Weight training machines or free weights? What is best?
Learn what the benefits are of working out with free weights vs. using weight training machines, and which training method you should choose if you want thorough muscular development of the muscle groups on your body.
Introduction
When you start out on a fitness program, you’ll soon have to make the choice as to whether you should work out using weight training machines or free weights.
Free weights are barbells, dumbbells, or any other fitness equipment where your body is not forced to move in a certain direction or do a prescribed motion. This includes cable pulleys.
The benefits of using free weights vs. weight training machines
The main benefit of using free weights is that they allow you to get a more complete muscular development that you would otherwise not get if you were using weight training machines.
Let’s take Flyes as an example. You use Flyes to train your chest muscles.
If you choose to use a machine, you could do for example Pec-Dec Flyes. With Pec-Dec Flyes you keep your upper arms in a horizontal position and your foreams at a 90 degree angle with your upper arms, and then bring your elbows to the front towards each other. There is no other way to do this motion. The machine dictates how you move your arms. Period.
If you choose to do a flying motion using dumbbells, you could choose to do for example Incline Dumbbell Flyes. With Incline Dumbbell Flyes you lie on an incline bench holding a dumbbell in each hand and then lift the dumbbells upward and towards each other in a hugging motion. You are free to move your arms however you like. There are no restrictions
When you do Incline Dumbbell Flyes, you will also notice that it will take you much more effort to balance the weights while doing the exercise. This balancing act means that you are involving more of the smaller stabilizing muscles in your chest and shoulders, which in turn will result in a much more complete muscular development of those muscle groups. You do not get this effect when you use weight training machines.
With free weights, you can work your muscles from a variety of different angles with a variety of different exercises and speeds, thereby shaping and strengthening the muscle groups just as you want them. This beats the boredom of sitting on a machine and doing one prescribed motion.
When should you use weight training machines?
The only time when I consider weight training machines to be superior to free weights is if you’ve suffered an injury and are trying to rehabilitate yourself or if you are suffering from joint problems and are unable to do free weight exercises.
For example, if you have knee problems and thus difficulty doing Squats, doing Leg Presses on a leg press machine would be a good substitute.
Final words
For a full development of muscle groups, choose free weights over weight training machines. If you’ve had an injury and are trying to make a come-back, start out slowly with weight training machines and build up towards free weights.
