Throughout the years I have come to notice a heavy reliance on resistance machines by the general population as well as personal trainers working with “new exercisers.” The logic behind this is that free weights require a certain level of coordination and skill to perform. Therefore, it is easier for people who are new to resistance training to jump on a machine and learn the movement than it is to learn a free weight exercise. The idea is to move them through a progression of machine movements (bilateral to unilateral) to free weight/bodyweight movements. But is this approach optimal or even necessary? I don’t believe so. In fact, I recommend the exact opposite.
To start, consider movements of daily life (walking, lifting objects, sitting, etc.). Except in special situations, how many movements occur with the assistance that a machine provides? None. So why would you begin training on machines and progress to free weights when all of your normal daily movements occur unrestricted by machines? Doesn’t make much sense to me. While machines are ok for focusing on specific muscle groups, they fail to activate the very important stabilizer muscles. The result? Muscle imbalances. You begin by strengthening the already stronger muscles and fail to activate the weaker, supporting muscles. Not exactly a great way to start off, right? I already can hear people saying, “free weight exercises are too complicated and technique sensitive for a beginner.” Yet, these exercises are similar to the movements they perform on a daily basis. At the very least we can teach them how to perform them properly.
Also, when resistance training, you are not just training the muscles, you are training movements. Over time you develop motor recruitment patterns specific to the type of movements you have been performing. Recall that free weight & bodyweight movements (and common movements of everyday living) require stabilization of the load being lifted. Machines do not require this stabilization and therefore alter the motor recruitment pattern. In essence, the nervous system is “dumbed-down.” This is important to understand because resulting poor motor recruitment patterns can lead to injury and dysfunction.
Another concern with overuse of machines is pattern overload. When performing exercises on a machine you are limited in your freedom of movement. It basically locks you into a specific pattern of movement. Over time this can be injurious to the soft tissues due to repetitive stress. While this can happen with any form of movement that is repeated over time, it is far less likely to occur with free weight exercises due to the freedom of movement allowed. Even the most skilled lifters never complete two consecutive lifts in the exact same pattern.
While I believe resistance machines can be good for adding variety to a workout, they are too heavily relied upon. The progression of moving from machine use to free weight use for beginners is unnecessary and potentially harmful. Training sessions should not revolve around machine use. Instead, they should focus more on functional exercises that can be incorporated using free weight and bodyweight movements.
