Machines vs. Free Weights

Every so often I get a father who says to me “ I just bought a Bowflex for my son to help him get in shape” or “ We just joined a gym so my son can start using the weight machines since they are much safer than free weights”.

I cringe when I hear comments like this.

Don’t get me wrong…machines are great to help build muscle if you are a 40 year old sedentary office worker or a 65 year old retired man or for that matter even a 23 year old bodybuilder.

They are not ok if you are an athlete who wants to reach his or her full potential.

Let me explain…

An athlete must use many muscles at the same time to compete in their sport, any sport. For example, running forces you to use your core, your upper body and lower body all at the same time to run properly. These movements must be coordinated and the strength and power needed for these movements must be utilized in proper sequence with the correct firing of specific muscle fibers throughout the body with each movement.

With this in mind then, it should make sense that sitting on a seat while pushing against resistance with your legs does not really provide the best resistance for an athlete. In this scenario the user does not have to balance anything, the core is not being worked and there is nothing here that even closely resembles an athletic move that you might see on the ice, court or field. (how often do you see an athlete lying on his/her back pushing up with his/her legs)?

Now as an athlete a better exercise might where a user would have to stand in an upright position (similar to what you might see while an athlete participates in a sport i.e. an athletic stance) with movements that simulate an athletic movement with resistance. A lunge comes to mind or a single leg squat comes to mind as well. These are both great exercises for an athlete. They will work the same muscles that you are working in the exercise I described above and yet now you are mimicking an athletic move, you are working stability muscles including the core, you are now having to balance while performing the exercise and you are teaching the muscles to move and fire in a specific sequence that will help you when you get on the ice, court or field.

There are several other advantages of using free weights as compared to using machines.

Free weight exercises more closely mimic what happens in your sport. They force you to work on balance and force you to use more muscles that the actual muscles that you are working. This will allow you to build more muscle with less time in the weight room and will also be more likely to help you decrease your risk of injury due to the fact your stability muscles are better developed.

Below please find a list of machine exercises listed with their free weight counterpart that is much more beneficial for any athlete.

Machine                             Free Weight

Leg Press                           Barbell Back Squat

Leg Curl                            Straight Legged Deads or Lunges

Pec-Dec                             Lying Dumbbell Press on a Stability Ball

Lat Pull Down                   Wide Grip Chins

Seated Shoulder Press       Standing overhead dumbbell press

Next time you hit the weight room, ask yourself. “Is this an exercise that is good for me as an athlete?” If the answer is no then it is time to find a new exercise.

For some great examples of power and strength building athletic development exercises you can perform in the weight room including pictures and video clips of these exercises please visit our website at www.betterhockey.com