Weight machines vs. free weights

kristieshannon
kristieshannon Posts: 160 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm just starting to work on adding weights to my routine in addition to cardio. I've gotten some excellent advice here so far, thanks to those who gave it! I've ordered "New Rules of Lifting for Women" and have googled info on 5x5 lifting. My question to you today is, is there a difference between using the weight machines at my gym rather than free weights? Probably silly, but I feel a bit intimidated by the free weight section. I've gone twice this week, once did a circuit through the upper body and abs machines, once a cirucuit through the leg machines. I'm lifting what I feel like is pushing myself, but not so much that I'm not able to move that part of my body the next day. Thanks for any guidance you are willing to share!

Replies

  • whitebalance
    whitebalance Posts: 1,654 Member
    You're going to hear from a lot of people far more experienced at this than I am -- yes, there is a big difference between the two. Weight machines isolate muscle groups and force you to move along a set path, more or less. Lifting free weights, you will work many muscle groups at once and work harder to keep the motion stable.

    That said, I started off on machines and spent several months on them, especially while recovering after surgery, and honestly I don't regret it at all. Things I wouldn't have been comfortable doing free, I was able to do on the machines and push myself pretty hard -- and the moderate strength gains I made there seem to be making for a comfortable transition to free weights now. OTOH, I was doing some "body weight" exercises at the same time -- stair climbing, pushups, squats -- that may have helped compensate for any poor training I did on the machines.
  • steve2kay
    steve2kay Posts: 194 Member
    I'd always heard that free weights were best as other muscles get involved to keep you stable etc. I know that if I do press-ups vs. chest press machine I can really feel it in my stomach which is engaged in press-ups but not on the machine. However I can't train my chest any more doing press-ups because my abdominals are the weak link. So my chest isn't overloaded and the muscles won't grow - I'd be better switching to a machine at this point to isolate the chest.

    However, as I'm more concerned with overall strength and not just building a big chest, I'm sticking with the free weights and body weight exercises (I have quite a bit of body weight)

    I know what you mean about being intimidated - I tend to take the weights and scurry off to a corner.

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