The Top 10 ways to get big by using machines
Written by The FLEX staff
June 2, 2008
FLEXONLINE.COM
If there's one vision we have when it comes to the term "weightlifting," it's the hardcore depiction of a sweaty, grunting, vein-popping monolith-of-a-man clenching dumbbells the size of semi-truck tires in his tired, white-knuckled grasp. Rarely do we imagine this same colossal giant placing a pin into the desired weight stack on a leg extension machine as he holds the little handle bars attached to the cushy pad upon which he sits for that day's leg workout.
We hate to burst their bubble, but these men have a confession to make. Even they have admitted in the past that there are a few benefits of weight machines. Here, we expose the 10 advantages of machines that they themselves have shamefully admitted are important. But take it all in now, because chances are, they will deny this had ever been said:
#1 ISOLATED MASS
A machine's paramount purpose is to isolate individual muscles so you can work them more thoroughly. If one of them is lagging, a machine can help it close the gap, making it more proportionate with the rest of the bodypart.
#2 SCULPT YOUR PHYSIQUE
By isolating individual muscles, you can sculpt as many details into your physique or change its shape as you wish. Would you like to create more swell and width in your upper pecs? Then an incline press-flye machine is your solution. How about lengthening the peak of your biceps? Use a one-arm preacher curl machine with a fixed handle. Get the idea?
#3 ENERGY CONSERVATION
You hear weightlifters talk about "throwing around free weights," but have you ever considered how much energy is wasted with them? After wrestling with those things for a while, a lot of energy has been depleted by the first rep. A chest press machine, on the other hand, cannot be "thrown around." You can lock yourself into position and send all of your energy directly into your pecs, without any of it being shunted into the shoulders, lats and triceps.
#4 MORE THOROUGH MUSCLE-GROUP WORKOUT
Shoulders, back, chest and legs are areas containing many muscles, all of which need to be worked from numerous angles. The machines for each body part are so varied that you can hit each muscle from a plethora of different angles. To attempt all of these variations with free weights would be exhausting.
