Although I prefer free weights, which offer training effects that are uniquely applicable to the real world, I also like using machines. Why?
Machines isolate muscles
If your main goal is to isolate a specific muscle group and increase hypertrophy, a machine can help you focus on that muscle and exhaust it without getting help from or lessening the load with other muscles.
Machines can be good for beginners
For someone who’s never lifted a weight before in their lives, using machines to start can teach them how to engage the desired muscle before introducing the complexity of free weights.
Combining machines with free weights
Try hitting a muscle group with free weights and then hop on a machine to target the same basic muscle groups in a controlled manner—say, dumbbell lunges for the lower body followed by the leg press machine. You get the benefit of stabilizing yourself and dealing with uncertainty and variability with the free weight, and then you can blast the muscle and really exhaust it in a safe way using the machines.
Cables machines are essential
The cable machine is unparalleled for its ability to train rotational and transverse plane movements. In fact, I’d say that an exclusively free-weight-based training program is always going to be inferior to a free-weight program that involves the cable machine.
Machines just workA recent review study compared dozens of smaller trials looking at free weights and machines, determining that the gains in strength, size, and power were similar whether lifting barbells or using machines. Training is training, it turns out. Anything is better than nothing.
Machines enable maximal intensity
Finally, machines allow you to safely hit a level of intensity most people find difficult to reach with free weights. The ability to exert maximum effort and endure discomfort without concerns about balance or injury is underrated. You can grind out some incredibly tough sets when you don’t have to worry about dropping the weight on your head or foot.
I would argue that everybody should give exercise machines a shot. You don’t have to abandon free weights—they’re invaluable too—but incorporating machines into your training, alongside kettlebells, barbells, or bodyweight exercises, will yield significant benefits for anyone looking to improve their strength, fitness, and body composition.
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