So you’re in Planet Fitness because you want to work out but you don’t know where to get that full-body bulk. Heck, with Planet Fitness’ limited equipment, can you even get each muscle group worked out?

Yes. Yes, you can. Listed below are the seven workout machines you need to know for a rounded workout at the gym.

1. Chest Press Machine for the Chest

According to a study done in Respiratory Care, chest mobility can contribute to increased respiratory muscle strength and lung function. That’s where the chest press machine comes in.

The chest press machine works out your:

Working out your chest can increase your chest mobility, your overall upper body strength, and just give you nice pecs in general.

How to work the chest press:

• Adjust the machine’s seat.
• Adjust the pin to both left and right arm weights to your desired weights.
• Sit on the machine with your back flush against the seats.
• Slowly grab the arms and push them away from you.
• Slowly pull them back to you.

For those who want to get strong fast, then three sets of five to six reps are ideal with a three-minute break between each set.

For those who want to increase muscle size, then three sets of eight to twelve reps, with a 90-second rest in between each rep.

2. Lat-Pulldown Machine for the Back

The ‘lat’ in the lat-pulldown machine is named after your lats or latissimus dorsi, the largest muscle in your back. This bad boy helps you stabilize your back, improve your posture, and reduce back pain.

How to work the lat-pulldown machine:

• Adjust the weights to your liking.
• Sit on the bench with your knees under the knee holder.
• Adjust the knee holder so it’s comfortable for you, but still locks your knees in place.
• Reach up and grab the handles.
• Sit, spine straight, with handles in grasp.
• Pull the bar down while squeezing your back muscles.
• Push the handles away from you as far as you can stretch.

Note: You can also alternate lifting the handles to mix things up.

According to a study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, the best way to grip the handles for maximum lats activation is with a pronated, or overhand, grip.

Most lat-pulldowns are done to increase muscle size. I suggest three to four sets of eight to twelve reps.

Related: Planet Fitness Back Extensions: How To, Workout, & More

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3. Shoulder Press for the Shoulders

The shoulder press is, you guessed it, designed for the shoulders. The shoulders help improve your upper body range of movement, support heavy lifting, and hey, who doesn’t like broad shoulders?

The shoulder press works the:

• Anterior deltoids
• Pecs
• Trapezius
• Triceps

How to work the shoulder press machine:

• Adjust the seat so the handles are level or higher than your shoulder.
• Adjust the weights.
• Sit with your back flush against the seats.
• Grab the handles.
• Lift the handles until you’re stretched out fully without locking your elbow.
• Lower the handles with your forearms vertical or near-vertical.

Feel free to alternate lifting handles for variety.

For gaining muscle size, three sets with eight to twelve reps are ideal. For more muscle endurance, then lighter weights of three sets twelve to fifteen reps work.

4. Smith Machine for the Glutes

There’s nothing better for glute development than squats, especially squats with weights. However, there are no free weight squat racks at Planet Fitness.

So what then? Just do plain ol’ body weight squats like a pleb?

That’s where the smith machine steps in.

The smith machine works your:

Here’s how to use the smith machine:

• BEFORE putting on weights, determine where the front is (where the hooks face).
• Put your back to the front of the machine.
• Lean back into the bar.
• Mime doing a squat.
  • Lower your hips until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
  • Ensure your knees don’t pass your toes.
• Place the safety at or a little below where your shoulders were when you mimed the squat.
• Put on weights.
  • Note: Check the machine for any notes of starting resistances. Usually, the starting resistance is around 25 pounds.
• Stand feet around hip-width apart.
• Lean back into the bar.
• Rest the bar on your trapezius.
• Grip the bar with an overhand grip.
• Twist the bar backwards so it comes off the notches.
• Lower your hips until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
• Make sure your knees don’t pass your toes.
• Stand up and repeat.

Glutes are essential for lower body strength. Strong glutes help you climb stairs, run, walk, and jump.

A standard smith machine squat workout is around three sets of twelve reps.

5. Leg Press for the Legs

Legs are used for walking, swimming, running–it helps you stabilize your body if you’re doing the heavy lifting. As they say, “Don’t skip leg day,” and you can do so by working your legs out on the leg press.

The leg press machine works out your:

• Calves
• Glutes
• Hamstrings
• Hips
• Quadriceps

How to use the leg press machine:

• If you’re shorter, adjust the height of the chair with the knob on the back.
• Put the weight plates on.
  • Note: The starting resistance of the leg press should be stated somewhere on the machine. Usually, the starting resistance is around 108 pounds. Calculate accordingly.
• Sit flush against the seat.
• Place your feet against the platform.
• There should be a handle next to your chair. That’s your safety. Turn the safety off by pushing it opposite you.
• Slowly bend your legs.
• Stretch your legs fully by pressing against your heel, but don’t lock your knees.

For muscle endurance, do light to average loads with three to four sets of fifteen to twenty repetitions. For muscle gain, do moderate to heavy loads with three sets of twelve to fifteen repetitions.

6. Cable Machine for Abs

Your abs are the core of your core–on your front side at least–and can help give you a slim waistline while helping you lift more with a better posture. Plus, who doesn’t want a six-pack, am I right?

Want to work them out? Well, a ]kneeling crunch using the cable machine at Planet Fitness does a great job of targeting this area, making it the perfect outfit to focus on ab gains.

How to use the cable machine:

• Pick up the tricep rope cable attachment.
• Adjust the height of the pulley so it’s at or above head height.
• Attach the tricep rope cable attachment to the hook.
• Adjust the weight of the cable machine.
• Holding the rope, kneel.
  • You don’t want to be too close or too far from the machine. You should feel all your abs as you crunch and should adjust accordingly if you don’t.
• Bring your hand next to your head or level with your shoulders.
• Holding the rope, do a crunch until your elbows are at thigh level.
  • You should not be using your arms to move the rope. It should all be ab work.
• Pause.
• Slowly lift your head and torso near the starting position.

The ideal workout for the kneeling cable crunch is three sets of eight to twelve reps.

7. Assisted Pull-Up Machine for Arms

Arms are essential to almost every upper body workout. If you ever want to get better at lifting weights or pulling yourself up, then you need to work out your arms.

Thankfully, the assisted pull-up machine can help with that.

Assisted pull-ups work your:

• Abdomen
• Biceps
• Brachialis
• Erector spinae
• External Obliques
• Latissimus dorsi
• Pectorals
• Posterior deltoid
• Rhomboid
• Trapezius

How to use the assisted pull-up machine:

• Adjust the weights to your liking.
  • Note: The heavier the weight, the easier the pull-up will be and vice versa.
• Step onto the stool in front of the machine and grip the handles.
• Place your knees on the knee rest.
• Pull yourself up until your chin passes the handles, keeping your forearm relatively straight.
• Lower yourself until your arms are straight.

Assisted pull-ups are best with three to four sets of eight to twelve reps. Rest 90 to 120 seconds between each set to make sure you’re not overtaxing yourself.

Equipment in Planet Fitness

Planet Fitness might not have free-weight bench presses or squat racks, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a full-body workout with Planet Fitness machines.

Supplied by Precor, a trusted high-end fitness manufacturer, Planet Fitness has all the machines you need to hit each muscle group and sculpt an aesthetic physique.

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