End The Tryranny Of The Machines!

If you use any machines in your training, besides the C2 rower, Gravitron or, possibly, a treadmill (running outside is better), I am asking, no begging you to please, please stop it now!

Unless you are a competitive or recreational bodybuilder, and have already spent many years attaining the requisite mass, there is no conceivable reason to waste your time with machines.

Barbells and dumbbells require coordination and the development of stabilizer muscles. Machines do not. I have seen quite a few people who have gotten quite large using machines, but when it came to doing some real work (like a CrossFit workout) they have, without exception, fallen to pieces. What good is it to have giant muscles that are inefficient and incapable of accomplishing real work? Even if you are training for mass, compound multi-joint exercises like the Squat, Deadlift and Bench Press elicit a much greater neuro-endocrine response, in addition to building real-world, usable strength.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I often see people who are incredibly weak using ridiculously light weights at insanely high reps on machines of dubious (at best) design. Sometimes while reading the newspaper. This will do almost nothing for you. If you want to build strength without getting very big, sets of 5 reps with big multi-joint compound movements will do the trick. Squat. Deadlift. Press. Clean. Bench Press. Unless you are fairly advanced you don't need more than this. Adding Olympic Lifting will build explosivity and is a noble pursuit. Bodyweight exercises, such as the pull-up, dip and push-up are far more useful (and fun) than any machine based exercise.

Find a CrossFit or otherwise qualified Coach, get some instruction, and turn your back on machines forever. They are made to benefit the management of Globo-Gym and the machines makers and not the end user. Stop the madness!

"A $10,000 barbell-based weight room in the hands of an experienced coach is far superior to a $300,000 collection of exercise machines run by an inexperienced trainer".

-Mark Rippetoe,
"Practical Programming for Strength Training"