Free Weights vs Machine Weights
This is one of the most common questions I get asked by my clients. What's more beneficial, free weights, or machine weights. I'll cut straight to the chase, free weights are more effective than machine weights and it is a big reason why I left training in a gym environment. Don't get me wrong, depending on your goals, machine weights can definately be used as a good contribution to an overall program, but lets put them head to head.
Benefits of Free Weights
1. It has a higher energy demand
When performing a free weight exercise with dumbbells or a bar, you are not only training the desired muscle that you are targeting - your body is also forced to stabilize your core, and other major joints such as your hips and/or shoulders to assist with correct technique. As a result more muscles are activated therefore more energy or calories are used. This means that it is a very effective way to focus on lean muscle development, core stability and promote weight loss.
2. It's a more functional way to train
Functional training basically means, performing exercises that will imitate movements that you do in everyday life (eg squats, lunges) or sports specific activities/movements that may be involved in a sport or activity that you participate in. Free weights allows you to do this because you have more freedom to be creative with your exercise selection, because you are not stuck in a machine only able to perform the movement that the machine allows you to do.
3. More variety in your Exercise selection
The amount of machine weights around in most gyms are usually very limited. With free weights you can create hundreds of different exercises, you are only limited by your imagination. Boredom is one of the common reasons that people quit their exercise routines. Free weights gives you options to vary your training and keep your mind stimulated, and continue to challenge your body.
Benefits of Machine Weights
1. It allows beginners to get familiar with the movement
Absolute beginners who have never touched a weight before will benefit with machine weights (even though they may seem intimidating). Stability is not much of an issue because you are locked into position by the machine.
2. Useful for Rehabilitation
Machine weights are good for individuals who have experienced an injury and are told by their physio/chiro to work on strengthening a specific muscle group. Its great for isolating the injured area initially, but should then lead into working with free weights to get the stabilizers and secondary muscles switiched on to assist the injured muscle/joint.
3. Great for body builders
Anyone training for muscle building can benefit from machine weights if they have a stubbon body part that is not growing as fast. Machine weights are able to isolate the desired area resulting in strength through the ROM (range of motion) allowed by the machine. (Not the full ROM of the muscle that free weights allow you to achieve).
Conclusion
In conclusion as a whole I would consider the benefits of free weights to be greater. Depending on your situation and goal, machine weights also have a place in an exercise program, but everyone can use and benefit from guidance with a freeweight program recommended by Pump It Personal Trainers.