Machine vs. Free Weights

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Yahtzee

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I'm a 17 year old beast at 5'5"/125 and have been working out on a weight machine for the last couple of months. I do a chest press, leg press, and lat pull down every other day. I put a lot of weight on and basically go until I literally can't do anymore and want to puke, but the next day I'm not sore at all and I really haven't noticed much progress as of yet. Anywho...this christmas I got a pair of 15 pound dumbells. I've been doing some arm workouts the last couple of days, and have been waking up every day with really sore arms. Does this mean the free weights are working way better than the weight machine?

I've pretty much decided that 15 pounds isn't enough, so I found an adjustable pair, along with the bench, that are selling on Ebay for around $300. I'm pretty new to the whole lifting thing, so I need your advice on whether switching to free weights is worth the trouble.
 
Free weights are better than machines in terms of overall strength. Free weights make you use stabilizer muscles that you couldn't hit using machines. I'd recommend free weights over machines for practical purposes, but machines can be better in some ways for isolation exercises. They are also more convenient in that they are easier to change weights and such on.

But if you want a better overall workout then I would say free weights are the way to go.
 
I get better strength gains with free weights and better tone and looks with machines and cables. If it is within your means I would say use some of each.
 
I'm no expert or anything, but I've read a bit about lifting.

I think everyone here will agree that changing your workout periodically (every 6-8 weeks is what I've read) is necessary in order to avoid plateu and continue making progress. Otherwise your muscles get more efficient at doing the movements you have been doing and muscle development slows down, if it doesn't stop completely.

I think what happened to you is that your muscles adapted to the workout you have been doing in the machine, that is why you don't get sore from it.

Since lifting the dumbells is a new exercise for you, your mucles haven't yet adapted to that movement, that is why you feel sore. I believe after a while you will stop feeling sore from the dumbell workout.

You just need to switch again to a different exercise to get a more effective workout. (After 6-8 weeks of not doing an exercise, your muscle should have "unadapted" to it and you can go back to an old routine).

Hope that helps,
Eraser
 
In general, free weights will help to utilize more muslces - the range of motion is not preset, more balance is involved, etc. Machines have their place too though - space constraints, convenience, isolations.

I would suggest getting more free weights and changing your routine up. Go for a full body routine 2-3 times a week, keeping the resistance heavy enough that you can't do 486 of them, aim for 8-12 reps (I don't mean just stop doing them at 8-12, I mean keep it heavy enough that that's all you can do). Look around, you will find lots of good examples of full body routines, and keep it changing up every several weeks or so.
 
just remember, machines forces you're joints to go through the ROM of the machine, which does not have to be the joints natrual rom, you can injure you're self that way
 
Yahtzee said:
Can you do a full body routine with free weights?
Click to expand...

Absolutely. From your comments seems like you have been working out at home.

I would like to recommend a book, , it has exercises for every muscle and every type of equipment (no equipment, free weights, weight stack machines and cable machines).

Eraser
 
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