If you have ever been to a complete gym, with free weights and machines (or been in either type of specialty gym), you will notice that there are two completely different approaches. In the one camp, you have the folks in the designer workout attire, efficiently moving from machine to machine; recording their progress on a chart as they go (not everyone does this of course); being very polite with each other; with some upbeat, but very cordial music playing in the background. And then you have the other group; these guys have torn the sleeves off their shirts, stand around for relatively long periods of time as they hang out at the same workout station between sets, laughing loudly as they share jokes and spar with each other, and, if they can get away with it, have very loud heavy rock or rap music blaring. And probably the most outstanding characteristic of their workouts are the loud grunts and screams they let loose as they reach the last few repetitions of their set.
Now certainly this is a gross generalization, and many different kinds of people workout with different types of equipment. But is that all there is to it? Just two different workout milieus that different kinds of people are more comfortable with; Hardly!
One major difference, I think, is the reason for the workout. Most people who join a gym with lots of machines and an array of cardio equipment are there for a general all around fitness program, that is easy to use, clean and comfortable, and safe; the reason that people use free weights is first and foremost, to gain maximum strength, muscle size, or both. And in many cases, this is done in support of a sport that they are participating in. And therein lies the key.
While machines are very well focused, as to the body area that they are targeting, they do not offer the proprioceptive feedback loop that is crucial for the development of maximum strength; and just as importantly to athletes, the constant change in dynamics of the force and direction of resistance that are so common in a competitive environment. What is proprioception you ask?
Basically, proprioception is a loop of information that starts with information that sensors in the muscles send to the brain about changes that are taking place because of muscular movement, especially in reaction to outside forces. The brain then uses that information, and along with other sensual input that helps it to determine what the body’s orientation is to its surroundings, calculates a proper adjustment or response, and sends that information back to the muscle to implement the change or response; with hundreds of those loops being completed every second.
What this means to the athlete in the free weight room is that, whereas the machines almost lock a person into a very stable position, and maintain a controlled and constant angle of resistance, with all of the mechanical parts locked into their predetermined paths; the free weights are… well… free.
It is in the freedom of the free weights that most of their advantage is gained. While executing the movement of an exercise, the weight is not locked into a predetermined path of motion. Because of this much more dynamic experience, there is much more that the body needs to be reacting to while doing an exercise. It may not look like much, but all of the minute adjustments that take place while doing an exercise with free weights adds up to making a big difference in the effects that are induced within the muscles, and in making the body as a whole better at learning to react to constant change.
And it is the body working as a unit that is the second major advantage of free weights compared to machines. Again, when the body is positioned in one of the machines, the muscle being focused on, in most cases, is stabilized in a way that focuses almost all of the effort of the body on moving those particular muscles through that particular range of motion; while the rest of the body is stabilized in a way that takes it completely out of play. When using free weights, even when doing fairly well focused moves, much more of the body is brought into play in order to be able to execute the movement. In most cases this is simply a case of other muscles being used to stabilize another area of the body, by isometrically contracting, in a way that allows that stabilizing part of the body to become a foundation for the muscles being worked to move from; or to simply maintain a particular posture.
So working out with free weights has many advantages for athletes, but what about an average person just wanting to get in better shape. While machines do offer many benefits in ease of use and comfort, the mindset seems to be changing as to what the best type of workout is for the average person. Much more attention is now being paid to the importance of incorporating this proprioceptive loop into the average workout; and to do this, a much less stable environment is required in order to enhance the feedback between the muscles and the brain. We are not talking about an unstable environment, we are talking about a less stable, but controlled environment. The result is what has been termed functional movement.
It is not likely that you are confronted with many day to day tasks that have you locked into position, moving through a fixed range of motion, and so that is not what your workout should look like either.
There are many ways of creating this less stable but controlled environment for exercise. Along with free weights, there are resistance bands and tubes, and stability balls. We will be investigating ways of incorporating this superior form of workout into your routine in future articles.
