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Or they can just waste your gym time while upping your risk of injury.
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The reason: isolation.
Take, for example, rows.
Unfortunately, this isolation doesn’t come without its trade-offs.
Even if the seats adjustable, machines are never one size fits all.
Machines dont move like we do in real life, Kite says.
So before you get on any machine, you should probably ask yourself, ‘Why this one?
What its supposed to do:Build lower-body strength without putting a bunch of weight on the spine.
To most closely mimic the leg press, try a trap-bar deadlift (a.k.a.
hex-bar deadlift), he says.
Despite its name, the movement pattern closely resembles a squat.
What its supposed to do:Work your rectus abdominis, or six-pack muscles harder than body-weight crunches can.
Still, check that to balance out your abs training" with core stability exercises such asplanks.
What its supposed to do:Strengthen and grow your quadsthe muscles on the front of your thighs.
Plus, they dont leave out the glutes.
Its all abouttraining the obliques.
Options includecable chop variations, thePallof press, and rotational medicine ball slams.
Most women, however, seek out this machine for spot-reduction.
What it really does:It burns minimal caloriesand spot-reduction doesnt exist.
(Most womens outer thighs arent strong enough to match their inner thighs.)
What it really does:Apart from turning off stabilizer muscles (like your abductors and adductors!
The impact can range from poor results to injury.
Switch it up:For more natural movement patterns, Matheny recommends sticking with free-weight overhead presses and squats.
It trains your pecs secondary role of pulling the upper arm in toward your torso.
(Think: hugging.)
What it really does:It does get the job done in terms of pec training.
Thats especially true when you consider that most people dont get the machine set up properly.
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