I was told by at personal trainer that the machines
christyd4
Posts: 191
at the gym didn't work. Any thoughts on this? I personally prefer the machines versus free weights well because I really don't know how to put a workout routine together on my own.
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The machines do "work."
But free weights are superior for the most part. Machines don't work your stabilizer muscles at all so you aren't getting the full benefit of lifts.
The only decent machines you should use in the gym would probably be a lat pulldown and a cable row machine. Everything else can/should be done with free weights.
The PT sounds like a dumbass though.0 -
Machines are ok but free weights challenge you more and you are able to achieve better results with them. Example - you can sit on a machine and do a shoulder press or stand up and do it while standing on one of those inflatable discs - and you are engaging your core and strengthening your legs while you are getting a better shoulder work out. I hope that helps!0
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Machines are ok but free weights challenge you more and you are able to achieve better results with them. Example - you can sit on a machine and do a shoulder press or stand up and do it while standing on one of those inflatable discs - and you are engaging your core and strengthening your legs while you are getting a better shoulder work out. I hope that helps!
Don't use a stupid bosu ball. It's asking for an injury if you're pressing heavy weights.
Personally I think that the risks and damage to form far outweigh the extra core work you're getting.
A beginner needs to focus on form, a bosu ball is just one more thing to distract a novice from form.0 -
Machines 'work' however they work your muscles in an unnatural and isolated way and often in strange and unnatural ranges of motion. They have their place, but free weight compound exercises are far superior.0
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I've been looking into Jamie Eason's livefit program and NROL and they both use a combination of free weights and machines.
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The trainer doesn't sound like he knows what he is talking about... as well as I'm surprised his gym allows him to say such things!
A machine will give you basic movements, but its forcing you to do it in a very restricted motion. This means that even if you double your strength doing a press motion on a machine, you'll be nearly at square one with the free weights. The stabilizer muscles are just as important when it comes to your strength and you're really missing a lot of the benefit of weight training when those aren't being trained!
At least he's saying not to use them instead of saying never to use free weights! XD0 -
Machines 'work' however they work your muscles in an unnatural and isolated way and often in strange and unnatural ranges of motion. They have their place, but free weight compound exercises are far superior.
This. I injured my shoulder using "machines" my physical therapist said the machines aren't made for us to move in natural movements. Unfortunately my shoulder will never be the same. I have always used free weights but incorporated machines as well. I just push through the damage and pain in my shoulder and won't touch a "weight machine" again!0 -
at the gym didn't work. Any thoughts on this? I personally prefer the machines versus free weights well because I really don't know how to put a workout routine together on my own.
Are you certain he said that they don't work? If this is literally what he said, then he's either remarkably stupid, or the machines are all broken and literally don't work, in which case your gym is ghetto.
Freeweights will provide you with more benefit overall, but context is important here. Without knowing your stats or your lifting experience I would just leave it at this: For people that are quite overweight and have never lifted before, you can do machines and even do some sort of circuit program and you'll do just fine for a while. Eventually, you will want to add in freeweights as you get more comfortable.0 -
Machines do work...technically. However, many machines really restrict your range of motion and move your body into unnatural movements, which can do some damage to your joints and ligaments. They also tend to be isolation exercises, which are not as effective overall as exercises using free weights. I generally only use free weights and the Free Motion machines at my gym. These machines are similar to the standard ones, but instead of bars/stiff movements they have cables so you can get a more natural range of motion, and perform more compound exercises.
It will definitely do you more good to use more free weights, but to say the machines at the gym do "nothing" is totally bogus. That PT just wanted to get you to set up a session with him so he could "show you better exercises" aka "get your money."0 -
NROL does not use machine outside lat pull down and cable row and It is why i will never do Jamie program.I've been looking into Jamie Eason's livefit program and NROL and they both use a combination of free weights and machines.0 -
Machines are ok but free weights challenge you more and you are able to achieve better results with them. Example - you can sit on a machine and do a shoulder press or stand up and do it while standing on one of those inflatable discs - and you are engaging your core and strengthening your legs while you are getting a better shoulder work out. I hope that helps!
Don't use a stupid bosu ball. It's asking for an injury if you're pressing heavy weights.
Personally I think that the risks and damage to form far outweigh the extra core work you're getting.
A beginner needs to focus on form, a bosu ball is just one more thing to distract a novice from form.
I use a bosu for some things, but I don't use as heavy weights while using it...I do agree that it shouldn't be used when you're still trying to learn proper form.0 -
NROL does not use machine outside lat pull down and cable row and It is why i will never do Jamie program.I've been looking into Jamie Eason's livefit program and NROL and they both use a combination of free weights and machines.
Ummm..... Have you actually seen Jamie Eason? She may know a little bit about what she is doing.0 -
I like the bosu as well for a little extra oomph to regular body weight exercises... I don't think I would use it with weights though...
Anyway, it is my opinion, that machines are great to get one started and they have their place... I use them quite a bit as well.. But free weights should also be used... I just make a plan or use one I find on line...0 -
I like this blurb from Pavel Tsatsouline Power to the People
"When you use dumbbells, you control the weight in 3-D. The barbell eliminates one degree of freedom: you cannot move your hands in or out on the bar until you let go of the weight. A machine restricts you to one plane of movement. Your stabilizing muscles get no workout because the machine is doing their job. When you get back to the real world where you have to control your weights, you will expose yourself to an injury in the planes of movement you have not strengthened. Besides, you will not be able to use most of your strength. Your nervous system will shove a brick under your gas pedal when it realizes that the stabilizing muscles are not up to the job. Using the strength built on an exercise machine is like shooting a cannon from a canoe!
In addition to the acute injuries you are asking for if you try to test your machine-built strength in the field, you will be building up micro-trauma for future problems. "The more fixed the object, the more likely you are to develop a pattern overload," explains Paul Chek. "Training in a fixed pathway repetitively loads the same muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints in the same pattern, encouraging micro-trauma which eventually leads to injury." Compound that risk with the diffi- culty of lining up your joints with the machine's axis. Machines were built for an 'average person'—and I am yet to meet one."
"In the Soviet nation's single-minded drive to succeed in the Olympics, no effort or expense was spared to advance sports science. Yet the Russkies’ training facilities look like a junk yard, with plenty of ugly barbells, intimidatingly big plates, and not much else. The evil ones know that free weights are the most natural, versatile, safest, effective, and efficient training tool. Do you?"
Power to the People P310 -
at the gym didn't work. Any thoughts on this? I personally prefer the machines versus free weights well because I really don't know how to put a workout routine together on my own.
Are you certain he said that they don't work? If this is literally what he said, then he's either remarkably stupid, or the machines are all broken and literally don't work, in which case your gym is ghetto.
Freeweights will provide you with more benefit overall, but context is important here. Without knowing your stats or your lifting experience I would just leave it at this: For people that are quite overweight and have never lifted before, you can do machines and even do some sort of circuit program and you'll do just fine for a while. Eventually, you will want to add in freeweights as you get more comfortable.
This. Context is key. You wouldn't ask a morbidly obese person that has never done anything physical in their lives to learn the proper form for power cleans.
When it comes to training, there are very few absolutes.0 -
NROL does not use machine outside lat pull down and cable row and It is why i will never do Jamie program.I've been looking into Jamie Eason's livefit program and NROL and they both use a combination of free weights and machines.
Ummm..... Have you actually seen Jamie Eason? She may know a little bit about what she is doing.
She also may be receiving compensation to associate her likeness with a program that she wouldn't even recognize if you showed it to her.0 -
The machines do "work."
But free weights are superior for the most part. Machines don't work your stabilizer muscles at all so you aren't getting the full benefit of lifts.
The only decent machines you should use in the gym would probably be a lat pulldown and a cable row machine. Everything else can/should be done with free weights.
The PT sounds like a dumbass though.
this0 -
I do machines because my gym sucks and I'm too po' to go to a better one. I'm so po' I can't afford the other O and R to spell poor. :laugh:
So free weights are better, but I wouldn't say machines do "nothing." If they do nothing, I'm really happy with nothing! 0 -
NROL does not use machine outside lat pull down and cable row and It is why i will never do Jamie program.I've been looking into Jamie Eason's livefit program and NROL and they both use a combination of free weights and machines.
Ummm..... Have you actually seen Jamie Eason? She may know a little bit about what she is doing.
LOL it means nothing0 -
Thanks for the comments guys! I appreciate it!
My next thought is how can I put together a beginner free weight program on my own. I want a total body workout that I can do along with my cardio. I have about an 45-60 mins a night to spend in the gym. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Just a note, I don't really have the money to hire a PT to help me so that option is out0 -
The machines do "work."
But free weights are superior for the most part. Machines don't work your stabilizer muscles at all so you aren't getting the full benefit of lifts.
The only decent machines you should use in the gym would probably be a lat pulldown and a cable row machine. Everything else can/should be done with free weights.
The PT sounds like a dumbass though.
this
Can you give me a sample workout that you do?0 -
at the gym didn't work. Any thoughts on this? I personally prefer the machines versus free weights well because I really don't know how to put a workout routine together on my own.
Are you certain he said that they don't work? If this is literally what he said, then he's either remarkably stupid, or the machines are all broken and literally don't work, in which case your gym is ghetto.
Freeweights will provide you with more benefit overall, but context is important here. Without knowing your stats or your lifting experience I would just leave it at this: For people that are quite overweight and have never lifted before, you can do machines and even do some sort of circuit program and you'll do just fine for a while. Eventually, you will want to add in freeweights as you get more comfortable.
No actually I'm not I have been using them for about the last year and have lost 40lbs on my own. So IMO they are doing something. I have quite a bit to lose and I don't want to injure myself. I have hit a plateau and am looking for ways to get past that but am not sure how. That's when I contacted this trainer. Now let me say that was HER opinoin and yes her exact words were those machines don't work I want to evenutally add in free weights at the right time but also don't want to waste my time if in fact the machines are begining not to work.0 -
If you read any exercise website or book they'll explain the pros and cons of machines versus free weights. Both have a place.0
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Thanks for the comments guys! I appreciate it!
My next thought is how can I put together a beginner free weight program on my own. I want a total body workout that I can do along with my cardio. I have about an 45-60 mins a night to spend in the gym. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Just a note, I don't really have the money to hire a PT to help me so that option is out
You can browse for free weights exercise program for beginners online. I think there are plenty of those but I'm not sure about the keywords. Does your gym includes free one or two sessions with a PT? Because most gyms have this. That's what I did, I just put to mind everything that the PT taught with those free sessions & used it to my workouts0 -
NROL does not use machine outside lat pull down and cable row and It is why i will never do Jamie program.I've been looking into Jamie Eason's livefit program and NROL and they both use a combination of free weights and machines.
Ummm..... Have you actually seen Jamie Eason? She may know a little bit about what she is doing.
She also may be receiving compensation to associate her likeness with a program that she wouldn't even recognize if you showed it to her.
While that is true, you don't need to use a single machine whatsoever to get an amazing well rounded work out, so I don't understand why not using more than a couple machines would be a deterrent. I use maybe 3 machines at the gym tops, and they're all cable machines. Btw, NROWL is an AWESOME resource. I've noticed such incredible changes in my body since taking what I've learned with that book and applying it to my work outs.0 -
Machines, for many a beginner, are less intimidating then taking on a full barrage of remembering how to do free weight exercises. Looking at the point of view from a beginner and probably coming into an environment with absolutely no knowledge, machines offer a safe way to start strength training if one can't afford to get a trainer or is still intimidated by going into the free weight section. For some, just showing up in that area of the gym is a big step and to inundate with so much to learn (form, execution, right breathing technique) may scare that person away and could possible lead them to not even trying exercise.
I look at it as an avenue to start with, then eventually transition to similar exercises with free weights once they learn the basic movement.
A.C.E. Certified Personal & Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
Thanks for the comments guys! I appreciate it!
My next thought is how can I put together a beginner free weight program on my own. I want a total body workout that I can do along with my cardio. I have about an 45-60 mins a night to spend in the gym. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Just a note, I don't really have the money to hire a PT to help me so that option is out
Google Stronglifts 5x5, starting strength or Rustys Visual Impact.
All fantastic routines for a beginner, intermediate and advanced lifters.0 -
My understanding on machines is they don't employ stabilising muscles so aren't comprehensive
If you see a skinny guy with big biceps and chest that kind of look out of place to everything else he has probably done machines
A big all over muscled guy .. free weights.
I guess where machine come in though is if you are a big muscled guy but aren't happy with a particular muscle to a certain extent you could hit it with machines0 -
to each his or her own, but for a trainer to tell you they don't work is pretty unprofessional, in my opinion. Everyone starts somewhere and for some, that's all the weights they use.0
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what he/she a personal trainer that was RIPPED to SH@#T with a crazy nice body??? cause there are some that are super fit, and some that look like everyone else they just have more fitness knowledge.. as well was this solicited advice or did they just pony up their opinion.. cause if they are basic looking and ponyed up their advice, i would have said... "then why are you still using them!!!" I think anything is better than nothing but yes free weights are the best!!!0
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