Power Ranking Machines at the Gym

This will be a very important ranking of the machines at the gym based on how much I enjoy using them, which seem to give the best workout, and how often I would want to use each machine.

7. The Functional Trainer

I'm sorry, functional trainer. You do seem like you would indeed live up to your name but there's just too much going on here. I see this at the gym and I get overwhelmed by the possibilities and go to something simpler with less going on. I tried to do a pull up one time and have neglected this machine since.

6. Recumbent Bike

The recumbent bike just feels like I'm not doing anything whenever I use it. I feel like I'm relaxing more than I'm doing a workout and that defeats the entire purpose of going to the gym in my opinion. I've never used this outside my childhood home when this was in front of our tv and I could watch Spongebob as I rode.

5. Stationary Bike

I don't hate the stationary bike, I just have qualms with it. I feel like I can get a really good workout when I use it if I push myself. However, what makes a bike fun to ride is speeding along outside with the wind blowing through your hair. The stationary bike takes that joy out of riding a bike and I would rather ride a bike outside any day than workout on the stationary bike. Also, I did a spin class one time in my second week of college and thought I had given myself rhabdo and would never walk again. I was fine, but I've never forgiven the stationary bike. I've used this like four times.

4. The Treadmill

The treadmill is a good machine, I cannot deny that. However, it becomes very monotonous very quickly. Even the treadmills with the TVs built into them leave me bored just a few minutes into the workout. I need more entertainment to distract me from how much I am struggling with a run than the treadmill can provide. I use this pretty often, but have fun on it rarely.

3. The Stair Stepper

I am a big proponent of the stair stepper. I like the fact that I can get a good muscle-building leg workout while still getting my heart rate up and pumping. The stair stepper is also a sneaky versatile machine. I cycle through straight forward steps at a normal speed, forward at high speed, slow with leg kick-backs, sideways steps, and skipping a step. I use this fairly often but like to sprinkle it in with other machines.

2. The Rower

Until a couple of weeks ago, I was too intimidated to try the rower. It seems like a lot of steps to accomplish one rep and I wasn't sure I was coordinated enough to manage that. However, I watched a couple videos on Youtube, hyped myself up, and sat down on the rower for the first time. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Like with the stair stepper, I felt good knowing I was doing muscle-building motions within my cardio workout. I will be using this a lot more in the future! Try the rower. Be brave. You'll feel wicked strong afterwards.

1. The Elliptical

Ah, the elliptical, my gym love. There's just something about the swinging foot pedals and handles that I find so fun. When I'm on the elliptical I don't get bored like I do on the treadmill. I actually find it enjoyable to push myself to up the resistance and how fast I go because the machine is so adjustable. I really get my heart pumping and leave the gym feeling like I got a good, hard workout in when I spend my time on the king of all gym equipment. I use this almost every time I hit the gym.

What equipment do you like to use at the gym? Insulted that I put the stationary bike so low? Love something I didn't even list? Let me know in the comments below!