Free Weights vs. Exercise Machines

Anyone who has ever been in a gym before is familiar with the gleaming banks of shiny exercise machines. Coming in all shapes and sizes, they are usually cause for the newcomer to the gym to pause and ask, "What IS all of that stuff?"

Well, according to the price that the gym paid for any one piece of that equipment, I certainly hope that it not only stimulates your muscles, but also cooks your breakfast, washes your car, and brings the kids home from soccer practice! Now the question becomes whether or not those machines were worth the price, or if you'd be better off doing a home aerobics video with a can of soup in each hand?.

Personally, I would advise you to get the low-sodium version of the soup, serve it up alongside a tomato sandwich, and then go buy yourself some free weights. Yes, that is just my opinion, but it does come with some scientific reasoning behind it.

Natural movement vs. Controlled movement

One of the things that you need to remember is that when you are exercising, you are training for LIFE. You may spend an hour a day at the gym, but that still leaves 23 other hours for your muscles to function without the aid of that fancy equipment.

Whenever you do any given exercise, the movement of your body during that exercise is called the Range of Motion. The greater and more difficult the Range of Motion, the more effective the exercise is, because your body has to work harder to perform that movement.

Let's take a classic dumbbell bicep curl for our case study. If you aren't familiar with the movement, it is basically performed by standing up straight with your palms facing forward, and a pair of dumbbells held down at your sides. You concentrically contract your biceps (also known as flexing your elbow) to bring the dumbbells up to approximately shoulder level, and then repeat the movement for a prescribed number of repetitions.

Let's take that same muscle movement and do it using a bicep curl machine. You sit down, brace your upper arms on a pad, grasp 2 handles that are in front of you, and do that same fancy elbow flexing movement to move the handles in an upward motion. Pretty easy stuff so far, right?

Now let's examine the muscles that are used in this motion. Wait - I thought we were concentrically contracting the biceps? That is correct, and if you are using the bicep curl machine, that is pretty much ALL you are doing. For one, you are sitting down. You know, like you did all day at work, and then in your car on the way to the gym. Then, your upper arms are braced on a nice soft pad to keep your upper body stable while you pull the handles upwards. The machine has effectively limited the muscles used in this exercise to the biceps, as well as the muscles in your forearms and fingers as you grip the handles.

Let us now sidestep over to the weight room where the dumbbells are kept, and once again get in the start position for a standing bicep curl with the dumbbells. Notice the term "standing". You know, like you DIDN'T do all day at work, and hopefully also did not do in your car on the way to the gym. So before we even start the exercise, we are using more muscles than we did on the machine - namely the leg muscles.

Now let's pick up a 10 lb dumbbell in each hand. We've just added 20 lbs to our body weight. What is keeping us from losing our center of balance and falling clean over? The abdominal muscles and the muscles of the lower back and spine. Now we are using our legs, our abs, and our back. Flex those elbows and start to raise the dumbbells. Now our center of gravity has become a fluid state, and our legs, back, and abs all have to constantly compensate to maintain posture. Oh, and the biceps are also in on the action by this point, as are the forearms, the fingers, and the shoulder girdle.

We now have the dumbbells all the way up and it's time to start lowering them again, via an eccentric contraction of the biceps (also know as extending the elbow). What muscle group controls the extension of the elbow? The triceps on the back of the arm.

Did you lose track yet? It's okay if you did because you have illustrated the point:

Machine Bicep Curl: Uses the biceps, forearms, and fingers Cost: Thousands of dollars

Standing Dumbbell Bicep Curl: Uses the biceps, forearms, fingers, legs, abs, back, triceps, and shoulders. Cost: $40 for a good set of dumbbells that can be used for dozens of other exercises

In a nutshell, free weight exercises simply USE MORE MUSCLES than machines do, which make them more effective. Does that mean that the machines are a complete waste? Absolutely not! In some circumstances it is BETTER to stabilize the muscles being used in any given movement. However, those circumstances are the exception, rather than the rule.

So what do you do? Change up your routine, and incorporate free weights as well as machine exercises. However, keep the machine work to a minimum - say 20% of your total time spent working with weights. Spend the other 80% developing your stabilizer muscles, your sense of balance and coordination, and if nothing else - just standing up!

After all, you can go home and sit down on the couch to enjoy your post-workout snack. The bicep machine already brought the kids home from soccer practice, remember?

Aaron Potts is the owner and creator of Fitness Destinations, a content-filled health and fitness website for consumers as well as professionals in the fitness industry. Aaron's experience in the health and fitness industry includes one on one personal training in many different environments, maintenance of several health-related websites, and authoring of many fitness-related products for consumers and fitness professionals. http://www.fitnessdestinations.com

---

Google News Updated : Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:25:52 GMT Hurricane Gustav Strengthens, Accelerates, Heads for Cuba, Gulf - Bloomberg BBC News Hurricane Gustav Strengthens, Accelerates, Heads for Cuba, Gulf Bloomberg - 1 hour ago By Patrick Donahue and Robin Stringer Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Hurricane Gustav strengthened and picked up speed as it headed toward western Cuba and the US Gulf Coast cities ravaged by Katrina and Rita in 2005, after lashing the Cayman Islands with ... Video: Gustav Follows Katrina's Path CBS Some leave Gulf Coast ahead of likely evacuations The Associated Press Reuters - Minneapolis Star Tribune - New York Times - Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal all 6,069 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:40:06 GMT S. Ossetia to be absorbed into Russia - United Press International BBC News S. Ossetia to be absorbed into Russia United Press International - 1 hour ago TSKHINVALI, Georgia, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- South Ossetia says it will become part of Russia and host Russian military bases under a new agreement. Video: UN does have double standards RussiaToday Kremlin announces that South Ossetia will Times Online The Associated Press - AFP - Civil Georgia - New York Times all 6,104 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:01:52 GMT Sign of the times - BBC News San Diego Union Tribune Sign of the times BBC News - 1 hour ago As Russia and the West warn of a new Cold War after the Georgian conflict, the BBC's Humphrey Hawksley in Moscow tries to imagine what it would look like. European Union to Hold Urgent Meeting on Russia Voice of America last straw" for Russia Reuters New York Times - Financial Times - Wall Street Journal - Jerusalem Post all 333 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:10:28 GMT US Oil, Gas Producers, Pipelines Brace for Gustav (Update1) - Bloomberg ABC News US Oil, Gas Producers, Pipelines Brace for Gustav (Update1) Bloomberg - 1 hour ago By Margot Habiby Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc plan to finish shutting oil and gas production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and Enbridge Energy Partners LP will close pipelines as Hurricane Gustav gains strength and moves ... More volatility seen with hurricane, payrolls Reuters Airlines bounce as oil gives up early gains MarketWatch Forbes - DesMoinesRegister.com - CNNMoney.com - guardian.co.uk all 3,463 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:21:02 GMT Experts: Silver lining for ‘viable’ Mitt Romney - Boston Herald Experts: Silver lining for ‘viable’ Mitt Romney Boston Herald - 8 hours ago By Edward Mason Mitt Romney - once a top contender to be John McCain’s running mate - may have suffered a bruised ego when he was passed over for the little known Gov. It's not Pawlenty, it's Palin Worthington Daily Globe Pawlenty, after the pick, another day at fair Minneapolis Star Tribune Post-Bulletin - Washington Post - Grand Forks Herald - CNN all 2,700 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 30 Aug 2008 04:13:29 GMT Comcast to Place a Cap on Internet Downloads - New York Times ABC News Comcast to Place a Cap on Internet Downloads New York Times - 3 hours ago By BRIAN STELTER Comcast, one of the country’s largest Internet providers, said this week that it would place limits on customers’ broadband usage. Comcast's Answer to ... InternetNews.com Critics Question Comcast Broadband Caps PC World CNET News - Wall Street Journal - ZDNet - InformationWeek all 386 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 30 Aug 2008 09:08:14 GMT Obama campaign buoyed by convention - Los Angeles Times ABC News Obama campaign buoyed by convention Los Angeles Times - 5 hours ago He sees an unusually strong jump in support after the carefully choreographed event in Denver. By Peter Nicholas, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer DENVER -- Amy Pearl is the sort of Democrat who made the Barack Obama campaign nervous. Look out, Palin The Hillary factor . . . Chicago Sun-Times Hillary supporters aren't bitter; they're concerned Chicago Tribune The Associated Press - CNN - Philadelphia Inquirer - New York Daily News all 8,528 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 30 Aug 2008 07:00:48 GMT Clickbank RSS Feeds Work At Home

PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts, Websites, and more...

Adsense websites

Why Smooth Treadmills are Among The Best

Smooth is one of the better-known brands of fitness equipment.... Read More

Buying A Treadmill - 3 Essential Tips

If you're buying a treadmill, chances are you've done lots... Read More

Home Treadmill Review: Things To Watch Out Before Buying A Treadmill

Treadmills are known to be the most popular and most... Read More

6 Questions To Ask Before Hiring A Personal Trainer

Once reserved only for the rich and famous, personal fitness... Read More

The Epic T60 Treadmill Rocks

The Epic T60 treadmill, an economical choice for both running... Read More

How to Choose the Best Treadmill for Your Lifestyle

When choosing a treadmill (or any piece of exercise equipment... Read More

Electric Scooter Wholesale ? Passport For Freedom

Electric scooters wholesaleAllowing for unprecedented mobility for the disabled and... Read More

Electronic Treadmills

Electronic treadmills could just as easily be called treadmills with... Read More

Boost Your Health by Choosing the Perfect Treadmill

Treadmills are very popular methods of exercise. These exercise machines... Read More

Life Fitness Treadmills Reign Supreme in the Ratings

One of the most superior brands of treadmills available, Life... Read More

Cheap Elliptical Trainers From An Industry Giant

From its humble beginnings as a part time business for... Read More

Treadmill Comparison: 3 Things You Must Know

Buying a treadmill? You'll probably be making several treadmill comparisons... Read More

Blood Pressure Monitor - Is Youre Blood Pressure OK?

The focus on reducing high blood pressure in today's society... Read More

What Are The Main Benefits Of Trampoline Exercise?

Many people might look at someone bouncing on a trampoline... Read More

Tanita Body Fat Monitors

An ordinary scale can tell you your weight, but what... Read More

Do You Know The History Of Trampolines As Exercise Equipment?

The manufactured trampoline, as we know it today, was created... Read More

The Reebok Elliptical - A Brief Review

When considering the Reebok Elliptical for your workout, there are... Read More

Cardio Zone Elliptical Trainers

CardioZone makes a number of similar elliptical trainers, falling into... Read More

Buy Cheap Treadmill: Learn How To Make Optimum Use of a Treadmill

Treadmills serve your purpose 24/7 and 12 months a day... Read More

6 Features Found in All the Best Treadmills

Are you just plain fed up? If you have spent... Read More

Used Treadmills, An Alternative For The Budget Conscious Treadmill Buyer

In the market for a treadmill? Finding that they are... Read More

How is Commercial Fitness Equipment better than General Fitness Equipment?

Commercial gym equipment is used in "commercial gyms" and training... Read More

Types of Exercise Equipment

Depending on the kind of exercise you want to do,... Read More

Schwinn Ellipticals Are a Great Ride

Schwinn Ellipticals live up to the name Schwinn. Everyone is... Read More

Cheap Clearance Elliptical Trainers

Purchasing a cheap clearance elliptical trainer can prove to be... Read More