Which Do You Prefer: Free Weights or the Machines?

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Which Do You Prefer: Free Weights or the Machines?

January 14, 2010

My relationship with weights and strength training has been all over the map, from the springs on the Pilates machines to jumping with a weight vest at basketball practice in high school. I have been on a free weight kick for a few years now, and I rarely use the machine. What about you?

15 Comments

mek123 3 years

I'm with GlowingMoon and Spectra, being petite most of the weight machines don't work for me. I like the control with free weights and feel I get a better workout.

mtiger 3 years

Definitely free weights.

Spectra 3 years

Free weights and my own body weight, mostly. Like GlowingMoon, I'm pretty petite and it seems like most of the machines are sized for bigger people. I do like the assisted pull up machine and the cable machine though.

yu1 3 years

definitely free weights, although I use machines too sometimes (for weighted chin ups), I love kicking it old school.

GlowingMoon 3 years

Free weights. I'm petite, and most of the machines are calibrated for larger people, even at the lowest settings. I could never fit "correctly" into the machine, and maintain good form.

kclulu 3 years

Both. There are benefits to each type of strenegth training.

tlsgirl 3 years

I use both.

dunnonuttin 3 years

I chose both... but I use free weights more.

kimmieb124 3 years

I prefer0 free weights. I feel like I get a better workout and have more control over the range of motion. A lot of times with weight machines I can lift more weight than I can with free weights because the machine supports my body weight whereas with free weights I work my core to balance.

ticamorena 3 years

Free weights; I really enjoy strength training, but my restless personality does not take well to being constricted to a machine. However, there are so muscles that are harder to target specifically with free weights as safely as with a machine (even though I'm not one for targeted toning) plus proper form is easier to keep on a machine than with free weights.

pamela87 3 years

I use free weights, my own body weight w/ things like med and Bosu balls to make things more challenging. Most of my strength training is stuff like Crossfit where you work your whole body in functional ways. I don't like that many machines b/c they aren't realistically working your muscles in the way you would actually use them (for the most part) in real life.

Autumns_Elegy 3 years

Weight machines. We don't usually have gym staff in the weight room and I don't want to snag someone elses personal trainer to show me how to use the free weights. The machines have decent instructions and theres usually at least one that's free.

LaurenG22 3 years

I used free weights all the time before I became pregnant. About 4 months into the pregnancy I started doing the weight machines bc I was told the relaxin hormone your body releases could make for easier injuries during free weights. Now at 37 weeks pregnant I still feel like I have maintained muscle tone. I can't wait to get back to the free weights though!