#109 - Am I wasting time on exercise machines?
In short, yes, they are a waste of time but they are easy to comprehend and thus people resort to them. (We're talking about those big exercise machines that look like they could be in a scrap yard, you load weight onto or use a pin to select a number from a weight stack. - Cable machines and cardio equipment are a different story.) But easy doesn't always mean helpful. You're in the gym for one reason or another and I am assuming you're trying to invest your time in a way that it delivers returns in the future for you.
Machines are an easy way to get resistance training on a muscle without risking damage, for the most part. If you're rehabilitating from an injury or surgery they will carefully allow targeting of a muscle or joint for strengthening without straining. However you are also missing out on crucial strengthening of secondary muscles involved as well as associated ligaments and tendons through a more "functional" exercise.
The reason you want to be using dumbbells and barbells over machines is to get all systems on-board working together. Other reasons include:
To read more checkout our blog on Driving Adaptations in the Human Body
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