Most common types of fitness equipment

Fitness Equipment is any object or machine used to keep your body fit. It aids exercise and work out by stressing your muscle groups and body parts. There are professional fitness machines, those hi tech machines you find in gyms that have multiple functions. Often these machines need supervision from trained personnel. There are simple fitness equipment that you can use at home that don\'t require professional supervision. Exercise balls, mats and resistance bands are very popular home gym equipment.

Here are most common fitness equipment you see people using inside the gym and sometimes in the home.

Free Weights - are basically dumbbells and barbells. They are not attached to any machine which is why they\'re called free. A dumbbell is a single hand weight that ranges from 5 to over 200 pounds. A barbell is a long iron bar with weights at each end. You can either removed and add weight on both sides to reach the desired weight.

Benches - different benches help exercise different parts of your body. Flat benches are horizontal benches. Inclined Benches are inclined at an angle. Preacher Curls Bench are for the development of the lower biceps.

Parallel Bar Dips - two parallel bars by which you raise and lower yourself, this will develop upper body strength and the chest and triceps muscles.

Machines - no gym is without one. It seems like there\'s one for developing each and every kind of muscle group there is. Some common examples are leg presses, treadmills, ellipticals etc.

Grip Strength - you can use this equipment even at home while you\'re on the phone or watching television as it only needs your hand in the exercise. This increases your wrist and grip strength.

Body Fat Calipers - Body Fat measurement is the best way to determine your ideal weight. This will help you determine if your fitness plan is effective in bringing your body fat to the desired level or goal. It\'s not enough to use a weighing scale because muscle weight also increases as you become physically fit. So if you use a weighing scale to gauge it may not be completely accurate.

Body Fat Scales - these scientific scales have pads which send low voltage, electrical current through your body to measure its composition. Its calculated mathematically, based upon the speed a which the signal passes through the body. Lean muscle lets the electrical current pass more easily than fat.