Free weights vs plate loaded resistance machines

Free weights have always been my favourite and I have stuck to using them for years however both have their pros and cons and should be used in conjunction with one another.

Free weights like the name suggests are free, you need to control them they are not fixed on one dimension of movement so when doing a shoulder press for example the weight can not only go up and down like on a shoulder press machine but can go left and right up and down, backwards and forwards. Due to free weights being so free we have to use many small muscles to support them across their plane of movement and it is this what creates a muscular strength and shape you can’t develop from plate loaded resistance machines. The other reason I personally prefer free weights is I like the clunky sound they make between reps when being lifted on and off the floor this is the noise I can remember when looking at gyms as a child but not being allowed in as I was too small. I remember hearing the owner of muscle beach in Venice beach California say he never purchased rubber weights for muscle beach as he loved the sound of metal weights and that is what bodybuilding was about for him.

The main benefit of plate loaded resistance machines is how they isolate muscles. When we lift weights one of the most important things is to isolate the muscle. If we are doing a bicep curl for example we want to do it with perfect technique so we isolate the bicep properly working it to full capacity. If we cheat and swing our body to raise the weight you will end up working other muscles such as the shoulders, which we are not trying to focus on. Machines isolate the muscles holding our arms or legs in a particular position and direction that isolates the muscle that machine is intended to work. Machines are also a lot easier and time effective to use over free weights. With machines there is no need to load heavy plates on and off a bar just a slip of the pin from one plate to the next makes a change in weight and now modern machines by the touch of a digital button increase and decrease the weight load.

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