In ancient Greece, the “gymnasium” was where men trained for various Greek games and sport. The Greeks admired a well-built physique and developed all sorts of ways to create one.
They used what has been described by Debra Hawhee, author of “Bodily Arts: Rhetoric and Athletics in Ancient Greece” as “rhythm, repetition and response” in their training. Like today’s fitness buffs, they lifted weights, used trainers and dietitians and understood the importance of balance between body parts.
Unlike us, they tended to work out naked and employed flute players to inspire rhythmic movement.
But the Greeks were famous for debates, and their high- level arguments carried into the athletic realm. They debated endlessly about the best way to achieve athletic purity. Even Aristotle was involved, advising fathers of prepubescent boys to avoid starting their training too soon to avoid injury.
That continues today. Big gyms, fitness franchises and YMCAs invest millions of dollars into both high-tech and low-tech equipment designed to attract and entertain members. People new to a fitness facility can be overwhelmed by the cacophony of clattering machines and weights, the blaring music of an aerobics class and the oofing and grunting of people exercising.
But which is better? The high-tech machines (fixed devices, set in place with specific movements allowed on them) or the pretech free weights (dumbbells, barbells, adjustable pulley systems, medicine balls, ankle weights and anything else that operates in three dimensions)?
The professional circle of fitness trainers, instructors, coaches and professors knows that debate ended ages ago: While machines certainly have their uses, they do not train the body as well as free weights.
Machines: Convenient but less effective
Gyms and fitness centers would not load up on those fancy pieces of equipment if they did not serve a purpose (or pay for themselves in memberships). Modern gym equipment goes back about 150 years when a London YMCA began to experiment beyond simple lifting. But the contemporary age of gym machines got its big boost in 1970 when Arthur Jones invented a machine that provided variable, balanced resistance with a system of pulleys and cams. Because the shape of the cam reminded him of the shell of the mollusk called the “Chambered Nautilus,” Nautilus Sports/Medical Industries was born.
Before that, gyms were mainly for men who tossed around medicine balls and enjoyed the esoteric knowledge and bodybuilder exclusivity of dumbbells and barbells. Most women and many men were easily intimidated and did not venture into these facilities. With the advent of Nautilus machines, strength training for the rest of us began on a very large scale.
To be sure, machines help scores of people get and stay healthy.
Novice exercisers, many seniors and most recreational athletes can achieve good, basic strengthening of all the muscle groups via machines. Modern equipment generally accommodates body size and lifting ability with adjustable seats, pads and selectable, quick-adjusting weight stacks.
Machines isolate each muscle group – such as chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, quadriceps and hamstrings – so that the exerciser can focus on these areas individually. This is particularly helpful for athletes who need to rehabilitate injuries because movements can be specific and controlled.
MACHINES: The upside
1. They ensure correct movements through the proper range of motion. In a chest machine (for the pectoral muscles), for example, you are seated and can push the weights in one direction without worrying about dropping the weights on yourself.
2. You can work out alone without a spotter to assist the lift or watch your form.
3. They are quicker to use because you can just move from one to the other with an occasional change of the pin in the weight stack and an adjustment of the seats or pads.
4. Some machines are more efficient in targeting specific muscle or muscle groups. Hamstrings come to mind. It is much easier to slide into a “hamstring curl machine” than it is to perform hamstring deadlifts with a barbell or dumbbells.
5. If you have been away from strength- training exercise for a few months, or are just beginning, machines are a great way to get into a program. You can take a few weeks or months strengthening and building muscle without becoming discouraged or injuring yourself by overstressing the joints or muscles.
The downside
1. For people who want to exercise at home or for small facilities on a tight budget, machines are expensive and have lots of maintenance responsibilities.
2. They are bulky and have a large “footprint” in a fitness facility or home. 3. Machines designed for fitness facilities can perform only one function on a specific plane.
4. If folks are taller or shorter than what a manufacturer deems “average,” the machine will not fit them very well.
5. Machines help with the lifting because of the pulleys, cams and lever systems employed to get you through the “stick” points, thus limiting the areas of the body actually strengthened.
6. The big reason that most fitness professionals today spend little time discussing machines is because they are so specific that they simply do not imitate real-life movement. As a result, stabilizer muscle groups like those of the core (abdominal, low back and gluteus muscles) are left out of the training experience. With the exception of home machines like the “Bowflex,” whose power-rod design allows some moves in many different planes, most machines rigidly adhere to very linear exercising.
Free weights: realistic, risky
In general, free weights require more from the body during the execution of an exercise. Looking again at the chest press for the pectoral muscles: This can be performed reclining on a bench or a Fitball. If one does this on a bench, the muscles of the back, shoulders, wrists, forearms, biceps, triceps and abdominals all come into play to help stabilize the weight being lifted. This stabilization is even more acute when this exercise is performed using a Fitball instead of a bench.
FREE WEIGHTS: The upside
1. Free weights are more efficient in training the whole body.
2. Because many exercises are performed while standing, more of the whole body is involved in the execution. For example, if you are standing and performing a dumbbell curl for the biceps, your legs, back, abdomen, shoulders and triceps are also involved in the lift.
3. Performing exercises while standing is good for the bones.
4. Real-life moves are more easily imitated with free weights, which can move through many planes.
5. Exercising by using natural movements through many ranges of motion and planes requires more of the body and enhances basic life function.
6. Virtually every muscle can be exercised with very few (and much more inexpensive) free weights.
7. Lots of moves can be put together at the same time to create exercises that build strength and muscle, as well as improve function. Example: performing a lunge (forward, backward, or sideways) for the legs and gluteus muscles while at the same time performing biceps curls or shoulder presses.
8. Free-weight exercises can be executed in conjunction with balance and stability challenges. Shoulder presses that are done while standing on one leg or on a wobbly object are more difficult than the same exercise performed while standing on the floor with both legs and far more difficult than performed while seated in a machine.
9. With free weights, your body has to figure out how to get past the weak spots in the arc of the lift; you are the machine.
The downside
1. Safety is the No. 1 concern. Options create problems for your body to solve, but they also allow for error. Error can mean injury. So, it is often necessary to have a spotter or workout partner.
2. Proper form is crucial when using free weights. To avoid injury to muscles and joints takes some lessons. This means learning (preferably from a certified fitness professional) which also means laying out some time and money.
3. Understand basic physics. With a machine, you can let go if necessary, and nothing will hit you; you can quickly adjust a weight to a lighter level and get on with it. With free weights, this may not be advisable. Weights can land on top of you or you can strain joints, tendons and ligaments if you lift too much too soon.
In general, a program that mixes mediums is ideal, with most of the time spent on free weights and functional training that emphasizes balance, stability and core strength. That said, doing something is always better than doing nothing. It all boils down to goals, comfort zones and specific needs.
Linda J. Buch is a certified fitness trainer in Denver and co-author of “The Commercial Break Workout.” Write her at LJBalance@aol.com.
Resources
Books for beginners and those needing a refresher:
* “Weight Training Workouts That Work,” by James Orvis (Ideal Publishing, 2000, $14.95).
* “Strength Training for Beginners” (large print, spiral-bound) by Susie Dinan, Joan Bassey (Collins Publishing, 2003, $21.95)
* “Strength Training Past 50 (Ageless Athlete Series),” by Wayne L. Westcott, Thomas R. Baechle (Human Kinetics Publishers 1997, $17.95)
* “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Weight Training,” by Joe Gickman, Deidre Johnson-Cane, Jonathon Cane, (Alpha, 2002, $18.95)
Books for the experienced or those with an interest in physical science:
* “The Insider’s Tell-All Handbook on Weight-Training Technique,”by Stuart McRobert. (CS Publishing, 1999, $25.00)
* “Dumbbell Training for Strength And Fitness,” by Matt Brzycki, Fred Fornicola. (Blue River Press, 2006, $14.95)
* “The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding: The Bible of Bodybuilding, Fully Updated and Revised,” by Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Simon & Schuster, 1999, $27)
* “Supertraining,” by Mel Siff, Ph.D. (Supertraining Institute, 2003, $59.95)
* “Strength Ball Training,” by Lorne Goldenberg, Peter Twist. (Human Kinetics Publishers, 2001, $18.95)
* “Science and Practice of Strength Training,” by Vladimir M. Zatsiorsky. (Human Kinetics Publis ers, 1995, $39)
DVDs
(Prices vary depending on point of purchase)
* “Absolute Body Power,” with Allen Harris
* Assorted videos and DVDs by Karen Voight
* “Lift Weights to Lose Weight,” by Kathy Smith
* “Keys to Weight Training for Men and Women,” with Bill Pearl
* “Weight Training: Steps to Success Video,” by Thomas Baechle and Barney R. Groves
(Remember: Many books and videos can be checked out at the public library)
