells and you should learn to love them.

Barbells are also great. These allow you to lift more weight than dumbbells, and you will be using these a lot as you progress, doing exercises such as squats and deadlifts that will get you strong in a hurry.

There are also a bunch of benches and cages lying around. These benches allow you to do a great variety of exercises. Unless your school was nice a enough to buy a bunch of these, you will be scrambling to get one whenever you go to the gym. Squat racks are the big metal things that you see the burly guys stepping underneath. These support a barbell, allowing you to step underneath and squat it.

So, this gives you a basic idea of what you are looking at in your school weight room. Now, start researching some lifting plans and get yourself to the gym!