MAD MACHINERY

Learn what does and doesn’t work in the vast universe of strength-training machines.

Share this article:

With my background I’ve seen pretty much everything in gym marketing. A very effective gimmick to enlist new members consists of showcasing state-of-the-art strength machines that promise to shorten your workout time, avoid injuries and make the overall experience easier than dealing with all the clunky, dull metal of your classic dumbbells and barbells. 

Granted, strength machines are easier to use, perhaps are safer than free weights, and some say do a good job targeting a muscle group, particularly in single-joint exercises. And they are particularly useful in rehabilitation settings. I’ll concede they do have a place in your workout, because they may allow you to perform exercises in a plane of motion that can’t be easily emulated with free weights, providing much-needed variety. However, in the mad race to develop more types of equipment, manufacturers have reached a point where some machines are not as effective as free weights because they reduce the stabilizing requirements of lifting. 

In our everyday lives, we must exert force by recruiting the prime movers, but we also need to engage the stabilizers and neutralizers. Free weights require us to engage the stabilizers and neutralizers to a greater degree, resulting in applicable results to everyday life. Also, machines often fail to adequately accommodate for differences in physical size, making them uncomfortable, if not downright ineffective for some. 

While free weights may require greater coordination and skill, forcing you to become fully familiar with specific exercises to get results, they nevertheless allow for a better range of motion, since they accommodate specific anatomical needs. Free weights can also increase caloric expenditure by requiring you to use more muscles to properly perform each exercise.

For many people a combination of machines and free weights makes sense. But for every machine you don’t want to miss, such as the lat pull-down, there are plenty more that you can easily skip in favor of free weights. Here’s an eye-opening breakdown that will help you achieve a more effective workout.

Hip abduction/ Hip adduction
Once you sit down in this machine, you relax the hip and trunk flexors and extensors. The primary objective of the exercise is to work the inner/outer thighs. 

That part is fine, but with this machine you will not work as many thigh muscles as when you perform the exercise with free weights, which require the hip extensors and hip flexors to contract to stabilize the hip joint. In addition, using free weights engages the trunk muscles. On the other hand, many machines provide a range of movement that may be uncomfortable or hard to reach for people with flexibility issues. 

Substitute with: Sumo deadlift. You’ll target not just the adductor muscles, but also the glutes, lower back and quadriceps. Or the cable leg raise will let you work the abductor muscles through a greater range of motion.

What are the other machines you should substitute with free weights? Find out in the January/February 2010 issue of SOBeFiT Magazine.