{"id":3720,"date":"2013-04-11T07:09:52","date_gmt":"2013-04-11T12:09:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fitzness.com\/blog\/?p=3720"},"modified":"2014-10-29T11:22:58","modified_gmt":"2014-10-29T16:22:58","slug":"machine-vs-free-weights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fitzness.com\/blog\/machine-vs-free-weights\/","title":{"rendered":"Machines vs. Free Weights"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_3884\" style=\"width: 250px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.fitzness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/free-weights-machines.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3884\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3884\" title=\"free weights machines\" src=\"http:\/\/www.fitzness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/free-weights-machines.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-3884\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: TheKillerBiscuit on Flickr.com<\/p><\/div>\n<p>A common question for many exercisers when they hit the gym is whether to use machines or free weights. The answer is not as simple as the question because they both offer pros and cons. What is best for you depends on your level of experience, fitness level, and what you\u2019re looking to get from the workout.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Machine Pros<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Faster Workouts<\/strong>: The ability to change weights with the move of a pin allows for quick workouts.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Fewer injuries<\/strong>: Machines work off of a guided motion, so\u00a0you are less likely to get injured due to inexperience. \u00a0This is great for the less experienced exerciser, because they may not be familiar with the proper range of motion.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Great for rehab<\/strong>: Machines allow you to safely isolate a muscle without risk of over exerting sore or injured areas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Machine Cons<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Pattern overload<\/strong>: While machines do lower the risk of injuries due to poor form, they can cause problems because you are required to use the same repetitive movement.<\/li>\n<li><strong>False sense of strength<\/strong>: Strength on machines doesn\u2019t always translate to everyday life. Machines require you to isolate muscles which does not equate to functional strength.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Fixed motion<\/strong>: This aspect which makes machines safer can also cause injuries. The fixed motion of machines doesn\u2019t account for differences in people\u2019s movement pattern; this may cause you to lift in a way that is unnatural.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Free Weight Pros<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Uses more stabilizer muscles<\/strong>:\u00a0 Unlike machines, free weighs are not on a guided motion. You are required to not only life the weight, but also stabilize it. The result of this is\u00a0greater muscle and strength gains.<\/li>\n<li><strong>More functional<\/strong>: Free weights more closely mimic the strength required to lift objects in your everyday life.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Improves balance<\/strong>: Free weights require you to use more stabilizer muscles which will greatly improve your balance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Free Weight Cons<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Higher risk of injury<\/strong>:\u00a0 Free weights have no guided motion, so it\u2019s very easy to use improper form which greatly increases your risk of injury.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Slower workouts<\/strong>:\u00a0 Having to change weight often can slow your workout down, especially if you are in a gym with limited equipment and you have to wait.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Though both styles have their benefits, \u00a0your best results will come from using free weights.\u00a0 If you\u2019re not sure where to start, try a session with a personal trainer who can teach you how to properly use the equipment.\u00a0 Remember no one starts out as an expert, so don\u2019t be afraid to ask for help!<\/p>\n<p><object width=\"640\" height=\"360\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/nP-U8VJT0QM?version=3&amp;hl=en_US\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed width=\"640\" height=\"360\" type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/nP-U8VJT0QM?version=3&amp;hl=en_US\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" \/><\/object><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A big question for many exercisers when they hit the gym is whether to use machines or free weights. The answer is not as simple as the question, because the both offer pros and cons. What is best for you depends on your level of experience, fitness level, and what you\u2019re looking to get from the workout.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,26],"tags":[1092,1650,1651,2105],"class_list":{"0":"post-3720","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-achieving-ultimate-fitzness","7":"category-workouts","8":"tag-free-weights","9":"tag-machines","10":"tag-machines-vs-free-weights","11":"tag-pros-and-cons-of-free-weights-and-machines"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Machines vs. Free Weights - Fitzness.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fitzness.com\/blog\/machine-vs-free-weights\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Machines vs. Free Weights - Fitzness.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A big question for many exercisers when they hit the gym is whether to use machines or free weights. 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