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Should I Use Free Weights or Machines? Ask a PT

Last week, we looked at the benefits of increasing your rest time between sets, allowing you to make serious strength and size gains. Hopefully, some of you have given this a go, if so, let me know how it turned out.

I personally saw some improvements in my dumbbell bench press performance. I managed a couple of extra reps just by increasing my rest time from 120 to 150 seconds.

Should I Use Free Weights or Machines?

Question: I’m new to the gym and have been using a lot of the resistance machines. But someone told me that I should be using free weights instead as they are better. Which should I use?

Answer: Both free weights and resistance machines should have a place in your program, but as a beginner, it makes sense to prioritise machines for the first few weeks.

Back when I first started personal training, many PTs looked at resistance machines as if they were designed by the Devil himself.

The popular belief was that free weights were superior in every aspect. This is because they recruit slightly more muscle fibers due to a lack of stability.

Free weight exercises also have been found to increase the levels of growth hormones that your body produces afterwards.

PTs decided that this made free-weight exercises superior, and therefore you should always train with free weights.

However, there are many advantages to using resistance machines. They require less coordination. They are safer to use, and they allow you to place more emphasis on a specific muscle.

People who are new to lifting weights tend not to have great coordination when performing exercises. Putting a new gym goer into a squat rack and placing a barbell on their back would be like putting a brand new driver into a Ferrari.

The new gym goer would need to learn all of the cues, they would have to use a very light weight, and they may even feel a little nervous about squatting down.

Not a massive problem if you have a PT by your side, but if you don’t then you may spend a lot of time without achieving anything. Stick a new gym goer into a leg press machine though, and they could get a great leg workout with minimal instruction.

Now, I’m not saying that the leg press is better than the barbell squat. I am just saying it is more accessible for new gym-goers. Studies have found little to no difference in terms of strength gains from free weights or resistance machines [1].

You can use it to build strength, while you also practice your squatting technique. Then, when you are more experienced, you can follow a program that uses both.

It is also important to remember that just going to the gym and doing ANYTHING is 1000x better than staying at home and doing nothing. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad for your exercise choices!

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