Are Free Weights Superior To Machines For Building Muscle Mass?
A seeming agreement exists within the bodybuilding field regarding the advantages offered by free weights compared with machines for muscle gain, to the level where machines have been defined by dedicated bodybuilders as virtually worthless for those who desire maximum muscle building. Furthermore, many of those same bodybuilders believe that gyms outfitted with modern machines are doing so in order to placate the lazy who seek shiny muscle building workout equipment, and who are not interested in grueling, intense, muscle blasting workouts. This idea has been propagated so frequently and by such a wide variety of bodybuilders that there must be validity to such a claim; or, could this rank as another of the many muscle building fallacies?
In reality, free weights are clearly not less effective than machines when used correctly, as they allow a muscle complete range of motion, and require a level of coordination that is not necessary in machine equivalent exercises, therefore free weights will improve the possibility for muscle growth, but to what degree? By listening to mainstream bodybuilding, the advantage free weights offer is so significant that a bodybuilder would need to be considered ignorant to use machines regardless of the circumstances, yet, the muscle building edge free weights provide is actually far less dramatic. In fact, assuming a bodybuilder is using the same weight lifting techniques with free weights and machines, his muscle building will prove to be nearly identical, to the point where even an experienced bodybuilding personal trainer could not determine the disparity in muscle gains between the two techniques. Yet, since the free weight potency misconception has been repeated so often, by such a large number of bodybuilders, the idea is promoted as fact, no different than a wide range of bodybuilding concepts that are, in fact, myth disguised as fact.
Not only are machines a legitimate alternative for those wishing to achieve substantial muscle gain, but machines may in all likelihood prove to be superior in total muscle gain due to a lower risk of injury, and a primary reason why bodybuilders are not able to achieve their muscle building genetic limits is due to joint and muscle tissue pain that derail consistency, fostering frustrating surprise layoffs, which ruins momentum, and eventually causes many to quit the muscle building process completely. Workout consistency ranks as one of the most important concepts in building maximum muscle mass, and free weights present enhanced risk of injury that can be greatly minimized by focusing on machines as an alternative to common free weight muscle building exercises.
In fact, following many years of free weight bench pressing, I felt a prolonged period of discomfort, to the point where I was no longer able to execute the flat bench press with free weights, so I chose to experiment with the alternative. After purchasing a Smith Machine, I started to integrate the bench press into my weight lifting workout, and the shoulder pain I experienced with free weights on a regular basis completely disappeared, to the point where I have since been able to successfully use the Smith Machine for excellent results without the painful weight lifting side effects. My muscle building results did not suffer due to switching from free weights to the Smith Machine, but I was amazingly able to consistently perform one of the most powerful upper body muscle building workout exercises without any further shoulder pain, and this, alone, is sufficient reason to consider machines as a desirable and very effective alternative to free weights.
I feel that many of the bodybuilders who reject the notion of machines for muscle building are perpetuating a "traditional vs. modern" debate, where they feel free weights signify classic bodybuilding, while machines stand for the anthesis of all that muscle building has historically entailed, defining the new era bodybuilder who fears maximum muscle gain effort, but rather focuses on convenience and fluff. This idea is not foreign to other industries, such as automobile enthusiasts believing that any individual driving modern clutchless transmissions is somehow less worthy of owning a high performance car, when this is actually an individual preference, one that allows the driver of a clutchless car to potentially perform far better in other aspects of navigating the vehicle. Free weights are the bodybuilder's clutch, and for far too many, are frowned upon for superficial reasons.
So, if you enter a gym and find yourself surrounded by a wide range of machines, assuming you are using a potent bodybuilding diet and weight lifting workout routine, you can produce the same muscle growth as those who consistently rely on free weights, but with a lower injury risk to hamper your bodybuilding quest.
Francesco Castano authors the www.MuscleNOW.com web site, which is a diet and weight training program teaching the exact techniques for muscle building without supplements or drugs. He also owns the www.IncrediBody.com online fitness superstore, selling protein powder at guaranteed lowest prices.
www.MuscleNOW.com
