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Are Free Weights Superior To Machines For Bodybuilding Muscle Gains?

An apparent agreement exists among bodybuilding aficionados regarding the advantages offered by free weights compared with machines for muscle building, to the point where machines have been stereotyped by dedicated bodybuilders as essentially ineffective for those seeking maximum muscle building. Furthermore, many of those same bodybuilders will claim that gyms offering modern machines are doing so in order to satisfy the lazy who thrive off of shiny muscle building workout equipment, and who are not interested in challenging, intense, muscle blasting workouts. This idea has been propagated regularly 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 inferior to machines when used correctly, as they allow a muscle complete range of motion, and require a level of coordination that is not inherent in machine equivalent exercises, therefore free weights will enhance the possibility for muscle growth, but to what level? By listening to mainstream bodybuilding, the advantage free weights offer is so significant that a weight lifter would need to be considered ignorant to use machines under any circumstances, yet, the muscle building edge free weights provide is actually far less than most believe. In fact, if a bodybuilder is using the same weight lifting techniques with free weights and machines, his muscle building will be nearly identical, to the point where even a talented bodybuilding personal trainer could not determine the difference in muscle size between the two methods. Yet, because the free weight superiority misconception has been repeated frequently, by numerous bodybuilders, the idea is promoted as fact, no different than a host of bodybuilding theories that are, in fact, myth disguised as fact.

Not only are machines a potent option 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 injuries that interferes with consistency, fostering frustrating unexpected layoffs, which destroys momentum, and eventually causes many to quit the muscle building process completely. Weight lifting workout consistency ranks as one of the most important techniques in building maximum muscle mass, and free weights present an extra risk of injury and joint discomfort that will be minimized by focusing on machines as an alternative to common free weight muscle building exercises.

In fact, after 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 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 discomfort I experienced with free weights on a continual basis suddenly disappeared, and I have since been able to successfully use the Smith Machine for impressive results without the injury setbacks. My muscle building results did not suffer due to transitioning 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 substitution for free weights.

I believe that many of the bodybuilders who reject the idea of using machines for muscle building are perpetuating a "traditional vs. modern" debate, where they feel free weights symbolize classic bodybuilding, while machines stand for the anthesis of all that muscle building has historically entailed, defining the new era weight lifter who is unwilling to exert maximum muscle building effort, but rather is only interested in convenience. This idea is not unusual in other industries, such as automobile enthusiasts feeling that any individual preferring modern clutchless transmissions is somehow less worthy of owning a high performance vehicle, when this is actually an individual preference, one that allows the driver of a clutchless automobile to potentially perform far better in other aspects of navigating the vehicle. Free weights are considered the bodybuilder's clutch, and for some, are rejected for superficial reasons.

So, if you visit a gym and find yourself surrounded by many machines, assuming you are using an effective bodybuilding diet and weight lifting workout plan, you can achieve the same muscle gains as those who constantly rely on free weights, but with a lower injury risk to sideline your bodybuilding results.

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