Everyone seems to have an opinion on this one:

Free weights or machines?

Leg press vs squats? 

Which one is better, which will yield better results?

A few years ago, if I was asked this question, I would have, pretty much without thinking, said free weights. Machines are for people who don't want to work hard.

However, once I'd removed my head from out of my own backside, properly considered the uses of both, looked at some research and had success with using both with myself and my clients, I realised the answer isn't so clear.

One of the typical arguments against using weight machines is that they don't train the stabilising muscles, and other qualities like balance, awareness of moving your own body through space etc. like using free weights would.

Think about it this way - during a set of barbell squats all of the muscles which stabilise your joints like your ankles, knees, hips and spine have to work REALLY hard to stop you from falling into a big crumpled heap on the floor.

Conversely, think of a set of leg presses - similar main muscles worked to squats, but it can only really move in one plane of motion - easier to stabilise, therefore less likely to crush you to death.

So if free weights make your body recruit these stabilising muscles, it makes them better right?

But think about it this way... if your sole focus is just to look good, grow muscle mass and lose body fat, why would this matter? Using machines in this instance would be perfectly acceptable.

However, if you're an athlete, or recovering from an injury where developing traits like improved stability, balance etc. would be desirable, then using mainly free weights are the way to go.

So let's quickly weigh up a few pros and cons of each: Free weights are:

+ More versatile. You can use a barbell or set of dumbbells for 100s, if not 1000s of different exercises. Same can't be said for machines, unless you're one of those Instagram fitness chicks who can work out how to use ANY machine to work their glutes 10 different ways.

+ Potentially better in terms of carrying over to real life movements, which could be important for athletes.

- Often complex and time expensive to learn - snatches, clean and jerks, doing the powerlifts (squat, bench and deadlift) properly.

- Sometimes more dangerous, i.e. failing a squat rep is likely more dangerous than a leg press.

Machines are:

+ Easy to perform, require very little/no skill.

+ Easily performed to hit a target muscle group in case you REALLY want to hit it hard.

- On a fixed path of motion, which can be uncomfortable for some people, and even painful.

- Often fixed in the jumps in weight increments, which can be too high for some people.

So with the above, we can see that it's not just a case of good or bad, one wins over the other.

As with EVERYTHING in this game, work out which is best for your own individual case.

Much love

JB