The industry largely feels machines are not functional
- The strength produced is magically useless in other activities
- The machines don’t work the “stabilizer” muscles
- Isolating muscle groups = poor integration
- Don’t mimic real life movements
- Only good for rehab
- Any other reasons Erin?
How machines are like hot stoves
About Transferability
Florida study: 6 piece circuit with elderly = increased function (power, sit test, sit and walk, balance)…all done on machines!
Schwendel & Thorland: used exercises such as bench, leg press, lat pulls, etc and increased bat speed in baseball players
Pete Browns FB post
About the magical stabilizers
So called “stabilizer” muscles don’t just prevent limbs from moving, they stabilize the joint! If the joint is moving, they are stabilizing!! It’s about maintaining contact surface (joint congruency), not prevent extraneous movement of the limbs.
Rehab: the reason that makes no sense
This makes NO sense to me. What are we doing during rehab? Improving function!!!
About Mimicking Movements
This is the notion by the functional training industry that we can only get better at doing “the thing”. If we aren’t doing “the thing” we cannot improve it. Did you know the first time you walked you’d never done that before?
Bottom line: your muscles don’t know what they are fighting (machine vs. free wgt). They only know there is outside forces that they need to work against = produce internal forces.
Exercise isn’t about what happens on the outside, it’s about what’s going on in the inside. I.e. neurologically
How transfer works. It’s not the exercise! It’s the adaptation (refer to notes)
Listener Questions
Daniel Purvis: Will I get a better muscle building workout if I keep my back flat on the bench and lower the weight or if I increase the weight and arch my back?
2KidWonder (Sho’Nuff!): The subject is using your own body as counterweight. For instance, placing your right forearm across your left as you do bicep curls (in place of a dumbbell, per say). Is this safe? Is it effective to build strength, not necessarily size?
Resources
Schwendel PJ, Thorland W. (1992). Traditional baseball weight training versus power weight training: effects on bat velocity. Medicine &Science in Sports & Exercise, 24: S137