Have you ever been halfway through your workout, pushing hard on the Smith machine, and wondered if what you are doing is really the most effective way to achieve your goals? Would you be better off using free weights to perform your squats?
Both forms of equipment have some benefits and some drawbacks; the key is to figure out which one is right for you.
machines
When you walk into a gym, the first pieces of equipment you usually see are numerous stations set up to work each muscle in your body. You sit on, stand at or lie in weight machines, and let them guide your body through the movement while they provide resistance; all you need to do is push or pull.
Machines are great for beginners because they don’t have much of an intimidation factor. You can easily select a weight that is appropriate for you and just follow the machine’s range of motion to guarantee that you hit your target muscle. Since beginners are not educated yet on proper form, these machines also help prevent injuries, as they control the movements.
Pros
Weight machines have several benefits.
Faster workouts
Since you only need to sit in the machine and select a weight, you can progress through your workout quickly. You can also easily perform supersets by moving from one machine to another without having to worry about readjusting dumbbells or finding ones that are of appropriate weight for your next set.
Reduced risk of injury
This one is important for beginners because they are often uncertain about the appropriate range of motion and risk overextending or under-extending with free weights. Injuries are much more likely to occur when we go out of our body’s preferred range of motion, and weight machines help to ensure this doesn’t happen.
Easy to use
Most machines are fairly self-explanatory, so those who don’t want to invest in a personal trainer can likely come up with a circuit training routine on their own by simply reading the instruction cards next to each machine, or by watching the person ahead of them perform the exercises.
Useful when recovering from an injury
If you are dealing with a major injury, machines can be a great option because they can isolate a particular body part (or muscle group) so you can still completely rest your injured muscle. This will allow you to remain in shape while going through the healing process.
The drawbacks of machines, and why free weights are the shizzle Cons
Here are some of the downsides of weight machines:
Increased risk of pattern overload injuries
While machines reduce your risk of injury due to poor form, they increase your chances of injury caused by performing the same movement over and over again for many weeks at a time. By working the exact same muscles, tendons and ligaments each time you are at the gym, you are setting yourself up for overuse injuries. When you use free weights, you reduce this risk since you are more likely to follow a slightly different pathway (while still maintaining good form) each time you perform the movement.
False sense of strength gain
Performing an exercise on a machine and lifting something in real life are significantly different, so you may find that while your weights are increasing at the gym, you aren’t particularly stronger outside of it. For example, when you bend over to pick up a heavy box, you won’t have the opportunity to rest the non-working parts of your body against a machine and isolate all your force to the working muscles. You will need to incorporate more muscles, such as your abs, in order to stabilize yourself while picking up the box. If these other muscles aren’t strong as well, you may have a hard time.
Mistaken sense of safety
Some guys think that just because the machine is guiding them through their movement, there is no risk of injury. Even if you are following the right range of motion, you can still overload your muscles with too much weight and cause a muscle strain or tear that can leave you sidelined for weeks at a time. You still need to use common sense when working out with machines, and know your limits.
Locked-in-place body movement patterns
The Smith machine is very popular with men, but it is possibly one of the worst machines at the gym. When you perform squats, it does not take your body shape into account and forces you to take on a path of motion that may not be natural for you. People who use this machine a great deal are at high risk for lower back injuries, as well as knee and hip problems. By performing squats with free weights, you can respect your body’s natural range of motion (as long as you have proper form) and decrease your chance of developing these problems.
free weights
Free weights, in the form of dumbbells and barbells, are the alternative to machines for your strength-training program. If you’re a beginner but have invested in some personal training sessions, or if you’re past the beginner stage, free weights are your better option.
Pros
Some of the benefits of free weights are:
Increased use of stabilizing muscles
With free weights, each exercise calls into play many additional synergistic muscles that help to support your body through the lift. Examples of these are your abdominal core muscles, your Erector Spinae muscles, and some of your leg muscles if you are performing the exercise in a standing position. The benefit is that you don’t really have to worry about devoting a specific block of time to core training since you will have indirectly worked these muscles throughout your workout.
How free weights can improve your balance and brainpower, and why they can be bad for you if you don’t use them right Similarity with everyday activities.
Many of the free weight exercises we perform are very similar to what we do in real life, so the transfer of strength will be much greater than it is with machines. Typical examples of these exercises are bent-over rows, bicep curls and step-ups.
Improved balance
Since you are calling on more stabilizing muscles in these exercises, you will also greatly improve your balance and coordination. You can add an extra challenge to your workout by incorporating a large exercise ball into some exercises (such as performing a chest press with dumbbells while lying on the ball) to further improve your balance.
Increased use of brainpower
Whenever you perform an exercise with free weights, you use proprioreception, which is the brain’s ability to know where the body is in space and whether or not it is balanced. This is a very important skill for athletes or anyone who plays sports, so choosing free weights will help to train your mind and improve your game.
Convenient and inexpensive
Free weights are a great option for those who travel frequently and don’t have regular access to a gym or for those who simply can’t afford a gym membership. By investing in a good set of dumbbells on which the weight can easily be adjusted, you can perform a full-body workout without even leaving your room.
Cons
Free weights also have some drawbacks.
Increased risk of injury when not using proper form
When performing free weight exercises, it is quite easy to move a part of your body out of alignment and derail your proper form. This will greatly increase your chance of injury, so you need to be 100% sure of what you’re doing and be able to recognize when your form is off.
Decreased efficiency
If you go to a gym that doesn’t have very many dumbbells of each weight, you may spend a lot of time waiting for other people to finish their exercises so you can use them. Or if you’re using dumbbells that require adding or removing plates to adjust the weight, much of your time will be spent preparing for your next exercise.
in the end
While both free weights and machines have their pros and cons, free weights tend to be a better choice for almost everyone. Even beginners should try to progress to free weights as quickly as possible since they will see more noticeable improvements with this type of equipment. Every once in a while, a session with a trainer is a great idea to ensure you are using correct form, and to give you ideas for different exercises to increase your interest in working out and prevent plateaus.
This is not to say you shouldn’t use machines at all. They can be a good option when you just need a break from free weights or are in a lower-intensity period in your training plan. They are also good if you find yourself forgetting the proper technique and need to remind yourself.
So next time you’re in the gym performing yet another set on the machine you’ve been using since the day you signed up, consider switching some of your exercises over to the free weight area. I think you’ll be quite satisfied with the results.