only using Machines

notsorrymrsjackson
notsorrymrsjackson Posts: 72
in Fitness and Exercise
I just started at a new gym where all of the machines are organized by body part.. which is super convenient.. but i find myself only using machines… i will throw in some free weights but I'm less comfortable over there (I'm working my confidence up to spend more time in there).. is there a downside to sticking to the machines?

Replies

  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
    mostly just that don't employee other supporting muscles as much to stabalize the weight, as you would with free weights.

    also, while there probably is a machine that simulates any lift, no gym will have all of them, so i would say stricktly limiting yourself to machines would mean less variety.

    would it be better to use free weights? of course. How big the difference is will be open to debate though.

    its far better to use the machines then no resistance at all
  • CitizenXVIII
    CitizenXVIII Posts: 117 Member
    Freeweights are better, but I say the best exercise is the exercise you'll do. Look at the machines as a stepping stone to freeweights, move over when you are comfortable.
  • madhatter2013
    madhatter2013 Posts: 1,547 Member
    I just started at a new gym where all of the machines are organized by body part.. which is super convenient.. but i find myself only using machines… i will throw in some free weights but I'm less comfortable over there (I'm working my confidence up to spend more time in there).. is there a downside to sticking to the machines?

    I did this same thing. I stuck to the machine side for the first three months while I also did cardio. Then I got up the gumption to go over to the free weight side. It was awesome. There was only a few people there and they could care less what I was ther efor. I made sure I watched video's and knew what workout I wanted to do and how to do them. I also figured up some back ups just in case the weights (or squat rack) I wanted to use wasn't available. I've never been back to the machines since. You'll feel a huge difference in your workouts. Don't be afraid to use the free weights. No one over there cares what you're doing there. They care about themselves and how far they're getting, which is how it should be. You'll never regret it, I promise. Read up on a good starting workout for you like Stronglifts 5X5 or something like that and just do it.
  • LianaG1115
    LianaG1115 Posts: 453 Member
    Hmpft...I wish one day I could use the damn machines, trainer won't let me...he says that the machines don't address all of my issues and that doing is better than sitting on a machine. So I wait, for that one day I'll be introduced to something, anything, I watch everyone else play at the gym and I feel like the bad kid who has to stay on the rug! LOL hahahaha It's all good I love my results!!!
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
    what kind of results are you looking for OP? out of curiosity
  • notsorrymrsjackson
    notsorrymrsjackson Posts: 72
    I want to "lose" about 15-20 pounds. tone up and gain muscle… i say "lose" like that because if i look like i lost that weight but the number on the scale doesn't change ill be happy…. I'm working out for at least an hour 4+ times a week.. machines and cardio
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
    i don't think your shooting yourself in the foot too bad. but keep trying to introduce yourself to the free weights ;)
  • notsorrymrsjackson
    notsorrymrsjackson Posts: 72
    Maybe i will try a new free weight exercise every week :) keep adding til that is my primary….
  • rick_po
    rick_po Posts: 449 Member
    Machines tend to be isolation movements, which means you have to do a lot of different machines to get a full body workout. A well designed free weight program will use compound lifts, which work multiple muscles at the same time. There are programs that give you a full body workout with only 3 different lifts. So free weight workouts can be a lot more efficient, and you can get in and out of the gym a lot faster.

    If you're set on using machines and your gym has a lot of options, I think cable machines are better than the fixed lever machines.
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
    i perfer the plate loaded machines myself
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    I want to "lose" about 15-20 pounds. tone up and gain muscle… i say "lose" like that because if i look like i lost that weight but the number on the scale doesn't change ill be happy…. I'm working out for at least an hour 4+ times a week.. machines and cardio

    Just going to throw this out there.

    It's virtually impossible to "lose" weight and gain muscle at that same time. Gaining appreciable muscle (outside a few oz of noob gains, the morbidly obese, or returning athlete) takes an on point exercise including excess calories, hours of progressive overload strength training over months......for a guy. It's exponentially harder for women.

    While in a deficit you lose water, fat, and muscle. Lifting while in that deficit helps you maintain that muscle so you lose mainly water and fat. This way you are stripping the fat off of the muscle you have, thus lowering BF% and gaining definition. The scale may stay stagnant or rise, but that wouldn't be due to added mass. Your body will retain water early on for muscle repair, but after the body adapts to the regimen, the water will flush and if in a deficit, the scale will drop.
  • charlton200
    charlton200 Posts: 29 Member
    I use the machines only as well, I want to start on free weights tho, just want to build some small amount of strength first.
  • notsorrymrsjackson
    notsorrymrsjackson Posts: 72
    I want to "lose" about 15-20 pounds. tone up and gain muscle… i say "lose" like that because if i look like i lost that weight but the number on the scale doesn't change ill be happy…. I'm working out for at least an hour 4+ times a week.. machines and cardio

    Just going to throw this out there.

    It's virtually impossible to "lose" weight and gain muscle at that same time. Gaining appreciable muscle (outside a few oz of noob gains, the morbidly obese, or returning athlete) takes an on point exercise including excess calories, hours of progressive overload strength training over months......for a guy. It's exponentially harder for women.

    While in a deficit you lose water, fat, and muscle. Lifting while in that deficit helps you maintain that muscle so you lose mainly water and fat. This way you are stripping the fat off of the muscle you have, thus lowering BF% and gaining definition. The scale may stay stagnant or rise, but that wouldn't be due to added mass. Your body will retain water early on for muscle repair, but after the body adapts to the regimen, the water will flush and if in a deficit, the scale will drop.

    if were being 100%… i just want to be thinner and i want to do it in a healthy way lol I'm not really keeping track of my BF% or even my weight.. i take pictures and go by my clothing fit.. just figure that if I'm getting thinner I'm having less fat, but with the exercises I'm doing getting stronger… i def need to do some more research on the science :)
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    See the very first thread in this forum called "I am the woman in the freeweights section of the gym".
  • MomTo3Lovez
    MomTo3Lovez Posts: 800 Member
    I too used the machines set on a certain resistance level until I started feeling a bit more comfortable doing the free weights. I just started doing a few of the workouts using the free weights and yes I still feel weird but that's just in my head because the women that are there are doing their own thing. My gym has a ladies only workout room which is where I have been, I am still working up the nerve to go out into the rest of the gym with everyone else there lol I'm working on it though, once I am more comfortable with the weights and how to do them I will move over there because they have a lot more over there. Plus I have to find a time of day where the bodybuilder guys aren't there, between staring at them and listening to them grunt or whatever other sounds they make I wouldn't be able to concentrate lol

    Good luck!
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    I want to "lose" about 15-20 pounds. tone up and gain muscle… i say "lose" like that because if i look like i lost that weight but the number on the scale doesn't change ill be happy…. I'm working out for at least an hour 4+ times a week.. machines and cardio

    Just going to throw this out there.

    It's virtually impossible to "lose" weight and gain muscle at that same time. Gaining appreciable muscle (outside a few oz of noob gains, the morbidly obese, or returning athlete) takes an on point exercise including excess calories, hours of progressive overload strength training over months......for a guy. It's exponentially harder for women.

    While in a deficit you lose water, fat, and muscle. Lifting while in that deficit helps you maintain that muscle so you lose mainly water and fat. This way you are stripping the fat off of the muscle you have, thus lowering BF% and gaining definition. The scale may stay stagnant or rise, but that wouldn't be due to added mass. Your body will retain water early on for muscle repair, but after the body adapts to the regimen, the water will flush and if in a deficit, the scale will drop.

    if were being 100%… i just want to be thinner and i want to do it in a healthy way lol I'm not really keeping track of my BF% or even my weight.. i take pictures and go by my clothing fit.. just figure that if I'm getting thinner I'm having less fat, but with the exercises I'm doing getting stronger… i def need to do some more research on the science :)

    Yes, because getting thinner doesn't necessarily mean a large change in BF%, especially for someone that may not have a lot of weight to lose. You said you wanted to "tone", which is what I explained earlier. By lifting in a deficit you maintain LBM and lose mostly water and fat, thus uncovering your muscles and giving them definition "tone". Eating in a deficit (especially one that is too big) can cause a loss in LBM as well, so even though you're skinnier your BF% may not have changed a whole lot so you're still missing that elusive muscle definition.

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