The Muscle Couple with some commentary about Free Weights vs Machines.

Is training with one better than the other?

In our opinion, both provide exceptional value to a hard training athlete.  Working your body from a multitude of angles and techniques is always best.

In previous articles we’ve stated the single best workout is the one your currently not doing.  It stands to reason, attacking your muscles with a combination of free weight and machine exercises is better for variation purposes.

Let’s look at the advantages of each to properly analyze and identify their respective place.

FREE WEIGHTS

• Great in developing the neural strength and coordination necessary to improve endurance and muscular size
• Due to the coordination necessary to execute the movements, they recruit more muscles as a unit
• Allow for greatest ROM(Range of Motion) and most adaptable to different body sizes and limb lengths
• Cost efficient in that one adjustable pair of Dumbells or Barbells can train the whole body effectively

MACHINES

• very safe for beginners and elderly trainees alike
• Allow for isolating a specific muscle and blasting it
• great for injured or rehabilitating athletes who can control the motion when executing the movement

The Muscle Couple bottom line:

You should incorporate both Free Weights and Machines in any scientific and goal driven training program.

A great video library for both Free Weight and Machine Exercises can be found here on Gym Technik’s website.

We would also encourage you to continually check out our Exercise Videos section for regularly updated videos of different exercises and techniques.

MIHWCS