Machines vs free weights

The big difference is that machines have a fixed movement path and 'assist' in controlling the weight. Even cable machines do to some extent. That means you don't work the muscles you'd use to stabilize free weights. You get more bang for your buck with free weights.

Another difference is that many machines are designed for 'average' sized people, meaning that if you're fairly tall, or as in my case fairly short, you won't be able to set the equipment properly and might hurt yourself. You also can't modify machine exercises like you can free weights. You're limited to the machines movements.

That said, machines still work so long as you continue to progress just like free weights.

sineadc94 wrote: »

Hi,
I have just rejoined a gym after doing boxing for a few months and as part of joining they give you a resistance training program. For this I'm in a circuit room with all machines not the weights room.
After reading some of the boards here that talk about lifting weights it seems as those machines and free weights are quite different things but was hoping someone could clarify what the real difference is and benefits of both?
I have quite strong leg muscles but my arm muscles could definitely be better so I'm wondering if that might be the reason I'm on machines as I do find the arm machines give me pretty dead arms the next day.
Thanks!

You'll usually get the standard answer that free weights are automatically superior and that your entire weight training routine should be based around barbell and dumbbell movements only. Although it's true that your program should ultimately use free weights as the underlying foundation, weight machines most definitely have their place as well. There's no need to think of this as a strict choice between "free weights vs. machines", as both tools are useful in your overall program and serve their own unique functions.

Free weights can be used for a lot of your basic core movements such as squats, deadlifts, bench presses, rows, chins and overhead presses, while machines can help you perform movements that are more difficult (or impossible) to duplicate using standard free weights, such as pulldowns, leg presses, machine calf raises, pressdowns and other cable exercises. The main reason why free weights are generally recommended over machines is because they allow you to move through a more natural range of motion. This forces you to recruit more stabilizer muscles and it also reduces your chances of injury since your body is not stuck on a fixed plane of movement.

You certainly don't NEED machines in order to get an effective and well rounded workout, but if you do have access to them then there are several machine exercises that are definitely worth utilizing. When it all comes down to it, any exercises that places your muscles under tension and allows for progressive overload over time is going to produce muscle growth. Are machines effective for building muscle? The answer is most definitely yes.

Again, it doesn't have to be an issue of "free weights or machines", and your overall routine will contain a mixture of both. Don't make the error of thinking that free weights are somehow vastly superior to machines or that your routine should contain free weight exercises only, as both tools are useful in the overall picture. The bottom line here is that muscle growth is an adaptive response to stress as the muscles are placed under progressively greater levels of tension over time.

For that reason, ANY tool, whether it’s a barbell, dumbbell, cable or machine, will be an effective means of producing muscle hypertrophy.

Everytime I use machines for more than a month my shoulders hurt so I stick to dumbbells and believe I'm getting as good or better of a workout.

I wish the local Y had the same attitude towards free weights. They trainers refuse to help people with free weights.

Meh. People will see gains and improvements from both. For advanced users, free weights add a layer of complexity and freedom from the set forms and motions.

Do whatever you can do consistently

machines have their place and i use them readily...but IMO, they are inferior to free weights as the foundation of your routine. They lock you into a range of motion that is not necessarily natural and they also give you an assist and you don't work your smaller stabilizing muscles they way you would with free weights. I find machines to be beneficial for some assistance work and isolation work.

that said, using machines for your resistance training is superior to no resistance training...so work with what you have, be consistent, and always challenge yourself.