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Last week I outlined the argument in favor of free weights over machines. But is that the end of the story? No way. There are some advantages to machines in some cases. I’ll go into details momentarily but first let’s dispel some myths about who should use machines…
Cases Where You Might Hear Machines Are Better, But Where No Evidence Exists
You might hear pseudo-experts pontificate about who should/shouldn’t use machines. For example, I often hear people tell me that the following groups of people “should” use machines instead of free weights:
- older people
- children
- fat people
- women
- newbies to lifting
Hogwash! There is no scientific evidence to support such claims.
So When Are Machines Ok?
That said, there are a few cases where machines are acceptable (or, in some cases, even preferred). Machines usually (and I do mean usually, as in “not always”!) have these advantages:
- Machines make it easier to isolate muscles.
- When using machines, the force angle (actually, it’s the torque which equals the force times the lever arm) can be designed so that tension is constant throughout the movement.
- Think of the traditional biceps curl with a dumbbell. Because of gravity, the hardest part of the lift is around the middle, where the torque is greatest. But at the start and end of the movement, the angle against gravity is less and so the torque is less at the extremes of the movement. On contrast, machines can be designed so that the torque is constant.
- This can be mimicked somewhat in the free weights world by using chains or bands, but that’s extra equipment, setup time, and overall hassle. Sometimes called progressive load.
Because of these advantages, here are cases where it might make sense to incorporate machines:
- When muscle size is more important to you than strength: More machine use is advised when you are into hypertrophy – growing muscle size as your emphasis rather than strength gains. This is because you can isolate muscles.
- In a “pre-fatigueing” scenario, where isolation movements precede a compound movement, in a superset fashion. For example, using a pull-over machine to isolate your lats before doing a set of barbell rows, so that during the rows your lats fail before your arms fail.
- Definitely include cable machines; I guess I’m cheating a bit here because cable machines aren’t really “fixed path machines” but I wanted to take the opportunity to reiterate the point that cable machines are amazing!
- Calf machines really have no acceptable free-weight substitute. Essentially the range of motion is so small anyway, that the benefits of the machine (better balance, higher weight) are better than trying to use free weights.
- If you have a particular injury, isolation movements in general can be preferential in order to either a) avoid re-injuring a particular joint or b) speed recovery of a particular joint. For example, if you just had a hip replacement, your doctors may not want you doing heavy loaded squatting for a while. And in any case involving injury recovery, the use of machines is only ok if done under strict instruction from your physical therapist!
- Use machines if you have absolutely no other option. For example, if you have access to a free gym through your workplace and all they have is an old Universal multi-exercise set up. I wish I could pay for you to get to a better gym, but if that’s all you can afford then they are better than nothing. Just pay attention to next week’s article on precautions!
- Use machines if you are intimidated by free weights. Oh, wait a second, maybe instead you should GET OVER IT! Being intimidated by the weight room is not an excuse to avoid free weights. If you need advice on this front, email me.
If you think I’ve missed any valid uses, please chime in under the comments or the forum!
Precautions
But there are precautions you must take any time you use fixed-path machines, even when they are preferred.
Next week I’m going to give you the 8.5 Precautions You Need To Take Before Using Fixed-Path Machines.
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Related posts:
- Machines Suck! Or Do they? – Free Weights Vs. Machines Part 1 of 4
- The 8.5 Precautions You Need To Take Before Using Fixed-Path Machines – Free Weights Vs. Machines Part 3
- The Science Of Machines vs Free Weights – part 4 of 4 articles
Tags: free weights, machines
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January 21st, 2010 at 10:37 am
This is definitely a good series. I’m definitely moving towards using our main gym’s tiny free-weight area more than the nice shiny machines. Especially for lower-body stuff. It’s a pain in the butt (literally) to do squats with just a curl bar and no rack, but it does hit me harder than the leg press machine. And my wife has bought into squats & deadlifts.
We don’t have a cable machine at our main gym. The machines I plan for us to use consistently are the seated row, fly / rear delt, lat pulldown, curl, and triceps machines. Most of those have equivalents with a good cable setup. The fly / rear delt machine is one like you mentioned where you can keep that constant tension throughout the range of motion. The row & fly / rear delt machines are the only ones of those that are “primary” for us; the rest just hit muscles we’ve already worked (pulldown – pullups; curl & tricep – many of what we’ve done). The curl & tricep machines often get skipped due to time or exhaustion. At our other gym, we’ll use the cable machine for the row & pulldown (and sometimes curls & triceps). We of course can also use it for the fly / rear delt workout, but that means we hog a very popular piece of equipment for a while.
January 21st, 2010 at 1:20 pm
One point that may be a con against free weights, particularly dumbbells. They can be hard on the shoulders. I’ve heard this before, and experienced it some myself. Using dumbbells requires a lot of lifting and twisting to get them in the proper position. While there are definitely benefits to all that extra motion, the shoulder seems to take most of the brunt of that work, and thus could get somewhat overtrained. I’m curious as to how others deal with that. Chest presses are particularly tricky, as it’s hard to find a graceful way to put the weights back on the floor when I’m done.
January 22nd, 2010 at 4:34 pm
Yes, I’ve heard anecdotal reports about “more injuries” occurring from people bending to pick up dumbbells or reracking dumbbells, due to sloppy form/inattention. I have no evidence of that being true though. On the one hand, dumbbells are more natural because most real-life movements have each arm acting independently and in 3 planes (like you get from dumbbells). But sloppy rotation can be a disaster, for sure.
January 22nd, 2010 at 6:01 pm
Use a swiss ball for DB bench press. Its easier to get weight up and down off floor. Here’s a vid: http://www.staleytraining.com/.....-bench.wmv