Risks of Using Weight Machines

Machines may take the awareness out of exercise.

Weight machines were created for safety, but can pose some risks specific to their design. While there is a danger of dropping free weights, such as barbells and dumbbells, these devices also force the user to be aware of her body and how the weight feels as she performs an exercise. Weight machines present several risks as they eliminate the need for this level of awareness.

Malfunction

It can be difficult to tell when a workout machine is broken, unbalanced or otherwise unusable. Workout machines are built from weight stacks, pulleys, bars, grips and benches, all of which are adjustable by the user. If at any time, a part breaks or becomes unstable, it may affect the entire machine. These breaks or malfunctions may not be visible until the user attempts to perform the exercise, risking injury.

False Security

Workout machines are meant to eliminate the potential for improper form. However, free weights force the user to learn proper form with lighter weights before lifting heavy, making this a safer option in the long run. When using a workout machine, it is possible that the user may overestimate the maximum amount of weight she can safely lift. Forced proper form through a machine does not eliminate the necessity of slow and cautious progressive overload. Bodybuilding.com defines progressive over load as "continually increasing the demands on the musculoskeletal system in order to continually make gains in muscle size, strength and endurance." Therefore, an exerciser should only use a weight that she can comfortably move for a set amount of repetitions, then slowly increase that weight as she becomes stronger.

Range of Motion

Many workout machines require the user sit or lie down while performing the exercise. This eliminates stabilizer and complimentary muscles from the exercise, resulting in a very limited range of motion. A user who only uses workout machines may not develop well-balanced muscles.

Workout machines also may overwork only a limited set of muscles, leaving the stabilizer and complimentary muscles under developed. This increases the risk for injury in the few muscles that are repeatedly stressed by the machines.

References

• "Ebony" magazine; Can Machines Exercise for You?; Contributing Writer; April 2004
• "Dialed In"; Rick Ryan; 2008
• Bodybuilding.com; "Machines or Free Weights"