Weight machine vs Free weights

GBguy24

Is there a difference between the two? Is one better for muscle gain?

sodapoppin28

I personally don't think one is better than the other, I rotate between both, for me both give me my desired results.

ninerbuff

Free weights will invariably involve more stabilizer muscles on any given lift versus it's machine counterpart. Where one can bench 200lbs on a machine, they more than likely cannot do that with a free weight barbell for the same amount of reps.
For muscle building, it's debatable however as long as you're doing a progressive overload program with sufficient reps and sets and surplusing calories (you can't build muscle from nothing), there will be muscle gain. To what degree varies from person to person.

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Yi5hedr3

I agree both are good. Free weights generally work more muscles at the same time because you have to balance or stabilize The weight, but machines can be less injury prone depending on the exercise because it helps eliminate sloppy movements. I do both, depends on the specific exercise.

flrancho

I've heard most people here say free weights are better. I do both, but mostly free weights.

I do find that, on average, if I can do say 60 pounds on a machine, that I can only do about half of that with the free weight counterpart. For instance, the squat machine at my gym I can do 60 pounds on, maybe more with less reps, yet on free weights I'm generally good at 30 pounds for the same reps that I can do at 60 pounds on the machine.

tennisdude2004

GBguy24 wrote: »

Is there a difference between the two? Is one better for muscle gain?

Free weights are better.

They will focus on your stabilizing muscles as well as the muscles you are working on.

lemmie177

They're both tools to use in strategic ways depending on what you want to achieve.

Free weights, especially with compound lifts, are great for working the whole body in concert. They're also a great way to improve performance since they're more functional movements. In other words, a squat will be more similar to movements you have to do on a daily basis or during sports than a leg press. They help make you a more capable human being.

Machines are great for isolating particular muscles. They're less skill/form-dependent (an effective and safe squat requires you to be doing it right). I'd use them: 1. for a muscle lagging in development, 2. if you want to work on very specific muscle activation, 3. at the tail end of an intense workout where you'd otherwise be too tired to use good form.

If we're just talking about muscle gain, without any other considerations, I'd actually guess that machines would come out on top. Assuming you had a machine for every major muscle group, they'd be arguably better at maximizing volume and would allow you to train each muscle group closer to failure. Though, IMO form without function isn't very appealing!