Are free weights better than weight machines?
With free weights, your body is forced to not only work the muscle that you are isolating, but also the stabilizing muscles as well. In the Strength and Conditioning Journal, one study they published found that “free weights make more demands on your muscles to stabilize and balance your body,” said review author Steven Plisk. Free weights can also prove to benefit you in practical, everyday life. For example, lifting groceries, children, or when doing tougher tasks like washing a car or scrubbing a bathtub, your body will have that extra edge because your stabilizing muscles are in shape. This can prevent you from suffering from strains, sprains, and twisting injuries that are completely preventable with proper strengthening of your stabilizing muscles. However, if you use wrong form when using the free weights, you can injure yourself. The verdict: beginners should use weight machines until they are comfortable and have mastered proper technique; intermediate to advanced lifters shou
