Thread: Freeweights vs. machines

I prefer freeweights over machines because I think freeweights are much more effective when it comes to any kind of muscle building or burning the most calories. Now if you are lumping cables with machines, that's a tough one because cables rock because they keep the muscle under constant tension and you can really get that negative (eccentric) portion of the exercise. Machines in general however, are great if you are a beginner because they teach you proper form and with free weights you have a balancing act to consider.

If I had to choose one over the other it would definitely be free weights.
But, if available I think a mixture of machines & freeweights works well.

Free weights, if your using machine only then you won't be working stabilizer muscles so you’ll be slowing down your progress.

Machines are good for beginners and I’ve used them to warm up on but I’d stick to Free weights and cables for the most part.

Originally posted by Scotty the Body
Machines are good for beginners....

So, machines are only effective for beginners?

Originally posted by Prince



So, machines are only effective for beginners?

Hey!!! That’s TSB's job to question what I say not yours!!!

No, they're not just for beginners, but they aren’t as efficient as free weights.
Machines could be useful for more isolation.

I wouldn't cut them out totally but I would use them sparingly.

Good advice from all. Thanks! I've been slowly adding more freeweights into my routine. I'm liking the results so far.

Thanks again!

Originally posted by Scotty the Body


Hey!!! That’s TSB's job to question what I say not yours!!!

I told you Scotty that they were related

Originally posted by Large And In Charge

I told you Scotty that they were related

depends on the kind of machine used. leverage machines are good, i don't think those using plates and pins are too great, because they make it harder on the eccentric part, and easier on the concentric part of the movement.

I have to disagree with the statement that machines are better for beginners. I think that it will get them used to a strict form or plane of movement. Once they are used to this, i think that free weights will be even more difficult for them, and possably cause an injury.

What would happen if you develope a muscle on a machine, but your stableizer muscles are not "up to par". Now if that person goes in and decided to lift free weights, he is going to have the mentality of i can do this weight on the machine so i can do this weight with the free weights. I think that will lead to injuries.

I also think that some of them do not realize that with the machines you are using pullies and levers to move the weight. If any of you can recall from your science classes, that pullies and levers are used to move a heavier weight with less force. for an example, doing 50lb curles on a cable machine is not in reality as doing 50 lbs on an E-Z curl bar.

What do you all think?

I have to say that I think you are best to go for free weights. They bring the stabilizing muscles into action better tahn machines. This may mean you can't lift as heavy as you want, but then unless power lifting you should be checking your ego at the door anyway. When a beginner starts lifting surely it is best for them to go to a reputable gym and learn the correct lifting methods with free weights. A large muscle that is only strong in the plane of the machine is useless, like having a huge upper body with no legs - means you can't carry that sofa very easily

Just my .02p

RM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by HickeyNC
I have to disagree with the statement that machines are better for beginners. I think that it will get them used to a strict form or plane of movement.

*** What plane of movement is that. As technology advances we are seeing more advanced type of machinery that are allowing individuals to train in a multi planear fashion.

Once they are used to this, i think that free weights will be even more difficult for them, and possably cause an injury.

*** The free weights will not be more difficult. You are forgetting that we as human function in a unstable enviroment each and every day. If this were the case of one adapting to a machine we would seee a barrage of injuries occuring in the gym as a result of this adaptation.

What would happen if you develope a muscle on a machine, but your stableizer muscles are not "up to par".

*** Just because a person trains on a machine doesn't mean that they're muscles will not be "up to par". I'm curious as to where you read this? Maybe in theory this is true but as a fact I have yet to see this.

Now if that person goes in and decided to lift free weights, he is going to have the mentality of i can do this weight on the machine so i can do this weight with the free weights. I think that will lead to injuries.


I also think that some of them do not realize that with the machines you are using pullies and levers to move the weight. If any of you can recall from your science classes, that pullies and levers are used to move a heavier weight with less force. for an example, doing 50lb curles on a cable machine is not in reality as doing 50 lbs on an E-Z curl bar.

*** The resistance in any movement will never be the same. It will always be different. It is the nervous system that will decide how it wants to distribute the force through the muscles that will be called upon in any given movement.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Rykard Maximus
I have to say that I think you are best to go for free weights. They bring the stabilizing muscles into action better tahn machines. This may mean you can't lift as heavy as you want, but then unless power lifting you should be checking your ego at the door anyway.

*** I really don't see how one type of equipment is better than another. It all depnds on when you use them in your program that makes the difference.

You should use both

Variety is the spice of life...

There is a time and place for everything...

Arnold and Lee did not succeed because they were closed minded.

However, there is something about free weights.

the use of machines allow you to go beyond the point of failure where with some free weights this is biomechanically difficult and essentially dangerous.

i've started using more machines now.

OK, so if I wanna get a toner look, will free weights be better or machines? I know to cut is all about diet, but will machines make a difference too?

ain;t no such thing as 'tone' dude - fat deposits either get bigger or smaller and muscles either increase or decrease.

there is no 'better' choice for that. everyone is different.

the best advice to give is to just be consistent. train week in week out, finding out what works and what doesn't.

once you know what works, then stick with it - none of this variety crap - you should use one workout as a base line to gauge the next to improve on. More weights or more reps. that's the only variety you need.

now go eat steak.

Originally posted by The_Chicken_Daddy


now go eat steak.

No steak, only chicken

Thanks for the advice BTW

ok then, put the chicken between to T bones and have a sandwich.

once you know what works, then stick with it - none of this variety crap - you should use one
workout as a base line

Chicken, you saying you been doing the same workout for the last ten years? And you continue to grow?

Interesting.

the last 8 months pretty much, yes, with the exception of reducing sets or substituting exercises one week due to gym being full etc...

and no i haven't kept growing because i've been cutting for past 12 weeks and prolly have another 6 or so left to go.

if i ever hit a plateau [quite frequently during cutting i can say] i usually look at my training first, then my diet then if it continues i'll take a week off.

if it still plateaus [never had that problem yet] then i switch it up.

You need to stick to a routine long enough for it to work. That means until progress stops.

Such a simple concept.

i don't think you have to do the same routine for a while for it to work, in terms of growth. it's just easier to keep track of the increments of weight increases you can handle per exersice for a given number of reps. i enjoy training more if i switch things up. you also do a bigger variety of exercises over a given period, translating to a better stimulation of as many muscle fibers as possible. also, if you don't have a set routine, you don't have to wait for s.o. to finish if the gym is crowded and just do something else.