What do you guys like better? Freeweights or Machines?

[King Of Crunk]

i personally like to use a combo of both...because the hammer strength machines at my gym make my legs burn like a mofo...but for the arms and shoulders i like to use freeweights...

[ghetto7o2azn]

i primarily use freeweights.. but then i use machines as a secondary thing.. but if i could only choose one i would choose freeweights

at first squats didnt seem to help my legs as much either but thats because your entire body is being used when you do squats... thats also why they're so tiring.. on the days i work on my legs i do squats first then move to other machines and such

[lamehonda]

Freeweights for me. Not enough range of motion with the machine.

[kornflakes28546]

any bodybuilder will say that freeweights are almost always better than machines because you have better range of motion and you in up working more muscle groups with freeweights.

[tiadesai]

i use a combination of both in my gym
for my shoulders and arms i use dumb bells.
for my chest exercises i use machines
so it is a combination of both of them that will give you the best results

[sivic02]

I think a mix of the two works best. If I had to choose I would go with the free weights. The reason most people pick free weights over machines is because they dont just work the exact muscle you are trying to work on but they also use stabilizing muscles.

[lamehonda]

IMO If you have a spotter, there will rarely ever be a situation in which a machine is better.

[tenguzero]

Freeweights, as I find they just fit my situation better. I don't have a gym membership (I just don't really have time) and I live in an apartment (so space is an issue -- even one of those all-in-one machines would be too large.) So, between my weight bench and my pull up bar, I can get pretty much all my upper body and ab work done. Biking, rollerblading, tennis, etc. take care of my lower body and cardio, and my Aikido builds all of those to some degree, with an added concentration on flexibility and balance. Of course one thing I miss about the gym, is the fact that, once you're there, you're there to workout -- there's not much else to do really, so you end up spending a good hour or two just doing all kinds of exercises, whereas at home I have to discipline myself and make sure I concentrate on getting my workout done, and not taking TV or computer breaks

[King Of Crunk]

i think my TV has magical powers to make me watch it.....it's crazy

[Shpyder]

Free weights and machines accomplish two different things.

Free weights dispel effort beyond target muscle groups, to stabalizer and accessory muscles. In english, this means that doing bicep curls using dumbells strains parts of your surrounding muscles in addition to just your biceps, such as those in the shoulders, lower abdomen and tricep, for example.

Machines dispel all the stabilizing effort onto pulleys and ropes; this gives your stabalizers a break, concentratating just your target area...

[nastyNater]

mix it up...use em both...i personally like to use freeweights when im doing a lot of reps...and i use the bar when im doing high weight/low reps

[Implode]

If I had to choose one - freeweights.

[ghetto7o2azn]

Originally Posted by nastyNater

mix it up...use em both...i personally like to use freeweights when im doing a lot of reps...and i use the bar when im doing high weight/low reps

a regular bench and dumbell bench are both freeweights...