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Imaginary conversation I know people have had: Machines at the gym are terrible. They don’t let you move naturally. I only do free weight squats.
Machines at the gym exist for the same reason we use pulleys and motors to hoist objects from the ground to higher levels and engines and motors to go from point A to point B quickly.
Machines are the most efficient and stable way to use a muscle. This is a necessity when it comes to working with pain, working through and around injuries or just growing a muscle for aesthetics or making your joints more stable.
And free weight implements like dumbbells, centermass bells, barbells and trapbars are also ‘machines’ in one crucial sense. The gym implements make it easier for you to move a weight around.
Case in point, try picking up a washing machine that weighs 60-80 kgs. Now pick up a barbell, trapbar or dumbbell that weighs as much. Odds are you couldn’t pick up the unwieldy object without assistance. Whereas the gym implement flew up.
Machines used to work your legs, arms, shoulders and back have a time and place for usage. Professionals working with athletes, bodybuilders, clients in need of rehabilitation and pain management NEED machines to make the most of the training hour.