The Mind-Muscle Connection

In the quest to get bigger, faster, stronger and leaner, lifters turn to resistance training to get them to their goals.  Providing resistance against movements can be accomplished in many ways.  Isometric movements are where the body part is holding still against a force.  Isotonic movements are where the body part is moving against the force.  The overall goal for resistance training is to gradually and progressively overload the musculoskeletal system so it gets stronger.

Most of the time when you enter the gym, you will see many stations designed for isotonic exercises.  There are dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells and various machines.  Dumbbells, barbells and kettlebells are considered free weights, the machines can be broken down as plate-loaded machines, where you load free weights onto a machine where you exercise within a fixed range of motion, or cable & pulley machines, where the weight is set in stacks and the exercise pulls the weight along a fixed range of motion by pulley.  There are other stations where barbells, dumbbells or kettlebells are used in conjunction with bodyweight to provide resistance.  What method you choose can determine how effectively and efficiently you reach your goals.

Free weights are normally considered superior to machines because with free weights it takes more strength and muscle recruitment to stabilize and move the weight.  With machines, the stability is fixed along a single range of motion, descending and ascending.  Normally with machines, you can lift more than with free weights.  This is most noticeable when using the Smith machine.  Essentially, the Smith machine is a barbell attached to two rods with allow the bar to move up and down just like a normal barbell would.  The difference is the strict horizontal movement that the Smith machine allows.  If you push up with a barbell, but also forward, your muscles need to work harder and the weight will feel like its true weight.  On the Smith machine, when you push up and forward, the forward motion is restricted and redirected with the upward motion, making the weight easier to move than with a standard barbell

Are machines worthless because of this difference?  Of course not.  Strict range of motion allows for better form and better focus on the target muscle.  It allows you to use more weight or perform more reps or rep schemes safely.  Machines can be a welcome change on days when your strength and energy levels are not 100%.  Instead of having a bad workout with barbells, drop the weight and get a great pump with a machine version of the same exercise.  They also make machines that are isolateral, meaning each arm or leg works independently within the machine, although both limbs are moving at the same time.  This allows for independent focus on each side’s muscle movements, where one side cannot compensate for the other.

So, what is the best way to maximize your workouts amidst all the free weights and machines?  The best way is to do compound movements with free weights and use machines for isolation exercises.   It is not totally non-beneficial to exercises with strictly free weights or machines, but a good balance of both leads to the best results.