Free
weights are better! No machines weights are Better! Comparison/Contrast Essay By Rob McLarnon People have enjoyed working out
for a long time. The going
to the gym and working out trend is gaining popularity every year.
Right now working out is the rage.
Health clubs are getting built and remolded. There is still one question that the average working out Joe
wants an answer for. Which
is better? Free weights or
machine weights? Does it
really matter? When
a person works out with free weights it is necessary for him to have a
spotter (a person to watch him in case he fails to lift the desired weight).
The only time one could work out without a spotter is if he/she
is lifting extremely light/weights.
Even this could be dangerous. No one I know recommends lifting
free weights alone. When
working out with machine weights such as cables or hammer strength equipment
the spotter is nice to have but not necessary.
Machine weights are ideal for those who wish to train alone.
Training alone can also cut one’s workout time in half.
Free
weights use the natural motion a person has on that specific lift. An
example of this is if a person has physical alteration, like one arm is
longer than the other is and he wishes to bench press.
The barbell or dumbbell will adjust with his range of motion.
If that person wished to use a machine, his range of motion would
be limited to his short arm. He
still would be able to use that piece of equipment, but he wouldn’t get
as well a work out if he
would have if he used free weights. Another
downfall of machine exercise or cables exercises is that people come in
a variety of heights and weights.
Some people may have trouble fitting or may not even fit in a piece
of equipment. This will restrict them from getting the maximum effectiveness
of that particular exercise. Free
weight equipment has no limitations for larger people. There is not one exercise that a person of larger size cannot
do. All free weight equipment
is open, while machine equipment is in closed.
Both machines and free weight benches can be adjusted to get the
proper angle one desires. There
are two exercises that can only truly be done using free weights and that
is the parallel squat and power clean.
There are a few weight machines that try to mimic the squat but
there is really no substitute. The
squat is the king of all exercise.
It builds thigh and hip development and strengthens the lower back.
It also strengthens all the tiny stabilizer muscles in the body.
The power clean is a full body exercise that strengthens and builds
all the major muscles in the body like shoulder, back, legs, and arms.
There is a downfall of free weights. One has to pick them up and
return them to the tree (rack) after they are completed in their exercise
routine. Using
free weights, a person will achieve greater mass than he would if he did
the same exercise using machine equipment.
Free weights use the person’s natural range of motion and strengthen
their stabilizer muscles. If
one switches from machine weights to free weights they will notice that
they will shake a lot. Once that person becomes adjusted to the feel of free weights
his stabilizer muscles will get stronger and he/she won’t shake as much
if at all.
An advantage of machine weight exercise is that they
give the ability to tone and allow a person to become more defined the
muscles faster than free weights.
Machine weights are nicer to use when one wants to use lightweight
and high repetitions. However,
free weights build mass faster than machine exercise.
One can only get so large using machine weights because there is
a maximum amount of weight that can be lifted.
For instance most machine exercises can only go up roughly two
hundred pounds where free weights can go to whatever the lifter can handle.
If a person can lift five hundred pounds than there is no machine
exercise that he could do.
Within the last couple of years there has been an explosion
of new machine equipment to hit the market. One of the top brand names is the Hammer strength.
It is a machine that standard free weights fit on.
Even though it uses free weights it is not a free weight exercise.
It is a machine-controlled exercise.
Machine exercises have many advantages that free weights don’t.
For example, while using a particular machine the weight is controlled
and smooth both going up and going down.
Using free weights it depends on how experienced the athlete is
in order to achieve a smooth and controlled lift.
Many females and beginners prefer machines rather than free weights
for that reason.
Machines also have built in stoppers and where free
weights don’t. An example
of this is say Johnny decides to bench press.
He chooses a free weight bench.
He starts lifting and can’t get the weight up.
His spotter is standing there not paying any attention because
he is talking to the cute girl in spandex.
All of a sudden the bar slams him on his chest and he stops breathing.
Freddie looks at Johnny and decides to use the machine bench press
instead. Freddie is lying there and pumping out reps when all of a sudden
he can’t get another one. The
weight comes crashing down. Lucky
for him the built in stoppers stop the weight from ever making contact
with his torso. Because the
machine weights have stoppers females, beginners, and people rehabilitating
an injury prefer them. Cables are another type of machine
that mimics dumbbells. They
are actually better for the body than dumbbells.
Many people hurt their shoulders doing dumbbell flies.
One can achieve the same benefits as the dumbbell fly using the
cable machine to do cable crossovers.
Cable crossovers are easier on your body because injury of the
shoulder can be avoided if a person keeps the cables in front of them
or simply just lets go. There
is no fear of a dumbbell smashing your foot.
Another free weight exercise that can cause injury
is the behind the neck military press.
Doing this exercise the rotator cuff is at risk of being injured.
Using the military press machine or the behind the neck press on
the hammer strength greatly reduces the risk of injuring the rotator cuff.
The machines protect one from injury by not actually letting the
bar go behind the neck. The
bar actually goes down to shoulder level slightly behind one’s head the
stoppers stop the weight from going any farther than that.
This exercise is safer and just as affective.
Another example of how machines are better than free
weights is that there are a few more exercises that one cannot do using
free weights. One exercise
is the hip sled. It was developed
by the Hammer Strength Company and is a whole body workout.
Another exercise that can’t be performed by free weights is the
leg press. The free weight
version of this exercise is the dead lift.
The dead lift puts a lot of stress on one’s lower back.
That puts the risk of slipping a disk or blowing out a knee.
The leg press actually works the legs better than the dead lift
and since it is a machine it is a smooth controlled lift.
So which type of lifting is better, free weights or
machines? Both are. There are certain exercises that are more effective
by using free weights rather than machines.
There are also certain machine exercises that are just as good
as free weights and are a lot safer.
The best way to get in shape and stay in shape is to find the happy
medium of utilizing both machine and free weight.
If one desires to build their body up they should primarily use
free weights for their core lifts (bench, squat, power clean, incline
bench, and dead lift). If
one desires definition and tone they should stick to the machine weights.
All in all, I found that using both free weights and machines I
can achieve my personal goals.
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