Machines for Morons (part 1 of 2)

The bottom line is that you end up in a position like Quasimodo, and no, I've never seen a single person use that machine more than once. Why? Because some dork actually thought it was worth getting out of his way to make an addition that renders the whole thing unusable.

...I think you're getting an idea of what I'm talking about here. If you look around, you'll spot plenty of these four-digit numbers of dollars dust-collectors. Or worse yet, some machines are crap, but are still being frequently used! These are the ones that are either completely ineffective, or obvious low-quality rip-offs from a reputable manufacturer. A good example of the first is the classic:
The useless leg-machine!
...Actually, there's usually two versions: An adductor and an abductor, where you either push your legs apart or pull them together. Now, even though they are Ok machines at what they do, they're really pretty useless in building an all-round physique. From a practical standpoint, it's pointless - do squats or leg presses, and get a natural motion with natural use of the muscles! From a cosmetic standpoint, it's counterproductive - as you can't spot-burn fat, all a person with, say some extra fat on the inner thighs would achieve, is to add muscle UNDER the fat, making the whole section look even bigger!!
I asked a gym owner once why he invested money in buying new adductor & abductor machines when he knew that they were perfectly useless, and he explained that it was because of the female clientele. Basically, if he'd throw out those machines, he'd throw out the better part of his female clientele as well.
I'm guessing it's the same psychology that makes fat men do thousands of crunches in the hope of getting ripped in spite of their diet of donuts and cheeseburgers.
I'm not a psychologist, but I DO know that using the abductor/adductor machine to "get in shape" is a BIG mistake! Once and for all - training a muscle does NOT burn the fat covering it! Spend the time on a Stairmaster instead!

Oh well... Next week, I'll bash some abdominal machines, back machines, calf-machines, and I'll even take a shot at the ever-classic leg-extension-machine!

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