10 Most Common Exercise Machines (and How to Use Them)

What it works : Your quads, the muscles in the front of your thighs.

How to use it : Sit on a seat with the pad on your shins, and lift the shin pad up while straightening (“extending”) your knees. That’s all it does.

Important adjustments : Adjust the seat so that the hinge is in line with your knee.

How it works : The forward position engages the chest muscles in an exercise also known as a chest extension. Some versions of this machine have a setting that allows you to pull the handles back to work your rear deltoids (the back of your shoulders) and upper back muscles.

How to use it : To perform jumping jacks, sit with your back on the seat and bring your arms together. In the reverse version, you will stand facing the other direction, pressing your stomach against the back of the seat.

Important adjustments . Before you begin, be sure to adjust the initial position of the machine. For example, when you use it in a forward direction (bringing your hands together), you don’t have to strain to reach back to start the movement. There is a setting that will allow you to start from a comfortable position.

What it works : The latissimus dorsi, or lats, are the muscles that attach your arms to your lower back. Think of them as bringing your elbows closer to your hips. It also works your biceps and grip.

How to use it : Simply grab the bar with a comfortable grip and pull it toward your chest. The standard way to use this machine is to lean back slightly and lower the bar until it touches your upper chest. (The neck pull is not inherently dangerous , but it is not very comfortable for beginners.)

Important Adjustments : There isn’t much adjustment here, other than sometimes there’s a pad that goes over your hips and keeps you in the seat when the pull gets tough. If you are short, you can start the row standing and then move to a seat to finish the exercise. You can also use different handles on the cable: if you don’t like the wide handle, find a clamp that allows you to change it to a different type of handle.

What it works : Your legs, especially your quads. In this case, more muscle groups are worked out than with leg extensions, but less than with barbell squats.

How to use it : Here’s where things get complicated: There are many different types of leg presses. Some use a selector stack with a pin, while others use the same plates as the rods. In some cars the footrest moves, in others the seat slides on tracks, or both. Hack squat machines are similar in function, but you stand while supporting the weight with pads on your shoulders.

Important changes : Make sure your starting position allows your legs to be slightly bent. With the load sled above you, you straighten your legs to lift the sled, then release the lever so the machine can slide enough for you to fully bend your knees. If a tall person was using the machine before you, do not try to get in and free it by standing on your tiptoes; either empty the machine and reload it, or ask that tall person if he would mind helping you set it to a lower height.

What it works : Assisted pull-ups primarily work the lats and biceps; Assisted push-ups primarily work the triceps and chest.

How to use it : Stand on the foot platforms and place one knee and then the other on the pad. The cushion supports your knees during pull-ups or dips.

Important Adjustments : When you set the weight, remember that using less weight makes this exercise more difficult – unlike any other machine. Think of pancakes as subtracting your body weight.

Also, keep in mind that the knee pad may swing out of the way, allowing you to do pull-ups or push-ups without assistance. This makes this machine a good place to do regular pull-ups, especially if you can only do a few reps on your own and plan to upgrade to the assisted version to complete your sets.

What it works : Chest (and triceps), of course.

How to use it : Sit on the seat and move the handles away from you. This is the same movement as the bench press, more or less.

Important adjustments : Adjust the seat height so that the handles are at chest level, not higher or lower. And make sure the handles are in a starting position that’s comfortable for your shoulders: your elbows are about level with your back, not far behind you.

What it works : Mainly on the lats and biceps.

How to use it : Sit on a bench with your feet resting on the footrests. Pull your arms towards your stomach. Unlike a rowing machine, seated cable rows are performed using only the arms. Don’t use your legs to slide backwards on the bench, and try not to tilt your torso forward and backward with each repetition.

Important Changes : As with the lat row, you can change the handle to whatever device you like. (Some machines even have two separate cables, in case you want two separate handles.)

What they work : The adductor trainer works the muscles of the inner thighs; The abduction machine works the muscles on the outer thighs. Think of the latter as muscles that “abduct” your leg from your body, just as alien “abduction” means taking earthlings away from their home planet.

How to use them : This one is pretty obvious: sit on a seat, place your feet on the leg rests and move them in (adductor) or out (abduction). The adductor and abductor are usually two separate devices.

Important Settings : Just like with the chest machine, you can adjust the starting position of each one so that it is comfortable for you. This machine is essentially a chest machine for legs if you really think about it.

What it works : Everything, depending on how you use it.

How to use it : You can do a variety of exercises with a cable machine, not just one movement, so find an exercise you enjoy doing and learn how it works. Want a few to start with? Try triceps dips, Pallof presses and cable curls. For more ideas, check out my guide to the best cable machine exercises .

Important adjustments : First, figure out whether you need one pulley or two, and make sure you have a machine that has two if you need a pair. Next there should be a pin that allows you to move the block up and down to the desired location (high up for triceps push-ups, down low for bicep curls, chest level for Pallof presses). Finally, there are a million attachments , so replace whatever is there with what you need: a regular handle, a drop rope, a pull-up bar, or whatever.

How it works : This is another versatile option. Smith machines are often used in place of a barbell for squats, good mornings, and overhead or bench presses. They are definitely not a barbell replacement, but they have their place .

How to use it : Be sure to find the specific exercise you want to do, as the barbell version of the exercise and the Smith machine version are not always the same. For example, for squats, you need to place your feet a few steps in front of the bar, rather than directly under it. Plates are loaded onto the ends of the barbell in the same way as with a barbell. No collars needed.

Important Settings : There is a safety adjustment at the bottom of the machine that should be set to the appropriate height to ensure you don’t get pinned under the bar if you fail a rep. And no, I don’t know how much the barbell weighs. Some cars have a sticker indicating its value; if you can’t find it, just assume it weighs zero pounds and record only the weight you actually put on the ends.