Dare I ask...machines at gym

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annie61702
annie61702 Posts: 120 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I realize from reading this forum that many people here are proponents of heavy lifting using free weights. But can someone explain what is wrong with the weight machines at the gym? I do cardio on the treadmill and then the weight machines 3 times a week and elliptical at home twice a week. I do use dumbbells for some extra arm work at home and just added dumbbell squats twice a week. I will add dumbbell lunges next. I'm fairly happy with my progress and just upped my weights on all the machines. But as much as I would like to, I don't feel real comfortable doing barbell squats and dead lifts at the gym because I don't feel I know what I'm doing. So are the machines enough? Or should I try to find a trainer to work with me until I feel comfortable doing free weights on my own?

Also, my gym is small - a community gym where I live - and I don't see a squat rack there. We do have one of those machines with the slider pole things (name?) but it seems like those are looked down on too. So I would appreciate some insight into this. I guess I don't really understand that your body will know the difference between using weights in a machine or free weights. Please forgive me if these are stupid questions. Thanks!

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  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    Nothing wrong with them, especially if they are your only option or if you lack the strength and/or mobility to do the free weight options with good form.

    I personally hate the machines because I never found they helped with any real world strength because they put you in weird angles plus there's so much isolation it's very easy to train your way to muscle imbalances. I prefer free weights, barbells and compound lists like squats, deadlifts, cleans, snatches, pushups, pull ups, turkish get ups, etc.
  • Ctrum69
    Ctrum69 Posts: 308 Member
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    Nothing wrong with them.

    What are you training for?

    Borrow Aahnold's body building encyclopedia from a library or someone who owns it. Everything has it's place, from machines to freeweights to ropes and chains.

    What you use, and how you use it, depends entirely on what your goals are.

    One of the arguments of free weights over a rigidly locked machine, is that in many lifts you have to stabilize the weights while doing it, which works a lot more muscles than simply sliding (or hinging) the weight in a fixed plane.

    The pulley machines (bowflex, etc) are sort of a bridge between the two, as you still have to stabilize, but they give you a ramp up (and down) to the full weight of the exercise.
  • amandakev88
    amandakev88 Posts: 328 Member
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    nothing wrong with them. there are pros and cons to both.

    heres a link to an interesting piece... http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/freeormachine.htm

    i prefer free weights to use more of my muscle groups but i like the machines because they leave less chance for error with my form.
    i just make sure to hit at least 2 exercises per muscle group if using machines.
  • lmurph93
    lmurph93 Posts: 19 Member
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    When I asked this question at my gym before, the answer I got made sense but I'm not an expert.

    A lot of the machines at gyms were designed to train body builders and target very specific (sometimes only one, or a small areas of) muscle groups. For example the flies you do on a machine only target that tiny muscle (I think it's your axilla?) and not much of your pecs. Personally as a runner who's just started with strength training, there are far more benefits to weightlifting like squats, dead lifts, bench press etc and free weights since they engage more muscle groups at once.

    Though I would say, if you're just more comfortable on machines and know how to use them, do what'll keep you working out!
  • TwoPointZero
    TwoPointZero Posts: 187 Member
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    The only justifiable problem that I have with them is that certain ones just have terrible ergonomics for me . . .
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
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    Nothing wrong with them... I use Free weights quite a bit more but I have no issues going out and getting on the Nautilus machines or smith machine some weeks for a change of pace. I only have issues with a few machines that because of restrictive motion for an injury I had (pinched nerve in my neck) I will avoid because from past experience it puts undo pressure on that area and I don't want to risk reoccurring injury. But overall using any means to better your self fitness wise is much better than doing nothing at all... Maybe at some point you could work with a trainer to learn form with free weights and experiment to see which method you prefer.... Best of Luck
  • toddis
    toddis Posts: 941 Member
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    The slidey pole machine is probably the Smith machine.

    The main argument against machines could be that the exercises are too muscle specific. There is also the lack of use of stabilizer muscles. Doing shoulder presses with dumbbells, barbells, and machines work muscles in different ways.
  • rejectuf
    rejectuf Posts: 487 Member
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    Free weights will help you gain functional strength more efficiently than machines.

    That being said, if you don't have an experienced friend or access to a trainer, free weights can be intimidating and that's understandable. Don't be afraid to ask folks to check your form at the gym.
  • annie61702
    annie61702 Posts: 120 Member
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    Thanks, everyone, for all of the information. I feel better about my routine now. In the last year and a half, I have lost about 55 lbs. and gone from a size 18 to a size 8. I also was able to stop taking blood pressure and cholesterol meds with my doctor's blessing last summer, so that was another goal I attained. I still want to lose another 10-15 lbs. so that's my goal right now. And I do want to venture into more free weights as a goal, so I will think about finding a trainer to work on that. But in the meantime, I will keep doing what has been working for me so far and adding some dumbbell exercises since I have those already. I do appreciate the feedback!

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