What's better to get big? Free weights or machines? - Guy who obviously doesn't read my articles, Lewis Hall
There are certain advantages and disadvantages to both methods of resistance training. Free weights are generally better for building mass and most types of functional strength. Since our movements outside the gym are never restricted by a tracked range of motion, free weights will help you get stronger in ways that may actually come in useful (like when you're lifting that keg out of the back).
Using free weights also recruits lots of little stabilizer muscles that you wouldn't use if you were lifting with machines. So free weights are usually preferable, assuming you are a competent and uninjured lifter. However, if you have an injury, free weights may not be the way to go. The performance of any free weight exercise requires a strong emphasis on form, since your motion is not preset for you. This means that if you don't know exactly what you're doing, not only will you look like a complete idiot, you will probably end up hurting yourself (if you are not hurt already).
The other problem with free weights lies in the fact that you are basically just lifting big pieces of metal. If you drop one of those big pieces of metal on yourself, it will friggin' hurt, believe me, homey. This means that you need a spotter for all lifts of any appreciable amount of weight.
Machines are good for older lifters, as well as those who are injured and have a limited range of motion. Because the movement is tracked for you, you don't have to worry as much about form. You can focus more on feeling the
contraction in the target muscle instead. Machines are also safer, since there is no risk of dropping some heavy iron on your ugly mug. This means you don't need your boy Bruno to loom over you as a spotter, dripping sweat and saliva on you as he ogles the reasonably attractive TA bouncing on the Stairmaster across the gym.
Most routines are built around heavy free weight exercises, with some machine work added on at the end to isolate the muscle and force blood into it. A bread-and-butter chest routine would involve some type of barbell press, perhaps some weighted dips, and machine or cable butterflies. If you are just starting out, however, try to stick primarily to light free weight movements. Work on form and achieving a full range of motion. Mastering - or at least getting good at - these two aspects of weight training will save you from injury and pave the road to more significant gains in the future.
I really don't like doing cardio, so I've been looking for something I actually enjoy doing to get my heart rate up. Instead of getting on the bike, can't I just have some sweaty sex? I sometimes feel a burn while I am having sex with my partner - couldn't I just try to focus on maintaining that burn? - Jon C., Curtis St.
The accepted amount of cardiovascular exercise is 20 minutes, three times per week. However, that is not to say that you just need to get sweaty. You need to elevate your heart rate and keep it elevated. If you can monitor your heart rate and ensure that it stays elevated during a romp in the sack with your loved one and maintain that level of elevation (heart rate, etc.), then I guess you could consider your sessions as a cardio workout.
I am inclined to suggest alternative measures, however. I don't think that turning sex into a form of exercise will improve it. But if it does, please let me know.
