When it comes to strength training, it can be difficult to know which styles of lifting and types of equipment will be the most effective in accomplishing your goals. The differences between strength machines and free weights frequently serve as a source of confusion, and if you are looking to get the most benefit out of your workouts, it is important that you understand the unique benefits and drawbacks of each method.
History
Ancient civilizations used various devices to increase their strength. Dumbbells originated in the 1700s, according to the PYC Fitness website, when a rod was placed between two church bells. When a clapper was removed from the bells, they became silent, or dumb, hence the word dumbbell. In the 1900s, weightlifting progressed swiftly with the advent of the plate-loaded barbell, which could be adjusted to add or reduce the weight. As coaches began to see how athletes would gain a competitive advantage by increasing their strength, strength training became even more popular. In the 1970s, Nautilus began to manufacture the first variable resistance strength training machines, according to PYC Fitness. Since that time, there have been scores of fitness equipment modifications and inventions, culminating in hundreds of fitness equipment companies producing equipment of all types.
Function
Strength training and the development of muscles centers around overloading the muscle tissue. When you contract a muscle group against added resistance to the point of failure, you actually create small micro-tears in the muscle tissue, due to the strain placed on it. By adding protein to the area, you rebuild muscle tissue, increasing the ability of the muscle to overcome greater amounts of resistance, resulting in greater strength over time. Over time, the overload placed on the muscles is increased incrementally, and so the muscles continue to develop. Both strength machines and free weights effectively overload the muscle tissue, allowing you to increase your strength and improve muscular endurance.
Strength Machine Advantages
Both machines and free weights come with distinct advantages as well as disadvantages, according to Rice University. Strength machines are designed to alter the resistance throughout the movement, using special engineering modifications. As you lift a weight through a range of motion, due to the leverage advantages at certain angles, you often find that it is easier to lift a particular amount of weight at a certain joint angle versus a slightly different angle. These machines increase the resistance at the point where your mechanical advantage, due to leverage, would be improved.
Strength machines also tend to be more convenient and safe for most people. Because you can quickly jump on a machine, choose a weight simply by moving a selector and begin lifting, many people find them to be a simpler way to workout. Because the weights are restricted to a weight stack that is not in a position to land on the user, they are also safer to use, not necessarily requiring you to have a spotter with you while you work out.
Free Weight Advantages
When you use machines, the path of movement is restricted to a path that the machine allows. On the other hand, free weights have no such limitations and thus incorporate the stabilizing muscles that enable you to perform the movements you choose to make, according to the American Council on Exercise. Free weights may be more effective in producing overall muscular strength and power gains by involving more muscle groups per movement.
Most functional movements you make in life are not restricted to a set path when you are lifting weight. When you lift free weights, the way you move is also not restricted to any set path, and this means that free weight exercises tend to be more applicable to your daily living activities.
Considerations
A key to staying active is enjoying a variety of workout styles and constantly challenging your body in new ways. For these reasons, you are more likely to reach your personal goals by using a combination of machines and free weights. For exercises in which you wish to challenge yourself with heavy weight, but you do not have a person to assist you, choose a machine for safety purposes. When you are looking to perform exercises that more accurately simulate sport-specific movements, try incorporating free-weight exercises into your program. Regardless of what type of weight lifting you do, always make sure your form is appropriate, you keep the weight moving smoothly and with control in both directions, and use a spotter whenever possible.
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