# A few questions about the gym **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 2, 2017, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-questions-about-the-gym/781246 "2017-03-02T23:43:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-questions-about-the-gym/781246/41 "2017-03-04T19:00:29Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Whenever there is something heavy to move in the house, or groceries to carry in from the car, my wife says “You like to lift heavy things, you should thank me for this…” Whenever my wife catches me complaining of being sore because I over did it at the gym, she’s all, "Remember when we met and you were like…: ‘Go ahead, punch me anywhere!’ " ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-questions-about-the-gym/781246/42 "2017-03-04T20:41:52Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > My question: why do so many people spend their limited gym hours staring at their cell phone? People at my gym do this. They’ll do a set of lifts, taking about 30 seconds, then stand around checking their messages and texting for five minutes. While still retaining possession of the dumbbells that I would like to use. I don’t KNOW tht this is what they’re doing, but I use my phone to track my reps, and also I have music on there that I listen to to inspire me. Or distract me. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2017, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-questions-about-the-gym/781246/43 "2017-03-05T08:26:15Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Think about it: When you’re new, you can increase the weight in the machine by 10-20 lbs each workout. Once you’ve been training awhile, and you need to increase the weight by only 5 lbs, but the plates in the machine are in 10 lb increments, what do you do? > > You put on a half plate, or a quarter plate. I don’t know enough about your cites yet to speak knowledgeably about them, but this is a silly objection. All the machines I’ve seen have fractional weights you can add. And in general I think the whole idea that machines are somehow tangibly different from free weights doesn’t hold water but I’ll take a look. Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t you referring to certain machine makes that have pegs where you can add on free-weight plates? I know I’ve seen machines that provide for this, but I’m not sure they all do. IIRC, Universal Gyms\* machines do, but Nautilus and Cybex don’t. \*Universal Gyms: For you younger folks, these were about the first weight machines invented. To those of us who worked out in high school weight rooms in the 1970s, these are quite familiar. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2017, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-questions-about-the-gym/781246/44 "2017-03-05T15:28:36Z")
I used to work out at a military gym which had a whole room filled with different Nautilus machines. They were fantastic. Free weights and body weight exercises are great and I often prefer them, but not all machines are the same. This anti-machine element began with a reaction to the Smith Machine, which is okay but limiting in the sense that movement in a single plane is somehow unnatural compared to an Olympic squat or bench press. Sure, but many lifting exercises are unnatural. And most will make you stronger. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2017, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-questions-about-the-gym/781246/45 "2017-03-05T16:10:08Z")
Anyway, back to **Mr. Lee** ’s question that this discussion emerges from. There are many reasons to believe that free weights _done wth proper form_ and part of a well designed program does more for overall strength and fat-free mass in less time than do machines and is more likely to result in strength that is transferable to the rest of life. As a general principle yes the gym rats who are most serious about increasing strength and/or muscle mass will be using free weights, if not exclusively then at least primarily, _possibly_ supplementing with machines for very specific training goals. And machines without free weights can be part of a well designed program that adds strength. Know _your_ goals and do what keeps you doing. Do not mess with a free weight program without committing to learning proper form and learn proper form with lighter weights done perfectly first. You are not there to impress anyone. The serious lifters will judge you for breeches of etiquette like hogging the equipment and giving unwanted “advice” and maybe shake their heads at crappy dangerous form, but no one cares how much you lift. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-questions-about-the-gym/781246/46 "2017-03-06T05:24:47Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > I used to work out at a military gym which had a whole room filled with different Nautilus machines. They were fantastic. Free weights and body weight exercises are great and I often prefer them, but not all machines are the same. This anti-machine element began with a reaction to the Smith Machine, which is okay but limiting in the sense that movement in a single plane is somehow unnatural compared to an Olympic squat or bench press. Sure, but many lifting exercises are unnatural. And most will make you stronger. It isn’t that the machines are bad per se. But aside from the fact that they don’t engage the stabilizing or secondary muscles, they may not offer enough resistance. For instance, I’m definitely no Sampson or Hercules, and can’t go much beyond my body weight of 142# when doing a traditional free weight squat. But the Cybex squat machine at the last gym I belonged to only went up to 200#, and I came within a plate or two of maxing that out. This corroborates well with the rule of thumb based on my own experience, that I can generally handle about 50% more weight using a machine, than using free weights to do the same kind of movement. \*“Traditional” squat, meaning the kind done with a loaded barbell held on the shoulders behind the neck. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-few-questions-about-the-gym/781246.md?page=2)