Are Free Weights Superior To Machines For Muscle Gains?

An apparent agreement exists among bodybuilding aficionados regarding the superiority of free weights compared with machines for muscle building, to the level where machines have been stereotyped by dedicated bodybuilders as essentially ineffective for those seeking maximum muscle gain. Furthermore, those same bodybuilders will claim that gyms outfitted with modern machines are doing so in order to cater to the lazy who seek nice, shiny, attractive muscle building workout equipment, and who fear grueling, muscle building workouts. This idea has been repeated so frequently and by such a wide variety of bodybuilders that there must be validity to such a claim; or, could this actually prove to be another of the many muscle building misconceptions?

In reality, free weights are clearly not less effective than machines when used correctly, as they allow a muscle to travel in a complete range of motion, and require a level of balance that is not inherent in machine equivalent exercises, therefore free weights will improve the possibility for muscle gain, but to what degree? By listening to mainstream bodybuilding, the advantage free weights provide is so substantial that a bodybuilder would be foolish to use machines under any circumstances, yet, the muscle building advantages free weights provide is actually far less dramatic. In fact, assuming a bodybuilder is using the same weight training techniques with free weights and machines, his muscle building will prove to be virtually identical, to the point where even an experienced bodybuilding personal trainer cannot see the disparity in muscle size between the two methods. Yet, since the free weight potency misconception has been repeated so often, by such a large number of bodybuilders, the idea is propagated as fact, no different than a many other bodybuilding ideas that are, in fact, myth disguised as wisdom.

Not only are machines a legitimate option for those wishing to achieve significant muscle gain, but machines may in all likelihood prove to be superior in total muscle gain due to a smaller risk of injury, and a common reason why bodybuilders are not able to achieve their muscle building genetic potential is due to joint, tendon, and common muscle tissue injuries that interferes with consistency, fostering frustrating surprise layoffs, which destroys momentum, and soon causes many to quit the muscle building pursuit 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 minimized by focusing on machines as an alternative to traditional free weight muscle building exercises.

In fact, following many years of free weight bench pressing, I reached a point where my shoulder was experiencing a prolonged period of discomfort, to the point where I was no longer able to perform flat bench press with free weights, so I chose to experiment with an alternative. After purchasing my first Smith Machine, I started to once again perform the bench press, and the 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 impressive results without the painful weight training side effects. My muscle building results did not suffer due to the switch from free weights to the Smith Machine, but I was surprisingly able to continuously perform one of the most effective upper body muscle building workout exercises without any shoulder pain, and this, alone, is enough reason to classify machines as a desirable and very effective alternative to free weights.

I believe that many of the bodybuilders who are negative towards the notion of machines for muscle building are caught in a "traditional vs. modern" debate, where they feel free weights signify classic bodybuilding, while machines stand for the opposite of all that muscle building has historically entailed, defining the new era bodybuilder who is unwilling to exert maximum muscle gain effort, but rather is only interested in convenience. This idea is not foreign to other industries, such as those who enjoy automobiles believing that any individual preferring modern clutchless transmissions is somehow less worthy of owning a sports car, when in fact this is an individual preference, and one that allows the driver of a clutchless automobile to potentially perform far better in other aspects of navigating the vehicle. Free weights are the bodybuilder's clutch, so to speak, and for many, are rejected for superficial reasons.

So, if you visit 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 gains as those who stubbornly rely on free weights, but with less injuries to interfere with your bodybuilding quest.

Francesco Castano authors MuscleNOW.com, a diet and weight lifting program teaching the exact techniques for building muscle mass without supplements or drugs. He also owns IncrediBody.com, an online fitness superstore selling weight lifting equipment at guaranteed lowest prices.