Free Weights and Machine Weights can both be used as you want to strengthen and build muscle. Free Weights and Machine Weights are both very effective however there are advantages and disadvantages to using Free Weights or Machine Weights.
If you are a beginner to working out with weights then in general using Machine Weights are better and as you become more of an intermediate to advanced Free Weights can be better however you can use both Free Weights and Machine Weights in your weight training routine.
FREE WEIGHTS - ADVANTAGES
Free Weights are more versatile and allow you to perform hundreds of exercises to work all the muscle groups in your body.
As you workout targeted muscles using Free Weights additional muscle groups are also worked out to stabilize your body as you work the targeted muscles.
Using Free Weights will help you increase your balance and coordination as you need to keep your body stable to keep a good posture during the exercise.
Free Weights take up less room and cost less than Machine Weights.
FREE WEIGHTS - DISADVANTAGES
Lifting heavy weights without a spotter or without maintaining proper posture increases your chances of getting injured.
Using Free Weights can increase your workout time as you will need to spend time adding or removing weights plates to barbells or dumbbells for different exercises.
You need to have more control and focus using Free Weights as you will be supporting the Free Weights completely on your own.
DUMBBELLS VS BARBELLS
Barbells will allow you to lift more weight with both hands simultaneously. Dumbbells on the other hand will allow you to balance the strength in each arm correctly and you can do many more types of exercises using dumbbells.
MACHINE WEIGHTS - ADVANTAGES
Machine Weights are generally safer than Free Weights. As you are not holing the actual weights there is no change of you dropping the weights onto yourself allowing you to workout on your own without a spotter.
Most Machine Weights are very simple to use. You select the weight by inserting the pin into the weight stack and away you go.
Machine Weights allow you to target specific muscle groups without using other muscle groups to the same extent you would using Free Weights.
Machine Weights help guide and control your movements, making it easier to maintain proper posture as you are forced to using the Machine Weights in a specific manner.
You can usually complete your workout in a shorter time as you will not be fiddling with weight plates. To increase or decrease the weight simply pull the pin out from the weight stack a push into a different weight.
MACHINE WEIGHTS - DISADVANTAGES
If you are much bigger or much smaller than the average person, you may have trouble positioning your body in the correct manner on the Machine to use it properly. Most machines are not designed for people under 5'5".
Exercises using Machine Weights usually involve working the muscles on both sides of your body at once. If one side of your body is stronger than the other you may end up lifting more weight from your stronger side on the machine. This will not help you balance your body strength.
As you are using a Machine Weight you are limited to a specific movement which only allows you to perform one specific workout.
Machine Weights can be expensive and bulky, which can make them impractical for home use if you have a tight budget or limited space.
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