Free weights vs machines: I used to be a machine apologist until I tried a real squat rack

For like 2 years I was all about those cable machines and leg presses at Planet Fitness in Austin. Thought they were safer and easier. Then I switched to a proper gym with a squat rack and started doing barbell squats with just 135 pounds. Holy crap, the difference in core stability and overall strength gain is insane. Machines just lock you into one path, but free weights force your whole body to work together. Has anyone else made the switch and felt like they wasted months?

3 comments

3 Comments

sandra9162d agoMost Upvoted

You said machines lock you into one path and that's exactly the thing people don't talk about - they also let you cheat your stabilizer muscles by leaning or shifting weight without realizing it. Free weights expose every little weakness in your form, which sucks at first but forces you to actually get stronger instead of just going through the motions. That 135 pound squat with proper depth and control will do more for you than 200 pounds on a leg press ever did.

the_wade2d ago

Sandra I had a guy at the gym last week loading up the leg press with 400 pounds. He asked me why I was squatting 185 and I just pointed at his shaky knees and told him to try it with half that weight and see how his core holds up. I learned this the hard way after two years on a Smith machine thinking I was strong. Switched to barbell work and had to drop down to 95 pounds just to hit depth without wobbling. Took me about three months to get back to where I thought I was with just free weights.

faithf771d ago

Funny how that works right? Like discovering your "strong" was really just the machine holding you together like duct tape on a broken chair. I had a buddy who could leg press a house but fell over trying to do a bodyweight lunge. Free weights are basically a reality check wrapped in iron.