CARING FOR ATHLETES
Free Weights Versus Exercise Machines
You have probably asked yourself which is the best, exercising with free weights or exercising with machines? Due to the recent growth in popularity of the fitness industry, scientists and entrepreneurs have attempted to develop the perfect exercise machine. Some machines include scientific principles while other machines have been devised upon hallucinations of dreamers. All machines have outlandish claims of their effectiveness and efficiency. Needless to say, all machines are expensive.
Frequently marketing schemes are developed to make an expensive machine appear to perform miraculous wonders. Then, we visualize our bodies to achieve a similar shape and function of the models depicted in the manipulative and misleading advertisements. It is my attempt in this article to clear some misconceptions regarding exercise machines versus the utilization of traditional dumbbells and barbells (free weights).
The athlete must have a basic understanding of exercise physiology. Scientifically speaking there are a few basic principles that we must keep fresh in our mind regarding the development of muscle tone, strength, and muscle mass. First and foremost, remember that a muscle must be forced to perform against resistance that is greater than what it is usually accustomed. With time, muscle tone, strength, and mass increase and additional gains are possible only if the effort and resistance are also increased.
When lifting weights the weights should be lifted through a joint’s full range of motion. If you have selected a weight that is so heavy that you can only partially move the weight, you are not going to obtain an ideal result. Free weights allow you to easily adapt the amount of weight you desire to use and thus ascertain compliance with the full range of motion criterion. Exercise machines are designed with the full range of motion concept in mind also. However, it is not uncommon that due to different body shapes and body structure and even after adjusting the exercise equipment, you may not be able to exercise throughout your full personal range of motion. In addition, machines are structured so that you may move only in a predetermined direction that will effect only larger and major bodily muscle groups, serious bodybuilders in particular will attempt movements that are not easily reproduced on an exercise machine. Highly specific exercise motions necessitate the use of free weights.
Another important concept of exercise physiology includes the fact that a muscle can lift different amounts of weight at different points throughout the range of motion. Thus, when lifting a free weight that you intend to lift through a full range of motion, you must select a weight that is light enough that you can handle at the weakest point of your range of motion. Unfortunately, there is a part of your range of motion that you could tolerate greater amounts of resistance but you had to utilize a lighter weight that was tolerable for the areas of range of motion where you were weakest. Due to this free weight shortfall, exercise machines have been developed whereby to provide you with 100% resistance throughout your full range of motion. Via the utilization of a cam (instead of a round pulley), certain exercise machines can vary the resistance throughout your range of motion. Thus, in theory one may speculate that utilizing a machine that will give your muscles 100% of their maximal resistance throughout a full range of motion will result in a more time-efficient and effective workout.
When considering to purchase a home exercise machine that utilizes a rubberband for resistance (instead of weights), it is important to understand the fact the fact that a muscle can handle greater resistance when it is slightly stretched beyond its resting length. When you begin an exercise such as a bench press maneuver, you can handle more resistance at the beginning of the bench press maneuver where the muscle is slightly stretched than at the very end of the bench press where the muscle is fully contracted and shortened. With this in mind, the machines that utilize rubberband-type resistance are not physiologically based. A rubberband’s resistance is increased as a rubberband is stretched and thus provides the exerciser with greatest resistance when the muscles are in their weakest (most contracted and shortened) state. Because of this engineering faux pais, I do not recommend exercise machines that utilize rubberbands for resistance.
Safety is an important variable to consider when you first undertake exercising. Exercise machines do not require a “safety spotter” and machines are designed to control the direction of the weight movement. Thus, there is less likelihood of losing control of the weight and causing injury. Given that free weights require a “safety spotter” and knowledge; of the movement pattern, I recommend exercise machines as an excellent introduction to fitness.
Which form of exercise, machines versus free weights, produces greater strength gains? Some research studies suggest that free weight exercisers make significantly greater gains in power and strength when compared to exercise machines. In addition free weights will assist the experienced weightlifter by requiring other bodily systems to participate. Neurological factors such as joint proprioception (knowing where your joint is positioned relative to space) and motor control are thought to be enhanced by free weight training. Likewise, most weightlifters desire to have use for their newly acquired strength in real-life situations. With this in mind, the resistance that we usually encounter in life is frequently more similar to free weight resistance than machine weight resistance. Thus, one can consider a more applicable transfer of training.
In summary, both free weights and machines are effective in increasing strength and muscle mass if the muscles are continuously and progressively overloaded with resistance while working throughout a joint’s full range of motion. Beginners may find the efficiency and safety of exercise machines to be a perfect introduction to fitness. Serious bodybuilders and high-level athletes usually progress to free weights as their understanding of exercise physiology and proper body mechanics increase.