The girl's guide to the weight room: if you're new to the gym, this M & F HERS lesson plan will show you the ropes, cables and bars

Muscle & Fitness/Hers, May-June, 2003 by Lara McGlashan

getting mentally prepared for your first venture into the weight room is no easy task, and many a gal has balked at the abundance of kooky equipment and grunting guys. But before you turn tail and run, know this: You have nothing to fear but gear itself.

Resistance training is a beautiful thing, and pumping a little non can give you the body you want inside and out. Lifting weights not only helps you develop great muscle shape but also combats osteoporosis, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and carchovascular disease. "Increased muscle also means an elevated resting metabolism," says JJ Flizanes, CPT, director of Homebodies Inc, in Los Angeles. "This means you burn more calories simply sitting around!" (So that's how guys can eat chips 24/7 during football season.) Whether you're jumping in fresh or have simply grown tired of body-sculpting classes, resistance training is for you.

Here's a decoding guide to some of the contraptions you'll find in nearly every weight room around the globe. Arm yourself to the pecs with this inside information, and you'll successfully plow a path through the beefy bodybuilders to get the body of your dreams.

machines

Although these large contraptions visually resemble medieval torture devices, weight-training machines can be a beginner's best friend. "Machines have a predetermined path of motion," explains Flizanes. "They're an excellent place to start because they help you understand where your muscles are and how they feel when they're being worked properly."

Some machines use weight stacks, a tall column of weight plates marked in numerical order, as their resistance. A pin can be inserted up and down the stack to adjust the weight to your particular needs. Others use loose plates, which are metal or rubber-coated round weights that reside on various weight trees around the gym. These plates range from about 2 1/2 to 100 pounds and are marked accordingly.

Newer machines usually sport some signage explaining what the machine does, which muscles are being worked and how to use it properly. Read any and all posted information thoroughly, then take a walking tour around the machine to see where the adjustment knobs are located. These knobs allow you to alter the machine to fit your size, height and limb length, and are usually found under the seat, on the arm handles or on top of the machine itself.

Next, take a seat. See where your body fits in relation to all the moving parts and adjust the machine accordingly, using the knobs and pulls. Then remove the weight-stack pin or any plates to make the resistance as light as possible, and test out the weight of the handles and moving parts themselves. Sometimes these are heavy enough, and you won't need to add weight. Now give the machine a few pulls or pushes and see how it feels. If the motion feels awkward, uncomfortable or painful, you need to make an adjustment somewhere. If you're uncertain about your setup, ask a professional trainer to assess your biomechanics. Once you've found your comfort zone, add a little resistance (if the machine wasn't heavy enough by itself) and begin your set.

Note: All machines are not created equal, and 10 pounds on the chest press might not be the same as 10 pounds on the shoulder press. To avoid injury, test the weight on each and every machine before using it. Keep a journal of how much weight you use for each one so you don't have to experiment all over again next session.

free weights

More advanced participants or those with previous group class experience may want to try their hand at free weights. The term free weights simply means that the weight in question ins't attached to a cable, pulley or machine. You're responsible for controlling it at all times, and your body dictates its path of motion, rate of speed and balance.

To use free weights, you'll likely sit or lie on a bench. These generally range in design from the standard prone model to an upright padded seat of sorts, with a few adjustment knobs to change the angle and height. Usually these knobs are located on the back of the bench or under the seat.

Once you adjust your bench, you can choose between dumbbells or barbells as your weight of choice. Dumbbells are handheld gizmos of varying weight and are usually marked as to their poundage. They hang out on long, notched or cupped racks, generally arranged according to weight. But sometimes they get mixed up, and a 30-pound dumbbell might lurk in a 15-pound spot, so be sure to read the numbers on each weight before using it.

Barbells are simply stretched-out dumbbells, and they also live on racks specific to their activity, such as bench press, shoulder press and squat racks. The long, straight Olympic barbells weigh 35-45 pounds apiece; the shorter, kinked EZ-bars weigh 15-25 pounds apiece. To make bar-bells heavier, you may add plates, such as the ones used on machines. To keep the plates from sliding off the barbell, always secure them with clips, mini Thighmaster-looking gadgets that slide onto the end of the barbell with a simple squeeze. Clips also typically reside on weight trees with the plates, although sometimes they migrate to squat racks, bench presses and other such apparatuses.