When building a program for strength, should you include more free weights or machines?
This is a great question—as both have a purpose and can develop lean muscle mass, strength, and power.
But which one is better?
And which one should you focus on the most?
To be honest, it depends on a lot of factors.
If you’re a beginner—or it’s been awhile since you set foot in a gym—I usually recommend relearning certain bodyweight movements, since they are great for developing nervous system strength and rebuilding muscle, without adding stress to the rest of your body.
Now, machines follow a specific range-of-motion and focus only on the muscles you’re looking to target, which is not necessarily a bad thing if you’re trying to ‘bring up’ a certain area of your body like calves, or your back, or even in rehab settings.
Free weights, on the other hand, focus on the muscles, supporting muscle, and other stabilizing tissue, like tendons and ligament, which is where the special sauce is.
And, you can change your focus using free weights so you can target the muscle differently, which you can’t do with a machine.
One other benefit of machines is it targets a specific muscle group, like the biceps for example, when other muscles are fatigued or sore.
This way you can still target the muscle you want, without putting stress on areas that may be too sore.
Personally, I prefer free weights.
I love the added benefit of developing stabilizing muscles, or entire muscle groups, when doing free weights, such as a squat, deadlift, or bench press.
And, since I’ve learned how to lift weights and use my body properly, I haven’t been injured, or in need of machines, so I don’t use them.
I don’t even have any in my gym, because I believe most things can be done without them.
On the other hand, you may also be more at risk for injury doing free weights compared to machines, if you don’t know what you’re doing.
Most free weight exercises involve more than one muscle group, and there are a lot of moving parts, which may increase your risk for injury (not here, but maybe by yourself).
Machines, however, may minimize the risk, because you’re only going in one motion.
Yes, if you’re using the machine wrong, you can still injure yourself–but the risk may go down significantly compared to free weights.
For those coming back from an injury, machines may be an option, since you can focus on the muscles you want to work, which aren’t injured.
If you’re looking for the best workout possible, and you’re stuck between free weights or machines, find a way to experiment with both, see what works for you.
And if you’re unsure how to include both into you work out, let us guide you to developing the best program for your goals by commenting below.
Be Well – John
Changing the way Life is done.
Mindset. Fitness. Nutrition.
P.S. Here are 4 more ways you can become happier and healthier:
1. At-Home Workout Program
We created a 3 tiered entry-level program for those who want/need to stay at home to workout, and you can access it for FREE.
There is NO EQUIPMENT needed, only an open mind and doing the work!
You can get it now: CLICK HERE
2. Online Coaching Program
We’ve created an Online Program to fit all budgets.
Everything from On-Demand Videos, to LIVE Streaming Classes, Accountability Coaching Calls and more!
If that sound interesting, you can find out all the details now: CLICK HERE
3. Join our BADASS Community on Facebook
We want to work with and be around as many BADASS people as possible. Folks who might forget how BADASS they are and just need the space to remember.
So, we started a FREE group on Facebook called BADASS, which is our own private community where we go deeper into what we do at Bair Knuckle Strength.
The truth is, it makes the world a happier, safer, more enjoyable place when you love your BADASS self.
If you’re ready to see what we do, just CLICK HERE!
4. Rise
Rise is the story of ‘never feeling powerful … to … never feeling powerless’. It’s about John Bair’s life, why he does what he does and how his suffering created happiness.
This handwritten book takes you through an intimate, yet, self-revealing journey, which allows you to implant yourself into the story, as it relates to your own, and reveal the steps you’ll need to take, in order to make change a successful reality.
Available in DIGITAL, AUDIO, BOOK