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Many people wonder whether they should use free weights or machines during their lifting programs. If you ask one person they'll tell you free weights, but if you ask another person they'll give you a great argument for using machines. So which one do I recommend?
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This machine forces isolation of your bicep muscles but takes
the place of your stabilizers. |
Answer: It depends on what your goals are.
I personally use free weights as I do mainly Olympic lifts during my workouts, but I'm not going to sit here and say that it's my way or the highway. My goals for lifting are to increase functionality and athleticism. If your goals are different, I wouldn't put you on the same lifting program as me. If, for example, you are into bodybuilding, I would definitely incorporate more machine weights into your program. Why? Because machine weights are great for forming and shaping individual muscles. They isolate the targeted muscle very well, which is very important if your goal is to simply look good and symmetrical for aesthetic purposes. So, if this is your goal (and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that!) then use machine weights all you want. You WILL have success.
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The squat is an excellent example of an exercise that
strengthens your prime movers as well as your stabilizers
and core. |
Now, if your goal is gain increase your athleticism and strength, machine weights are not the way to go. Football players and all other athletes... I'm talking to you, regardless of what you think your goals are. You see, machine weights train your neuromuscular system to move and use your muscles without recruiting your stabilizers. This makes you extremely vulnerable to injuries. If your muscles are trained to work without using stabilizers, they might be big and strong looking, but they're one wrong move, one quick jerk away from popping. Additionally, while your muscles get big and strong and are able to lift heavier weights, your joints and stabilizers remain weak and unable to handle the same amount of weight as your muscles. I'm convinced that this is why I suffered so many injuries throughout my life in football, baseball, and wrestling. I was a machine weight whore for many years. It wasn't until I started using free weights nearly exclusively that I went from getting injured multiple times a season, to almost never getting hurt despite the size and skill level of my competition increasing. If your goal is athleticism and functionality, you want to stick to lifts that simulate natural movements. These lifts recruit the same stabilizers that you are apt to use both while playing sports, and in every day life. In almost no real-life situation will you have a machine available to take the place of your stabilizing muscles as you try to pick something up or move around.
As always...this is just advice! You can do whatever you want. You know yourself and your body better than anyone else, so if in your experience you've had success with machine weights and have correlated that success with athletic prowess, then by all means keep using them. I'm just giving you another way to look at things and inviting you to try something new.
If you want me to hook you up with a lifting program, send an email to strengthbymatt@gmail.com and I'll hook you up!
