Are Machines Just as Good as Free Weights for Strength and Hypertrophy? | Educational Video

Citations
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37582807/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34609100/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32358310/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37535335/

One of the age old debates in weight training is whether or not free weights are better than machines. When I was getting into bodybuilding 25 years ago, most of the magazines agreed that free weights were far superior for building MASS. It was etched in stone… if you wanted to get big, you had to lift big barbells & dumbbells. While we have seen many broscience theories that ended up being supported by research later on, we have also seen many be debunked, so what is the real deal on free weights vs. machines?

The research thus far pretty clearly shows that so long as you equate for training volume (number of hard sets) & equate for intensity (proximity to failure), machines can build just as much muscle as free weights. A few important caveats is that many of these studies are in beginners so perhaps there may be a difference if someone gets more advanced (I personally doubt it). Another caveat is that most of these studies are less than 16 weeks, so perhaps there could be small differences that might appear over longer time frames (again, I personally doubt it)

At the end of the day what works best for you, will be what you can apply consistent intensity & work to. If you love free weights, use them. If you prefer machines, use them. If you like a mix of both, go for it. It’s about getting the consistent work in.

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Видео Are Machines Just as Good as Free Weights for Strength and Hypertrophy? | Educational Video канала Dr. Layne Norton