Free Weights Vs Machines – A Conclusive Answer on Which is Better 

You train in any gym, whether it’s Planet fitness, Anytime fitness, or Gold’s gym, and you’re going to see two distinct groups. The first (often the majority) flock to the gym machines, while the smaller group are seen pumping out reps in the safe confines of the free weights section.

You see, there’s often a bit of an unspoken rivalry between the two groups. 

Free weight users claim that free weights are better in stimulating the whole body as your stabilizer muscles are fully involved – plus it’s generally harder.

Machine users reply that machines are perfect for focusing on a specific body part, since you’re isolating that muscle via a fixed plane of motion. It’s also deemed as safer since there’s zero chance of a dumbbell slipping out of your hand and landing on you.

So, which one is actually better?

Before we answer the age-old debate of free weights vs. machines, let’s define what each one is.

1. What are free weights and machines?
2. Which is better: machines or free weights?
3. The advantages of using free weights
4. The advantages of using machines
5. Are machines safer than free weights?
6. How to incorporate free weights and machines into your workout
7. Progressive overload is key regardless or chosen equipment
8. Gym Near Me’s recommendations
9. Main takeaways

What's the Difference between Free Weights and Machines?

Free Weights

Free weights are any weight that isn’t attached to a machine or pulley system, allowing users to move them in any plane of motion. As you have no machine assistance to help balance the weight, your stabilizer muscles need to work overtime to keep the weight under control.

Furthermore, with free weights, you have to physically add or remove weight plates to increase or decrease the load. This can often be a hassle and actually a bit of a workout in itself, especially without a training partner.

Free weights include:

• Dumbbells
• Barbells
• Kettlebells
• Weight plates
• Medicine Ball

Machines

Weight machines are designed to work specific muscles or muscle groups. The exercise’s range of motion is a fixed path, forcing users to move the weight in one way. As the path is fixed, your stabilizer muscles for balancing the weight aren’t working as hard as they would on free weights. 

Machines are often seen as more beginner-friendly, as the set movement path ensures proper form leading to injury-prevention. However, users can only hit the muscles that the machine is designed to target – goodluck trying to hit your quads on the pec-dec!

They’re also more convenient as users wishing to increase or decrease the weight only have to adjust a pin instead of adding or removing plates.

Weight machines include:

• Leg press
• Pec dec
• Seated row
• Lat pulldown

Free Weights vs Machines - Which is Better?

Most experienced lifters credit much of their success to free weights, as they usually offer a more well-rounded and more challenging workout.

The general argument is that free weights stimulate more muscle growth as a whole than machines. Overtime,  these muscles will grow and develop, leading to a more robust physique and stronger all-around. 

Take the squat, for example. When you squat down with a heavy weight, your quads, hamstrings, and glutes work to a large degree. But your stabilizer muscles, such as your abs, lower back, and hips, are also engaged to keep the weight balanced.

On the other hand, when you do the leg press, it’s just your quads, hamstrings, and glutes doing the work. There’s no need to balance the weight, and since you’re seated, much pressure is taken off your abs and lower back.

What does Electromyography (EMG) research say?

When it comes to pure muscle activation, free weights activate more muscle fibers than machines. According to EMG research, the barbell back squat produces 43% more muscle activity than the smith machine. Similarly, the bench press was better at stimulating the shoulders than the smith machine.

Since you cannot quantify muscle engagement, there’s no way to say for certain that free weights lead to more muscle growth. However, in 2020 a study was published showing the results of two groups performing similar exercises, one using free weights and the other machines.

Do Machines or Free Weights Build More Muscle? The Schwanbeck et Study

A 2020 Schwanbeck et study took two groups who followed an 8-week hypertrophy and strength training program. The first group worked out using machines, while the second used free weights. 

So what happened?

The results showed that there was no significant difference in quads and biceps muscle growth between the two groups. Both saw an increase in muscle mass of 5%. As such, we can conclude that both machines and free weights are effective for building their intended muscle groups.

But what about the participant’s stabilizer muscles?

Since both groups gained the same amount of strength and size, it’s likely that the gains in stabilizer muscle activity were similar as well. In this study at least, there doesn’t seem to be a clear advantage of one method over the other.

The Benefits of Free Weights

Since we’ve already established that machines are just as good as free weights for growing the muscles they target, the question becomes: why lift free weights?

Let’s go through some of the key benefits of free weights.

Benefit 1: Free Weights Enhance Functional Strength

Free weights are better for developing functional strength, as they more closely resemble the movement patterns you use daily. For example, if you’re an American football player, the squat is a much better exercise for developing the strength to explode off the line of scrimmage than the leg press.

Benefit 2: Free Weights are More Versatile

Free weights are more versatile, allowing for a wider array of exercises. A barbell, for instance, can be used for benching, squatting deadlift, rowing and overhead pressing. On the other hand, a chest press machine is highly specialized and can only be used for its intended exercise. 

Benefit 3: Free Weights, mainly, produce more bang for your buck

Lastly, free weights give you a better workout if you’re strapped for time and want to get in and out of the gym. This is because, for the most part, they allow you to work multiple muscles at one time.

The shoulder press, for example, is excellent for targeting the shoulders, but it also works the triceps, upper chest, upper back, core, and erector spinae since they have to stabilize the weight. The closest machine equivalent would be the seated shoulder press, which does not engage your core to the same degree.

Benefit 4: Not everyone will fit into machines

Yes, most machines will have seat adjustments  to accommodate different heights. However, if you’re on the larger side, you may find it difficult to fit into some machines. Brian Shaw, a multiple World Strongest Man winner, published a video not that long ago going into Planet Fitness and not being able to properly fit into every machine.

Of course, this won’t be an issue for the average person. But, if you are on the larger side, free weights are ideal as they accommodate any size.

The Benefits of Machines

While free weights have their advantages, machines also have plenty to offer. If your gym has limited free weights or you’re new to lifting, machines can be a great place to start.

Benefit 1: Machines are easier to use

The first and most apparent benefit of machines is that they’re much easier to use than free weights. Beginners still need to learn proper form/technique and how to properly engage their muscles to perform the lift. This can be difficult, and even dangerous, with free weights.

Machines offer a fixed range of motion and thus are much easier to control. This means you won’t have to worry about balancing the weight and can focus on employing the full range of motion and proper form.

Benefit 2: You can isolate specific muscle groups

If you have a lagging muscle group or want to focus on a particular area, machines are fantastic.

The leg extension machine, for example, is excellent for targeting the quads, while the lat pulldown machine allows you to solely hit the lats. This is more difficult to achieve with free weights and requires the user to have a better muscle-to-mind connection.

Furthermore, if your nervous system is fatigued from a heavy free-weight workout, you can still get a good pump in with machines. This is because you won’t have to work as hard to stabilize the weight, reducing overall fatigue.

Benefit 3: Less likely to cause form breakdown

If you’ve been in the gym long enough, it’s not unusual to see someone perform a free weights exercise with good form during their first few reps, only to break down towards the end.

While this can happen with any exercise, it’s more likely to occur with free weights. Sometimes, your stabilizer muscles will give out before your targeted muscle group has reached failure, causing your form to suffer.

For example, if you’re doing the barbell row, your lower back or hamstrings may give out before your lats are fully worked. This not only limits your gains but can also lead to injury.

Benefit 4: Constant tension on the muscle

With machines, the weight is always being pushed or pulled, meaning your muscles are constantly under tension and working. This is why some lifters believe machines are better for building muscle.

Are Machines Really Safer than Free Weights?

Machines are generally safer than free weights, as they allow you to lift without a spotter. If you’ve bench pressed for a while, then you’ve got “stuck” under the bar at some point. While common, this can be dangerous if you don’t have someone to help you.

Another injury risk is improper form. The shoulder press, for example, can easily lead to a rotator cuff injury or shoulder impingement if done incorrectly. Furthermore, you may hit yourself with the barbell if you don’t have a spotter. With machines, there’s less room for error since the weight is guided along a fixed path.

When it comes to dumbbells, they can quickly slide out of your hands if you don’t have a good grip. Poor lifting technique can also lead to muscle tears and bruising. Although this is less likely to happen with a machine, simply letting go can cause the weight to crash, causing potential sprains, strains, and other soft tissue injuries.

How to Incorporate Free Weights and Machines into Your Workout

When you’re fresh at the beginning of a workout, it’s generally best to start with compound exercises using free weights. These will help you build strength and muscle not only in the primary movers but in the stabilizer muscles as well.

As you start to fatigue and your form breaks down, that’s when you can move to machines. This will help you maintain good form and avoid exhausting your stabilizer muscles.

Let’s take a back and bicep workout as an example. A good routine might look something like this:

1) Barbell Row – 4 sets of 10 reps

2) Lat Pulldown –  4 sets of 10 reps

3) Shrugs on a power rack –  4 sets of 10 reps

5) Hammer Curls – 4 sets of 10 reps

6) Machine Preacher Curl – 4 sets of 10 reps

Remember, Progressive Overload is King to Building Muscle

Whether you’re exclusively using machines or free weights, progressive overload is still the key driver for muscle growth and strength gains. This simply refers to increasing the demand on your muscles over time, whether it’s increasing weight, reps, or both.

For example, let’s say you’re capable of doing three sets of 8 reps with 50kg on the bench press. The goal is to gradually increase that weight or reps over time. Maybe next week you do 3 sets of 9 reps, and the week after that you add 2.5kg and go back to 3 sets of 8 reps.

This principle applies to free weights and machines. The key is slowly increasing the demand for your muscles over time to force them to adapt and grow. Ultimately, you always want to improve your previous workouts.

Our Recommendations on When to Use Free Weights and Machines

While we generally recommend free weights due to their many advantages, the truth is that both have their place in a well-rounded workout routine. It also depends on how much experience you have and what your goals are.

If you’re a beginner or just starting to lift weights, machines can be a great place to start as they help teach proper form. As your muscles and neural pathways adapt, you can slowly incorporate free weights into your routine. 

Machines are also, generally, less taxing on your nervous system. If you’re feeling fatigued, you can still get a good workout with machines.

On the other hand, if overall muscle growth and strength are your goals, free weights are tried and tested. Stabilizer muscles, such as your pelvic floor muscles, transversus abdominis, and erector spinae, should be better stimulated when using free weights. 

Furthermore, if you’re an athlete training for performance, free weights will better transfer to your sport. Unlike a machine that limits your range of motion, free weights will allow you to move more naturally and better mimic the movement patterns required for your sport.

So, the bottom line is that both have their advantages and disadvantages. If you’re just starting out, or are looking for a less intense workout, machines may be the way to go. However, incorporating free weights and machines is ideal once you’ve adapted to weightlifting and are looking to take your training to the next level.

Main Takeaways

• Both free weights and machines can build a similar amount of muscle for their targeted muscle groups.
• Free weights are better for building overall strength long-term as they strengthen your stabilizer muscles. 
• Free weights are superior for athletes as they better imitate movement patterns required in many sports.
• Machines are deemed safer and are fantastic for isolating lagging body parts.
• Progressive overload is still king regardless of whether you’re using free weights or machines.