Walking into a gym can be a bit overwhelming. It’s packed with equipment: dumbbells, barbells, plates, benches, cables, and machines galore. Where do you start? And what’s better to use, free weights or machines?

I will answer the second question first, mostly because it’s the most ambiguous answer. There isn’t really a distinction as to which is “better”. Free weights and machines both have their own sets of pros and cons, and both can be used together to get you the results you desire.

 

The added benefit of free weights is that most exercises with free weights incorporate multiple muscles groups. A standing dumbbell bicep curl will primarily work the biceps, but other stabilizer muscles get involved to balance the body as your center of gravity gets moved around by lifting and lowering the weights. On the same line, free weights involve a lot more control compared to machines; a machine guides you in the exact path to move the load, whereas free weights need you to control the movement. There is a lot more core activation in exercises with free weights as a tight core is needed with almost all exercises to take any extra momentum out of the movement.

 

Machines, on the other hand, are great for isolating a specific muscle group. Using the bicep curl as an example again, if you feel you are not able to curl the weight with proper form, you can use a machine to help guide your movement. This will take away any balance and coordination it takes to perform the curling motion so that you can focus on only activating the biceps.

 

In terms of where to start, what to do, and when, here is my recipe for success. I like to perform exercises with free weights first, and then follow up with some machines to finish it off. As I mentioned earlier, free weigths involve more balance, stability, and core control. So I like to perform these free weight exercises first while I am feeling fresh. I want to do the exercises that ask the most of my body first so that I can perform them properly and injury-free. Once I am feeling fatigued, then I switch to machines, as these help guide my movements and take any balance and stability out of it; I can focus solely on the exercises at hand instead of having to worry about maintaining a tight core. This way you can perform all exercises to your maximum potential while also doing it in the safest manner.