Body Solid Equipment, Free Weights, Home Gym Exercise Equipment

Physical exercise is any bodily activity that maintains or enhances physical fitness. It is performed for many different reasons, such as strengthening the cardiovascular system and muscles, weight loss or maintenance, honing athletic skills, and simply for enjoyment. Regular and frequent exercise helps prevent diseases such as cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and obesity, while it additionally enhances the immune system. It may also help promote or maintain positive self-esteem, prevent depression, and improve mental health in general. Health care providers often call exercise the “wonder drug” because of the wide variety of proven benefits that it can provide.

What is Weight Lifting?

Weight lifting is the process of lifting weights of great mass to increase the muscle size and strength of a person, typically done in a number of different ways to target muscle groups in different parts of the body. This is done by using weights to cause physical pain and minor damage to the muscles. When the muscle repairs itself, it is made slightly stronger than it was before the damage. To create stronger and stronger muscles, this process is then repeated. From a physiological standpoint, this process makes sense. The body of someone straining their muscles to survive a dangerous situation repairs itself to make the person more likely to survive a similar situation later.

Weight lifting can also be part of a physical therapy or training program intended to induce recovery from an injury or to increase body strength. It is also a competitive sport where people train to lift weights of extreme size and weight, or as part of body building.

What is Free Weight Equipment?

Free weight equipment is any device or apparatus used during physical activity to enhance the conditioning effects or strength of that exercise. It provides either fixed or adjustable amounts of resistance to enhance the outcome or experience of an exercise routine. Free weights are handheld weights that are not attached to a weight machine such as barbells, dumbbells, weight plates and kettlebells. They are often used as part of a more comprehensive exercise program, at home or at a fitness center or gym to stay in shape.

What is a Barbell?

A barbell is a piece of exercise equipment used in weight lifting, weight training and power lifting. It consists of a long bar, straight or curved, with weight plates attached at each end, and there are two types, Olympic or standard.

An Olympic barbell is a metal bar that is 7 feet long and weighs 44 pounds. The outer ends are 2 inches in diameter, while the grip section is 1 inch in diameter. The bar has grip marks spaced 36 inches apart to allow intuitive grip width measurement. This is the standard used on competitive weight lifting where men and women compete at the highest level. Power lifting requires the use of a stiffer bar to accommodate heavier weights. This bar can be longer to allow more weight plates and thicker to hold up under a larger weight load. A power lifting bar has grip marks spaced closer at 32 inches, to match legal grip width in the bench press.

A standard barbell is a metal bar with outer ends of 1 1/16 inches, and can be plain or threaded, with a grip section of 1 inch in diameter. The bar weighs up to 24 pounds and can be as long as 7 feet.

A curl barbell, a type of standard barbell, is often used for biceps curls, upright rows, and lying triceps extensions. This type is shorter and lighter, approximately 2.7 pounds per foot. Its curved profile in the grip region allows the wrists and forearms to have a more neutral position, which reduces the risk of repetitive stress injury in these exercises.

What are Dumbbells?

Dumbbells are a piece of equipment used in weight training, individually or in pairs, with one in each hand. There are three main types of dumbbells; adjustable, fixed weight, and selectorized.

Adjustable dumbbells consist of a metal bar whose center portion is often engraved with a crosshatch pattern to improve grip, and weight plates are slid onto the outer portions and secured with clips. Some have ends that are threaded to use large nuts to secure the weight plates. Others are more sophisticated with easy-to-use methods for increasing weight adjustments.

Fixed weight dumbbells are created in a dumbbell shape. Some varieties consist of cast iron and are coated with rubber for comfort, and others consist of a rigid plastic shell that is filled with concrete.

Selectorized dumbbells are adjustable, with plates that can be easily changed when resting in the dumbbell stand. This is done by adjusting the number of plates that follow the handle when lifted, rather than manually adding or removing plates. This makes it easy to change the weight between exercises, and the stand can double as storage for the additional weights.

What are Weight Plates?

Weight plates are a type of weight lifting equipment used to add resistance to adjustable barbells and dumbbells. They can be made of cast iron, steel or cement-filled plastic. They can be round or octagonal with a central hole to fit either an Olympic or standard barbell. Weight plates come in a wide variety of styles and sizes, from 1 pound to 100 pounds.

Standard weight plates are usually round and most often made of cast iron, with a 1 inch central hole to fit smaller commercial barbells or home gym equipment. They are a lot lighter and easier to handle than Olympic sized plates, and a better choice for novice lifters. For home use, more economical plates can be employed. These are usually made of plastic and filled with cement, and will not take as much abuse as steel or cast iron plates.

Olympic weight plates can be either round or octagonal, and are typically made of cast iron. Some are coated with rubber to protect both the gym floor and the weight plates if a loaded barbell is dropped. Olympic plates have a 2 inch central hole to fit Olympic sized barbells, and larger plates often have several holes around the face of the plate to help with handling. These plates are often used by body builders, power lifters, or other athletes who lift very heavy weights.

What is a Kettlebell?

A kettlebell is an exercise device for those seeking a special edge in strength and endurance, particularly in the legs, lower back and shoulders. Kettlebell workouts are a long-time favorite of jumpers, throwers, sprinters and hurdlers. It is a cast iron or cast steel weight used to perform exercises that combine strength, cardiovascular and flexibility training, traditionally weighing 35 pounds.

The basic exercise movements engage the entire body at once in a way that copies real world activities, such as shoveling or farm work. These movements are called the swing, snatch, and the clean and jerk, and often involve large numbers of repetitions. Kettlebell exercises work several muscles at the same time and may be repeated continuously for several minutes or with short breaks. This combination makes the exercise partially aerobic and similar to high-intensity interval training, differing from traditional weight lifting.

Kettlebell progression should start out slowly to build muscle endurance, support the joints, and prevent injury because of their high repetitions. The movements used in these exercises can be dangerous to those who have shoulder or back problems, or a weak core. But, if done correctly they can be very beneficial to a person’s health since they offer improved range of motion, mobility, and increased strength.

* It is very important to use exercise equipment properly. Inappropriate use can lead to injuries from mild to extreme.

Hulet Smith, OT
Rehabmart Co-Founder & CEO

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