Why I Put Away The Free Weights 🏋️

Why You Need to be Stabilizing Your Workout

In the past year, I've undergone an evolution, swapping my weightlifting approach from the raw grit of free weights to the precision of machine-based, targeted exercises. This might seem to defy the traditional commandments of the iron temple. Yet, like Galileo challenging the geocentric model, sometimes the old ways need a bit of updating. Please don’t hate me Arnold.

So, what spurred this paradigm shift? It's all about the "S" word: Stabilization. Highly stabilized machine weights, designed for laser-like focus on specific muscle groups, have taken center stage.

Admit it, reaching failure on a free weight bench press, sans spotter, is a beast to navigate. It's like piloting the Millennium Falcon through an asteroid field, tricky and downright dangerous. I don’t know about you but failing in front of a large group of people that I see every morning is something I’d prefer to avoid. But with machines, you can take your muscles to their limits without losing control or risking form – vital for both safety and effectiveness.

My weightlifting orbit now swings less around the stars of barbell bench press, dumbbell bench press, back squats, and deadlifts. Instead, I've charted a new course, including more hamstring curls, leg press, hack squat, flat bench machines, and incline bench machines, pec deck... You get the picture. These exercises all have one thing in common. They are highly targeted and allow me to go to absolute failure. There is no risk of my form breaking down. There is no risk of injuring myself if I can’t get the weight up.

I can almost hear the mob coming at be for this but it’s true so I’m going to say it. When it comes to the phrase "working stabilizer muscles", it's a bit like saying Pluto is a planet – debatable, and highly dependent on context. For those training for function, it holds some merit. But, in the quest for aesthetics and strength, it's a nebulous concept. At the end of the day, if you’re trying to lift heavy things and look good naked, stabilizer muscles are about as real as big foot.

My objective of this spiel is not intended to dissuade you from performing exercises that have worked for many. Free weights will absolutely make you gains if the rest of your regiment is on lock. Arnold and Ronnie would be a testament to this. My goal of sharing this information is to open your eyes to the evolving landscape of fitness. What has worked in the past may work, it just may not be as great as people think it is.

By no means am I saying that you’ll achieve less gains by working out with machines. But 5 years ago I would have called you a pussy for not squatting on a leg day. Now I’m more worried about staying healthy and optimizing my workouts. I call it maturing.

Exercises to Improve Stabilization and Form

If you want to conceptualize this into a workout plan here are some examples of free weight exercises that you can replace with machine work. The exercises on the left are highly reliant on stabilizer muscles and take away from the muscles you’re actually trying to work on. Usually this means you’re able to get in an extra rep or two on a highly targeted area vs losing out a few reps because your stabilizers get too fatigued to continue.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a machine exercise maxi. Will I occasionally bench press every now and then with barbells and dumbbells? Absolutely. They are still a great workout and let’s be honest, it’s more fun to test your strength on the bench then a machine.

However, the majority of my time I’m focusing on purely mechanical movements where I’m doing everything I can to stabilize my body for the movement. You probably won’t catch me doing many back squats or deadlifts. At this point in my life I’ve seen too many people get injured and it’s just not worth it for me.

Fun Factoids of the Day

That’s it. That’s today’s newsletter. Do you think we’re getting lazy with our writing? Let me know in the comments so I can confront you about it later and make it really uncomfortable.