WHICH IS BETTER FREE WEIGHTS OR MACHINES?

Often people sit in two camps when it comes to strength training, using either free weights or machines Below is the difference between both:

The main difference between machines and free weight exercises is where you get your stability from. Stability is our bodies ability to resist force. Whereas strength is our bodies ability to produce force.

For example, stability in a free weight squat is important as we need to coordinate multiple muscle groups to maintain our balance.

Other examples would include the deadlift, bench press or tricep dip. These movements require skills which takes time to learn & develop.

Free weight exercises generate a high amount of internal stability, which help better prepare someone for the loads they encounter in life. This is different to when we are on a machine that’s providing the stability for you.

While a squat (free weight) and leg press (machine) are similar movements, in the leg press we now have a back & bum pad providing additional support meaning we can increase the weight used.

Other examples of machine exercises include seated chest press, leg extension and hamstring curl.

Just because an exercise has additional support, does not mean that they are inferior. Machine exercises focus less on the skill component and more on the output of the muscles you are training.

To summarise, free weight exercises require more internal stability, whereas machine exercises are highly externally stabilised. 

When starting your strength training journey, consider putting free weight exercises first before machines in your workouts. By doing so you can focus on building skill in free weight exercises before driving output with machine exercises. 

Instead of training one or the other, a combination of both with give you a well-balanced workout as both will help you build strength, muscle and technique.