Machines or Free weights

[amc11890]

Im 15 years old 6'1'' 180lbs and just started working out. I tend to use both free weights and the machines but lately i have been using the machines more and more often. Pretty much the only thing i do with free weights are sit down curls and stand up hammer curls, "behind the back" tricept lift(idk the correct terminology) and pretty much everything else is machines. Should i be doing more free weights than machines, i have seen some increse in muscle while using the machines but i have heard that free weights will increase muscle more effectively. When i first started working out my bi's grew rapidly but now in the past few weeks it seems that they are stuck, i have tried increasing from 30lb dumbell curls to 35lb dumbell curls but i cant seem to maintain proper form; i feel like i am using momentum to lift the weights. Should i be sticking with more free weights or are machines fine?

[haphakhung]

How about neither ;-) Do chin-ups and dips and I bet you will get one heck of an arm workout that incoporates your upperbody really good.

Ok, seriously, this question has been asked like a million times, and everytime the answers are really more toward free weights than machines (Use the search function and you find a bunch of post and response.) I have nothing wrong against using machines as a secondary thing or to give you the extra workout when you are nearly drained, or if you are really new to the iron and want to go safe. But yeah, go freeweights primarily...

I see machines like white bread, it is still ok, but definitely not as great as pure and natural whole grain bread aka FreeWeights.

Learn your forms, and go light, heck take a class, I bet your high school has a weight training course or find someone older to teach you. Do whole body compound exercises, you arms are a support system, which are needed to support the weight you are pushing and pulling, therefore they will grow as your larger body parts are being force to grow. If you only use a split routine to work on your arms, your arms will reach a max level that it can achieve because any more size means your bigger body parts can't support it. Understand?

Like the tree trunk has to be bigger than the branches/limbs. If you want bigger branches/limbs, you need to work on getting a bigger trunk.

Go and Browse around this forum for articles and go use the search function, you will find a majority of your questions answered. Ask if you are still confused. Take care.

Oh and hey, Welcome to the site AMC!

Hap

[Insex]

For a 15 year old teenager who wants to put on size and strength, you should prioritize your options in this order:

1. Free weights and free motion.

2. Cables.

3. Machines.

During your workouts, you should do the free weight exercises (Bench, Squat, ect.) and the free motion exercises (Dips, Pullups, ect.) first. Then to finish up your workout, finish strong with cable exercises. If you feel you have some extra energy left and want to finish with another exercise, then go to a machine.

Machines don't create championship physiques, they only polish and refine an already impressive physique that was built from many years of training with free weights. However, you will see some noticeable gains from anything if you are just starting out; but your gains will be greater with free weights. That's why you see so many professional bodybuilders in the gym using machines. They don't need to keep using the same free weight exercises that got them to that level in the first place.

Other than that, the only other uses for machines are for:

- People who do not have the same goals as competitive athletes, but want to achieve a higher level of physical fitness.

- The elderly, the handicapped, and anyone else who is at a physical disadvantage.

- Anyone undergoing physical therapy for an injury.

[Lil-King]

I see machines like white bread, it is still ok, but definitely not as great as pure and natural whole grain bread aka FreeWeights. ROLF good discription

[ppsuprise]

i would stick to the basics, such as squats, rows, bench, deads. pretty much freemotion exercises liek insex mentioned above. after youve done that for a whiels and packed on your clay you then can start messing with the machines and calbes to sculpt your self into a fine tuned bodybuilding athlete. i hardly touch a machine myslef even if i wanted to cut up i would harldy touch one i just dont liek the confinement feeling i get whiel sittinig there ini one.

[joker13]

I say buy a baby cow aka calf and start lifting that 100 times a day. By the time its full grown you are looking like the stud you always wanted to be. Trust me on this one.

[Old_Fart2]

Macines tend to isolate the muscles more than free weights with certain exceptions (such as cable work). Free weights force the stabilizing muscles and assisting muscles to come into play more than machines do.

Use compound free weight exericises for your main lifts (squats, deadlifts, cleans, bench press, incline bench, bent over rows, pull-ups, military press, barbell curls, close grip bench); then finish off with more isolation type exercises.

[amc11890]

alrite thx guys. Got another question: is it normal for one arm to be slightly larger than the other, i dont know wat it is but the formation of my left arm is slight;y different from my right arm but i can lift the same amont with both arms.

[Old_Fart2]

Originally Posted by amc11890

alrite thx guys. Got another question: is it normal for one arm to be slightly larger than the other, i dont know wat it is but the formation of my left arm is slight;y different from my right arm but i can lift the same amont with both arms.

No one's body is perfectly symetrical; we all have our inbalances. To minimise the inbalance, make sure you use proper form. Always raise and lower the weight simultaneously on each side. If the inbalance is severe, try using just dumbbells for a while, again, paying careful attention to form.

[amc11890]

IS it unusual that i can lift more weight and do more reps with the hammer curl vs. the traditional curl

[haphakhung]

I wouldn't think so, I bet all the members here have some capability to maximize some great strengths with some exercises over others. For example, some could squat better than they deadlift, some can bench more than they can row, some might be opposite. The main point is how big a difference it is and are you willing to change it if you want to?

If there is only like a 5lb difference between your hammer and basic arm curl with db's, it really doesn't matter. Plus I bet if you work on just basic curls, it would catch back up or maybe surpass it. But more importantly, just work out, don't worry about the little things, they both help make the biceps bigger in the end.


The only time where a difference is weight strength really matters is the strength balance of your protagonist and antagonist muscles. Like the examples stated: Squat/deadlift, row/bench, etc... Too big a difference isn't good. But since you have just a plain bicep question, doesn't really matter. Make sure to work your triceps to balance out your arm, it'll make it bigger since your triceps are much larger than your biceps!

Oh and another note, plenty of people have mentioned that they realized that they have some body parts that get results faster than others, I recommend that if that is true with you, lets say your chest sees results faster than all your other body parts. Don't ever stop working chest, take advantage of the good genetics and try to maximize it!

Hap

[haphakhung]

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