The equipment in Fortis Fitness gyms can be a little intimidating because they are set up more like a professional athletic training facility than a typical gym. There are tons of metal plates, racks, platforms, chains, a reverse hyper and other assorted strength equipment. We even had dumbbells that went up to 240 pounds, but we scaled those back a little. Questions we often get from new members who are coming from one of the bigger fitness industry gyms include: “Hey…where is the preacher’s curl? Where are the Smith machine and the leg extension? Where are all the muscle-isolating fitness machines? Why do you have all this free weight stuff, but none of those machines?
These questions are always met with a confident and qualified reply:
Why Muscle-Isolating Gym Machines Are Inferior To Free Weights
The Importance of Natural Neuromuscular Patterns
The nervous system controls the muscles, and the relationship between the two is referred to as neuromuscular. Common neuromuscular patterns in humans have developed naturally over millions of years and are invariably free movements in three-dimensional space. They include squatting, pushing, pulling, stepping, etc. We use these movements every day in sports, work, and life in general. When we use isolating gym machines, we neglect these normal human biomechanical movements and their improved function.
The Problem with Machine-Guided Movements in Exercise
Machines force the body to move in a predetermined pattern according to the design of the machine. This can cause unnatural movement modifications leading to injury. Alternatively, free weights allow weight to be moved in exactly the way the body was designed to move it. Thus, free weights allow the free expression of every person’s unique movement pattern based on their individual height, limb length, speed, flexibility, and neuromuscular ability among other unique physical characteristics.
Lack of Balance, Control, and Coordination
Machines contribute little if anything to one’s ability to balance, control, synchronize, or coordinate movements, especially under a load. Free weight movements contribute enormously to the development of all these abilities.
Machine Training and Motor Efficiency
Machines will not train and develop the correct motor efficiency or motor ability that occurs in an unencumbered movement in free space, such as in a particular sporting movement. This is especially true in attempting to correctly imitate such a movement according to the principle of “specificity.” Here, isolating gym machines fail miserably and will actually disrupt correct sporting movements causing a marked decrease in performance. Conversely, free weight exercises allow for optimum specificity and improvement of such a movement.
Proprioception and Kinesthetic Sense
Proprioception is defined as: “The unconscious perception of movement and spatial orientation arising from stimuli within the body itself. The stimuli are detected by nerves located in the inner ear, joints, tendons, and elsewhere in the body.” Since machines usually stabilize major regions of the body and limit the number of joints which move, they diminish one’s ability to move freely in three-dimensional space, and thereby “shut out” or “turn off” naturally occurring proprioception.
Kinaesthetic sense is defined as: “the sensory awareness of where the body and its components are in space and time” (Siff). Kinaesthetic sense is enabled via proprioception. Using machines can disable proprioception and, as a result, kinaesthetic sense is neither engaged nor improved.
Joint Stress and Injury Risks of Exercise Machine Use
Using machines, joints can be over-stressed in unnatural ways. Whereas with free weight movements, joints are strengthened properly using biomechanically correct movements according to the SAID principle (specific adaptation to imposed demands).
Many machines do not allow for a “preload” of the weight, which will naturally protect a joint by preventing the sudden “jerking” of the load. Conversely, a pre-load will automatically occur when one simply picks up a free weight just prior to starting an exercise movement.
When a machine prevents any joint from moving as it naturally would, there will be increased stress on adjacent joints. For example, the seated leg extension machine tends to immobilize the hip joint so that an unnatural and high degree of stress falls on the knee joint.
Issues with Peak Contraction and Resistance Matching
Most machines operate on the “peak contraction theory,” meaning that you start the movement with a maximum effort even though you are in the weakest mechanical position (e.g., pec machine, seated bench press, shoulder press machine). This can be dangerous and cause injury.
Machines do not adequately “match” the relationship between resistance and acceleration in the changing range of any movement. That is, when a person speeds up or slows down a movement as the weight feels lighter or heavier depending on its range in the movement. Free weights, on the other hand, will always allow the perfect, unfettered increase or decrease in the speed with which one moves a weight based on an individual’s unique strength, joint angle, and position.
The Fallacy of Muscle Isolation Machines
Ironically, muscle isolation is a fallacy since, when full efforts are put forward even when using isolating machines, other smaller muscles including neutralizers, stabilizers, and assistance muscles are automatically contracted isometrically because that is how our neuromuscular systems work to augment any full muscular effort. Yet, with machines, these indirect muscles are still not even contributing to balance or stability.
Hormonal Response and Metabolic Rate
Isolating gym machine exercises will not deliver a hormonal response to the same degree as compound free weight movements.
Isolating gym machine exercises will not provide the same degree of increase in resting metabolic rate that free weight exercises will deliver. Higher increases in resting metabolic rates provide dramatic increases in fat loss.
Increased Stress on the Lower Back
Seated resistance machines can create stresses and pressure on the discs of the lower back that can be up to 90% greater than equivalent free weight standing exercises. This is because when standing, one is able to absorb the shock of the load with the knee, hip, and ankle joints. These dangers are exacerbated when an individual begins and ends the movement in a “jerky” manner by starting machine movements in the weakest position and with no “preload” of the weight.
Machine Training Weakens Connective Tissues
By strengthening the muscles ONLY in the unusual patterns dictated by isolating fitness machines, the bones, joints, and connective tissue are ignored. This lack of engagement will cause them to become weak. Subsequently, when one is put into a position where the correct biomechanical movement is required, injury to these “weak links” is far more likely. Ignoring the development of balance and coordination by using these isolating machines can easily cause injury for the same reason.
The Efficiency of Free Weight Movements
Isolating machines are exceedingly inefficient compared to free weight, multi-joint compound movements. For example, the number of machines required to rival the effects of the following free weight movements are as follows:
- Squat = 4 machines
- Dead-lift = 5 machines
- Clean & push press = 12 machines
The Proof Is in the Performance
The top athletes in the world use predominantly functional free weight exercises over non-functional isolating resistance machines because they are proven to work better to improve performance in their respective sports.
Correctly performed, full range of motion, free weight exercises are essentially the functional expression of human skeletal and muscular anatomy under a load (Rippetoe). That’s why.
If this post makes sense, feel free to check out our diet plan. It’s called the eco-diet, and it’s based on the natural, healthy eating habits our ancestors followed for centuries. There are no excuses now.
Sean is an NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association) Certified Personal Trainer (CPT). He is also an NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS). Sean has the unique distinction of achieving a Westside Barbell certification from elite athletic strength trainer and Westside founder, Louie Simmons.
Sean is a 3-time Ontario Provincial Boxing Championships competitor and has held over a dozen national and world raw, masters power-lifting records. Sean’s main areas of interest include advanced strength training and anthropology & diet. Specifically, his area of practical study has been successfully following an evolutionary diet in contemporary society.