Quantifying The Degree of Difference Between Free Weights And Machines

[kickpushcoast]

i was going to put in a long detailed reply, but its not worth it. free weights win under almost any conditions and stipulations

[Shadowrun]

Srs question did you get banned from NVG or something?

[thirddan]

the only time i can see machines being more useful is under special circumstances such as a competitive bodybuilder needing to isolate a specific muscle in order to maintain balance/symmetry or a very tall person seeing more quad hypertrophy through leg pressing rather than squatting...but i think that the average person gets more out of having a natural range of motion and development of stabilizing muscles than the smaller benefit of a constant range load...

[XXXNoahXXX]

I lifted for three years exclusively using free weights and had developed a few routines that I really liked and got great results from. Then I hurt my lower back, didn't work out for months, and when I got back to it, I couldn't do free weights any more. I switched to do machines only and was prepared for much diminished results, but i was actually very impressed. now i involve both in my workout and I think that is optimal (especially since im still worried about my back).

Not sure what this adds, but just wanted to say that if you use machines right and don't just go through the motions you can still get a very intense workout with great results.

[cbloom]

Some of the free-weight zeal is over the top.

It depends how you measure results. If the measure is some functional strength move, such as how much weight can you squat, I think the freeweight trainer will win even at 2/3 the workouts. On the other hand if the measure is just amount of lean body mass gained, the machine guy will probably win, because giving up 1/3 of your training (whatever that means) is too much to overcome.

BTW if you set it up another way :

Machine guy takes X time to do his workouts. Freeweight guy can do whatever workouts he wants but only gets 2/3 X time to do workouts - then freeweight guy will easily win. (but this is also counting stretching and warmups as not part of workout time)

[Wynton]

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Machine guy takes X time to do his workouts. Freeweight guy can do whatever workouts he wants but only gets 2/3 X time to do workouts - then freeweight guy will easily win. (but this is also counting stretching and warmups as not part of workout time)

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You're saying that free weights take more time than machines? I've been getting ready to transition to free weights, but time is a consideration for me.

[cbloom]

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Machine guy takes X time to do his workouts. Freeweight guy can do whatever workouts he wants but only gets 2/3 X time to do workouts - then freeweight guy will easily win. (but this is also counting stretching and warmups as not part of workout time)

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You're saying that free weights take more time than machines? I've been getting ready to transition to free weights, but time is a consideration for me.

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No, I'm saying you can get a harder workout in less time. eg. this whole reduce by 1/3 thing is pretty hard to specify, but if it's a time limit or limit on # of reps then freeweight guy can win because you can get a harder full body workout faster using compound freeweight moves.