Question by Eric R: Weight training machines versus free weights?
I’ve been hitting the gym two to three times a week for about an hour and a half per visit for the past three months. I do cardio for about half an hour and the rest of my time on machines. I don’t do free weights because I don’t have a spotter and frankly, feel a tad foolish surrounded by all these muscle bound, heavy duty lifters. Right now my goal is to gain upper body mass so I “pyramid” the weights with 18-24 reps in my first set, 12-18 on my second (with more weight) and 8-12 on my third (with even more weight). Since I’m a sweat-soaked mess at the end of my workout, I must be doing something right … right? And I can definitely see improvement!

But I’m wondering what I’m missing by not working with free weights. Should I stick with the machines for now and move to free weights after I’ve gained a bit more mass? Or should I just wander over and jump into free weights?

Any advice is appreciated!

Best answer:

Answer by Jeff D
If you really are looking to put on mass. You should definitely be lifting free weights. The reason is that when you life free weights you use your stablizers muscles and complete a more compound movement. Also when you do freeweights you can rip up your muscle fibers more so than machines which can limit the optimal movement of a specific exercise.

Also, if you are trying to gain mass, I would recommend trying low reps with as heavy of weight as possible. Don’t be afraid to ask for a spot. Remember what the goal is when trying to get big, ripping up those muscles. Doing high repetitions and low reps simply fatigues the muscle. Of course it will still grow but not as fast as with heavier weights.

Get in there and hit it hard and heavy, you will be thankful.

What do you think? Answer below!

Question by Ethan: what is some good training for high impact?
I recently took up parkour (freerunning), and I would like to know what some good, at home, every day workouts there are to prevent injuries like ACL or other problems. I need to sculpt my body into a high impact reducing machine, because some of the falls and jumps are tremendous and I’m bound to get an injury at one point or another.
Any tips?

Best answer:

Answer by Zach W
Stretching

Give your answer to this question below!

I’ve been hitting the gym two to three times a week for about an hour and a half per visit for the past three months. I do cardio for about half an hour and the rest of my time on machines. I don’t do free weights because I don’t have a spotter and frankly, feel a tad foolish surrounded by all these muscle bound, heavy duty lifters. Right now my goal is to gain upper body mass so I “pyramid” the weights with 18-24 reps in my first set, 12-18 on my second (with more weight) and 8-12 on my third (with even more weight). Since I’m a sweat-soaked mess at the end of my workout, I must be doing something right … right? And I can definitely see improvement!

But I’m wondering what I’m missing by not working with free weights. Should I stick with the machines for now and move to free weights after I’ve gained a bit more mass? Or should I just wander over and jump into free weights?

Any advice is appreciated!