The Machines Aren’t Alright

By Matt Gary

For www.EliteFTS.com

Technology is a beautiful thing. I used to work part-time as a DJ, and I
remember hauling around hundreds of records and thousands of CDs.
Transporting all the equipment and the music felt like powerlifting. The
invention of the MP3 player has changed all that. What an amazing little
machine. A tiny little device, approximately the size of a wallet or a
small cell phone, is now capable of storing thousands of songs. You can
have your entire music collection at your fingertips in a completely
portable component.

Just like Coca-Cola, the company, Apple, seemingly has a stronghold
on the market with its own MP3 version known as the iPod. They’re
everywhere. I own one and wonder how I ever lived without it. I love
music and having my immensely eclectic library with me at all times is
pure nirvana. It’s truly changed my life, proving that I too have
succumbed to the pressures of our microwave society. We all want things
instantaneously. The school of sloth has taught us to be impatient.

The fact that technology has permeated nearly every facet of our lives
has taught us to become discontent when things don’t go our way. This
dissatisfaction with our daily existence teaches us to change things as
quickly as possible. Don’t like your car? Get a new one. Don’t
like your job anymore? Quit and find a new one. House isn’t big enough?
Buy a new one. Don’t get along with your spouse? Get divorced and find a
new one. Hate the way your body looks? No problem, just buy a new one.
This type of thinking breeds laziness. Then, this laziness acts like a
virus and spreads into every fiber of your being. Rather than searching
for a plausible resolution, we look for the next quick fix.

Despite my occasional failure to resist the temptations of immediacy,
I’m still old-fashioned. I’m definitely old school when it comes to
strength. Although I’d like to be instantly stronger and hit personal
records at every competition, I enjoy traveling down the tortuous road
of strength acquisition. I appreciate the journey and the struggle.
Anything worth having in life isn’t easily achieved. If acquiring
maximal strength beyond the normal limits was easy, everyone would do
it. But, it’s not.

This is one of the many reasons powerlifting isn’t a mainstream
sport. It’s difficult. Strength training isn’t easy. It’s often
uncomfortable. It makes you sore and requires recovery. If you’re not
careful, you can and probably will get injured. So, if you want easy,
play cards or lay on a beach somewhere. I won’t begrudge you for that.
For those of you who are still with me, I’ll illuminate a way to
improved performance.

There’s no easy way out when it comes to getting stronger. Gaining
strength requires hard work and it takes time. Novices can make strength
gains and hit personal bests in every workout. More experienced trainees
can’t make similar gains. Just because training with machines may save
time, don’t be the fool who strolls down that path. Machines make good
coat racks. They’re also useful for drying wet laundry and hanging suit
adjustments. If you want to get stronger and change your body in the
most time-efficient manner, stick with free weights.

I’ve heard it all—machines utilize the peak contraction principle,
they isolate muscles, they’re safer, and you can train faster. However,
machines are only valuable for those working with or around an injury or
those with extreme physical limitations or disabilities. Even then, the
value of machines is limited. They don’t provide nearly the benefits of
free weights, specifically because they fail to stimulate the central
nervous system in the same manner. Accuracy, balance, coordination,
flexibility, power, and speed are all lost when you use a machine.

Most machines involve pulleys or levers. Archimedes, the ancient
Greek mathematician and engineer, is credited with inventing the pulley.
However, it’s also documented that a version of the pulley was used
thousands of years prior to his invention by the Egyptians when they
were building the pyramids. Why did they use the pulley? They used it to
make lifting heavy objects easier. Pulleys allow loads to be distributed
over a greater area and create a mechanical advantage. This sounds
fantastic, doesn’t it? Lift more weight with less effort. Isn’t that
what we all want? Yes but don’t believe the hype. It’s not that simple.

Powerlifting is one of the best examples of a “practice like you play”
sport. On the lifting platform, we squat, bench press, and deadlift with
a barbell. Accordingly, we should train the same way. Squatting on a
machine is far less beneficial to squatting with free weights. Check
your ego at the door. I’ve seen hundreds of people load the leg press
with plates galore. Ask them to step under a loaded bar, and they
crumble.

The same is true for bench pressing. Just because you can use four
45-lb plates on each side of the Hammer Strength bench press machine
doesn’t mean you can bench press the same amount with a barbell. Machine
prowess never equates to free weight strength. Anyone can lie down on a
machine and look graceful because there’s little proprioception taking
place.

Kinesthetic awareness is gained when training with free weights and
without mirrors. The visual feedback that a mirror provides will always
override any other type of feedback the body is providing. Accordingly,
all strength training movements should be performed facing away from
mirrors. Athletes don’t compete on a machine nor do they compete in
front of mirrors. Sports are contested in open space. This is all the
more reason to spend time lifting free weights.

Machines have few applications and offer limited value. Machines may be
used to work with or around an injury. This is particularly true when an
athlete doesn’t have use of a limb. In that case, the athlete can use
the opposite limb and receive some benefit. Occasionally, I’ll use the
lat pull-down machine for standing abdominal work. A low cable system
can be valuable for pull thrus as well. However, even then, I often grab
a kettlebell and get similar results with high rep swings.

Cybex manufactures an assisted dip/chin machine for those who aren’t
strong enough to perform dips and pull-ups with their own body weight.
This is especially useful for new trainees. Sometimes I’ll use jump
stretch bands as a replacement, which affords more of a free weight
feel. The reverse hyper is wonderful too, and though I’ve never used
one, Louie Simmons swears by the belt squat machine. I suppose I’ll take
his word for it. Other than that, there aren’t many
machines that I would choose before grabbing a barbell, dumbbell, or
kettlebell. I still consider the glute ham raise and 45-degree back
raise as free weight movements because your body is anchored and you
lift it through space without the aid of a lever or pulley.

High intensity training (HIT) advises the use of lots of machines. HIT
programs are almost entirely based on single sets to failure or circuit
training that revolves around machines. This is a mistake because you
can’t develop balance, coordination, or stability. Just about any moron
can look at a machine and figure out how to use it. This doesn’t make
that person an expert.

Teaching the finer points of squatting, deadlifting, or the clean and
jerk requires knowledge and skill. The ability to communicate
effectively with your trainees is part of what makes someone a better
coach. Most HIT coaches I know post their workouts on the wall and hope
their athletes get it right. HIT proponents also advise that explosive
weight training is unsafe. This is false, especially when more injuries
occur on the playing field than in the weight room.

Strength training with free weights more adequately prepares an
athlete for the rigors of competition and actually decreases the risk of
injury. The principles of HIT suggest that exercise should be intense,
brief, and infrequent. Personally, I don’t know of anyone who’s
successful in any venture and performs the fundamental principles of
their pursuit infrequently. Our bodies do, in fact, need to recover from
strength training sessions. However, the mere suggestion of training
infrequently connotes laziness. Flopping down on a machine is easy. Pick
up a free weight, challenge yourself, and watch your results increase
exponentially.

There is absolutely no replacement for squats, deadlifts, pull-ups,
overhead presses, and bench pressing. These five mandatory moves should
be included in every trainee’s strength and conditioning program. These
staple exercises should be performed with free weights. In lieu of
machine rows, give bent-over barbell rows or dumbbell rows a shot.
Military presses or push presses with kettlebells are great for shoulder
strength. Instead of strolling down easy street and performing prone leg
curls, try Romanian deadlifts or good mornings on for size.

Strength training with free weights can help one acquire nine of the
ten physical skills associated with genuine fitness including accuracy,
balance, coordination, cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, power,
speed, stamina, and of course, strength. Moreover, this type of training
recruits more muscle fibers, avails greater central nervous system
stimulation, provides a greater transfer of strength, and creates a more
functional parallel to both athletic and everyday moves.

Today’s gyms and training facilities are full of unnecessary items. Gyms
are what society perceives they should be like…attractive, comfortable,
and welcoming. How do those qualities equate to an atmosphere of
physical achievement? I fail to see the connection. Gyms should be
entirely uncomfortable, unpleasant, and unwelcoming. Instead of
appearing like a lounge, a support network of like-minded individuals
should be present because an individual will push harder and risk more
in the company of trustworthy peers. Instead of mirrors, there should be
motivational thoughts, inspirational quotes, record boards, and photos
of those who have
come before us and paved the highway of physical achievement.

Since when is the achievement of anything truly valuable supposed to
be easy? Worthy pursuits aren’t easy. When you enter into a training
facility, you should be desperate to achieve your goal and willing to
lay it on the line. I like to see desperation and fear in someone’s eyes
because then I know they actually “have to” and “need to” achieve their
goal. It doesn’t matter whether your pursuit is to lose body fat, squat
750 lbs, get closer to God, hasten your 40 time, become a better parent,
be more honorable, jump higher, read better, love stronger, devote more,
last longer, or rehabilitate an injury. No matter what the goal, you
should be desperate to achieve it, or quite frankly, it’s not worth your
efforts.

Comments, discussion, and questions about this article or any other
strength endeavor are always welcome and may be sent to
MLGary@aol.com.

Matt Gary is a full-time strength coach in Rockville, Maryland. He
works one-on-one with many high school and collegiate athletes as well
as elite powerlifters. His educational background includes a bachelor’s
degree in kinesiological science from the University of Maryland. Matt
is also a certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) via the
National Strength and Conditioning Association and an active member of
the USAPL where he maintains his status as a national referee and
assistant coach on the USA Men’s and Women’s world powerlifting teams.

 

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