Are machines bad?

X

xDenax

0
Hello. I've been lurking around here for a couple years and decided I should start asking questions. My husband and I have been going to the ymca and using the machines. I keep hearing that machines are inferior to free weights. I do use some small dumbells at home (I'm on 8lb and 10lb so far) but I really do enjoy using the machines, especially for my lower body. Am I cheating myself?

edit: I have The New Rules of Lifting for Women on hold from the library. I'm hoping I can find some things in there that are helpful.
 
Last edited:
From what I understand, it's not that machines are bad, just that freeweights are better. In other words, using machines is way better than no exercising at all. But, for optimal training, freeweights are best. The main reason is that machines are stable, you don't have to balance the weight. While this does target the intended muscle group, you do miss out on working the smaller stabilizing muscles. If you're just looking to get in shape a bit, it's no big deal. But if you are looking to make some notable gains in size and strength, you might want to start incorporating more freeweights.
 
For now I guess I'm really just trying to maintain muscle while I lose weight. I have a lot to lose. But after that, I would like to gain a good amount of muscle. I have zero fear of getting too "bulky".
 
Try use free weights as much as possible, for you lower body you could at LEAST do squats (one of the best exercises known), Free weights are brilliant for stability and they obviously work with your natural motion.

Id keep machines to a minimum, although i use a machine every workout, but i still use free weights for most things. :)
 
I think that free weight are better on the whole,you have a better range of motion.But i do`nt think that your`e cheating yourself at all if your`e happy using machines then carry on at least you`re getting workouts in.
You said yourself that you enjoy it thats half the battle won:biggrinsanta:
 
Machines and free weights are very different and while you should use the free weights more, machines do have their place. Isolating muscles with machines can help bigger muscles get a good workout that free weights wont allow because smaller muscles get tired to fast.

I hope that made sense. However, Not sure how long you and your husband have been going to the Y, but free weights and multi-joint exercises are great to get total body strength.
 
free weights work your stabilizing muscles as well as the primary muscles for each exercise. machines generally stabilize the weight, so you're doing strict isolation of the muscles.

when used at the right times, some machines are great for isolation...but the bulk of your routien should be free weights.
 
Is there anything I can do to take pressure on my hands and wrists when holding free weights? I'm very small, 4'9" and have hands the size of a 6 year old girl. Holding the weights kills my fingers and wrists.

My husband now told me he thinks free weights are much better...but he seems to like machines too.
 
xDenax said:
Is there anything I can do to take pressure on my hands and wrists when holding free weights? I'm very small, 4'9" and have hands the size of a 6 year old girl. Holding the weights kills my fingers and wrists.

My husband now told me he thinks free weights are much better...but he seems to like machines too.
Click to expand...

It sounds like your forearm muscles aren't strong enough to grip the weights. If you feel that you can't grip the weights strong enough - stop using them! You don't want to drop any weights on the floor or, worse yet, on your head.

Try starting with lower weights or incorporate free weights with the machines.

Personally, I think machines get a bad rap. I think they provide a lot of benefits, particularly for the beginner to intermediate.
 
I think it's wise to go with the machines first, to get used to the range of motion. Then go with free weights. I recommend having no weights or very light weights until you are fully used to the motion. Machines are safe (if used correctly), but they restrict your body. Freeweights allow freedom, but at the cost of safety. Don't get caught dropping weights on yourself. Even with a spot, doing squats incorrectly can do damage to your back even with light weights (this can even happen on machines). And nothing is worst than doing bench and dropping the bar on your chest - just having the bar itself with no weights on it drop can cause a rib to break or even death.

Get used to the form, rather than the weight itself.
 
Last edited:
i've been using free light weights for several years. if I do anything lighter than what I'm already doing its like not doing anything at all, make sense? I don't feel at all like I will drop them, my hands just hurt the next day. especially my thumbs. now, the ymca has some that have a thinner handle and those hurt much less than the ones I have at home.
 
Some of the comments on this thread are just ignorant... Sorry. I'm normally not so outspoken, but free weights not being "safe?"

Here's a question for you. Is your body designed to work in isolation? When you are chasing kids, carrying groceries, working in the garden, do you isolate any of your muscles?

Your body does not move in fixed planes. I'll tell you what's unsafe... Training on MACHINES!

If you isolate your parts, they don't "learn" how to fire in harmony with the other body parts that they are technically designed to work with.

Most injuries are caused in the "real world" in the deceleration phase of movement. One great way to enhance this is to use machines. Your muscles proprioceptively protect your joints, but if you don't train them to do that, they "forget."

Not only that, when you recruit more muscle you rev up your metabolism. If you spend your entire day on your ass (like most people do today), why in God's name would you go to a gym and sit down? Not only are you recruiting less muscle, you are creating strength and flexibility imbalances, and your movement will have no transfer to the real life movements you do from day to day.

I will go ahead and go on the record and say that the machine is the single worst thing to ever happen to the fitness industry. In a word, they suck!

All that being said, I really do like FreeMotion equipment because it specifically does not use fixed planes. It's not my preference, but as far as machines go it is better than anything else out there.
 
Lifting straps. They're about $10 lengths of cotton used to supplement your grip.

Pretty sure they're also the solution to your problem. At least, when you're doing pulls. You should be able to handle the rest just fine I'd imagine.

Well, other than trying to find really narrow bars on which to place weight. Grip difficulty increases as the ratio of the diameter of the bar to the size of your hand does.
 
Last edited:
Machines are excellent... at ****ing your joints up and creating strength imbalances.

See my previous post. If you can't do a move correctly, then LEARN to do it correctly. Find someone who can teach you.

If you don't know how to play a guitar, do you take lessons and practice or do you turn on a CD of guitar music?

Along that same analogy, if there is a section of music that has complicated fingerings and you don't practice the proper fingerings over and over but just gloss over it, you actually wind up with the improper movements engrained as an engram.

Use a machine and you reinforce improper sequence firing, and when you get out in the real world with that engrained pattern, you are actually far more vulnerable to injury.
 
jpfitness said:
Anyone? Anyone?

Did I kill yet another thread?

*sigh*
Click to expand...

I <3 machines.. :beerchug:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top