Exercises for Stacked Weights

Enter any gym and you’ll find an array of fitness equipment, including different types of weights. Generally, weights can be divided into two broad categories: free weights and machine weights. The machines are where you’ll find the stacked weights, which can be used for a variety of exercises and come with a few distinct advantages over free weights. With some of these machines, you can perform exercises that work your whole body and help you meet your fitness goals. You can also target select areas to build and tone muscles .

  1. Benefits of Stacked Weights

    • Although free weights offer a versatile and inexpensive way to strength train, machines with stacked weights come with their own set of benefits. Machines are often safer and easier to use than free weights, as you don’t have to learn how to balance the weight or worry as much about proper technique. With stacked weights on a machine, there is a specific range of motion that’s used, so correct technique is ensured. Machines are also better at isolating specific muscle groups, so if you have a particular area you want to enhance, stacked weights offer a more efficient option. When you’re ready to increase the weight, there’s no need to mess with lifting and rearranging weights on a barbell either. Simply move the pin or enter a code to adjust the weight.

    Upper-Body Exercises

    • Stacked weights can be used to work your arms, chest and shoulders, and you can adjust the amount of weight by changing the placement of the pin or by entering a code. Try a standard bicep curl using a cable by grasping a stirrup in each hand at hip height, palms facing out, then slowly bringing your hands toward your biceps. An X pull down will also work your upper body. Start in a kneeling position in front of a cable crossover machine, cross your arms and hold opposite handles in each hand to create an X with the cables. Keep your back straight and pull the cables apart, extending your arms out and down and bringing your shoulder blades together.

    Core Exercises

    • Work your abs and lower back with stacked weights by performing a cable stiff-leg deadweight. Stand with your back to a machine with low pulleys, then bend at the waist to grab one handle in each hand. Return to standing while holding the cables, keeping your core muscles tight and slightly bending the knees if necessary. A rotational cable row is another excellent core exercise, and this is done from a standing position with the machine at your side. Plant your feet slightly farther than shoulder-width apart, then reach across your body to grab the cable. Hold it at hip height, then rotate your hips and pull the handle across your body. Be sure to adjust the pin on the weights so you aren’t overdoing it with too much weight or not challenging yourself with too little weight.

    Lower-Body Exercises

    • Stacked weights also work well for the lower body, including the legs, hips and rear end. Work each of these muscle groups with a seated leg press. Sit in the machine with your feet on the resistance plate and knees bent at a 90-degree angle and lined up with your toes. Keep your back straight and push your feet against the resistance plate until your legs are straight, then slowly return to the start position. Stacked weights can also be used for a standing leg curl, where you situate your calf underneath a padded lever. Facing the machine and with your leg in place, bend over slightly and raise the lever up and down slowly with your leg in a curling motion. Adjust the weights as necessary between exercises.