There are many benefits and drawbacks to using either machines or free weights for strength training, and your unique set of circumstances will determine which is better for you. Strength training machines are pieces of resistance equipment that use cables and weight stacks you push or pull, most often from a seated position. They are usually designed to train just one muscle group; examples are the bicep curl machine and the chest press machine. Free weights, such as dumbbells, are used in numerous exercises. Users may stand, may sit or lie on a bench or may work from an exercise ball.
Ease of Use
Machines are easier to use than free weights because many come with illustrations and directions to guide the exerciser. Because they work the muscles in a fixed plane of motion, learning correct form is easier. Dumbbells don't come with instructions. Using them properly requires time, skill and education on correct technique and form.
Proper Fit
As adjustable as the latest state-of-the-art machines have become, they still cannot be designed to fit every body type, from the 100-lb., 5-foot 2-inch female to the 250-lb., 6-foot 4-inch male. Furthermore, certain muscular weaknesses or afflictions can result in a machine's working the joints, rather than the muscles, which can lead to injury. For someone with weak wrists or tendinitis in the elbow, for example, a biceps curl machine can exacerbate the condition. On the other hand, a 10-lb. dumbbell fits everyone the same, and the grip can be adjusted to accommodate the wrists and elbows.
Safety
Because machines work in a predetermined path, they protect the muscles from moving into risky directions and angles, making them safer especially for those new to strength training. Free weights are also safe, but exercisers must know what they're doing and use the weights correctly to avoid risk of injury.
Functionality
The versatility of free weights allows exercisers to challenge the body in different planes of motion, so they can replicate movement patterns used in specific sports, as well as movements performed in daily activities. Machines don't permit this freedom of movement and so are not as functional as free weights.
Muscle Isolation
Machines can isolate each muscle group so the user can train the individual group and focus on that alone, which is helpful during rehabilitation of an injury. In real life, however, muscles are rarely used in isolation, so exercising on a machine is not as functional as exercises that involve compound muscle groups, particularly the core.
Muscle Fiber Recruitment
Because lifting a free weight requires more control, it stimulates more muscle fibers, making time spent in the gym more effective. In addition to the targeted muscle group, stabilizing muscles are also involved in the effort to create and support the range of motion using free weights. Stabilizing muscles are often neglected with the use of machines.
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