Welcome to the Get Fit Guys quick and dirty tips to slim down and shape up.

My name is Ben Greenfield and I'm the Get Fit Guy.

Now, there's no doubt that going to the gym, which I personally do at least several times a week, is a great way to stay fit.

Even if you have a home gym, which I also do,

a health club offers a variety of equipment, classes, and other people to motivate you so that you

just won't be able to replicate that at home. Plus, gyms often have perks such as child care,

a spa or sauna, personal trainers, contests and competitions to keep you motivated, and other

helpful ways to get you fitter faster. But there are hidden dangers at many health clubs that may

actually be sabotaging your goals to stay fit or to lose fat. So in this episode, you'll learn what

those hidden dangers are and how to avoid them.

So let's start with the first and one of the most popular hidden dangers, and that is machines.

In the article, how to use weightlifting machines, which I'll link to over in the show notes at quick and dirty tips.com,

I teach you how to use several popular machines at the gym.

Unfortunately, just because an exercise machine is at a gym or health club does not mean it's safe.

And while poor form on any machine can turn an otherwise safe move into a risky activity,

there are some machines that should be completely avoided, even if you can do them

with good form. In no particular order, the machines you should try to avoid at the gym include

the machine side rays, the machine abductor, which is the one that you sit in and

splay your legs out, the machine adductor, which is the one where you sit in and move your

thighs together,

cable pull downs behind your neck.

Seated abdominal rotation machines or ab machines in which you're sitting and rotating side to side.

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