Machines vs Functional Training

A lot of people ask me about the quickest way to lose weight. They look puzzled when I tell them to quit using machines and start burning more calories with free weights. But take a second and think about it. We are three dimensional creatures. When do you ever find yourself sitting straight up in a chair and pressing heavy things away from you? Only in the gym. But how many times do you have to bend over and pick up a full basket of laundry and carry it to or from the laundry room. More than you would like to, right? We are very dynamic through our actions in the day. Very rarely are we like a monkey with symbols just going through the motions. Machines have great functions if you are rehabbing an injury or if you are specifically targeting a muscle or muscle group. But if your goal is weight loss or performance you need to be training functionally.

You have 29 muscles that connect the bottom of the rib cage to the middle of your thigh. Without getting too technical, this is known as your core, and this area is the pillar of your movement and function. These muscles move first and are responsible in part for all movement in the body. It only makes sense for these muscles to be in the best shape possible. When you spend most of your time sitting, especially in the gym, your core is not challenged to its potential. When you train with free weights, your core must stabilize the body in turn using more muscles and burning more calories. This is how we train smarter not harder. We burn more calories in the same amount of time by involving more muscles and our workouts create more fat loss than traditional machines routines!

In many ways we are practicing for life’s unexpected events. Did you know that more of my clients have thrown their back out sneezing or picking up the milk from the grocery cart than with any other activity. I always drop my pen when I give a talk about this and ask someone to squat down and get it for me. You know how to squat from the knees and protect your back, everyone does. But it never fails, even trainers find some way to contort their body in to a half lunge/half dead lift with a twisting motion pretzel of a stance and hop up and hand me my pen with a smile. It goes to show you how unconsciously we have found the path of least resistance in our actions. I told them to squat but they didn’t because it was easier to compromise the body for the goal. This is why we train functionally!

You may have seen exercises in your gym or on TV that involve balancing on one leg or using a stability ball instead of a bench. This is a way to overload the core and movement musculature while keeping the heart rate elevated. This type of training involves training stabilization, balance and strength together causing more muscles to be involved in a specific exercise that challenges the body in ways that may mimic daily activities. Training this way has been a revolution to fitness. You can read any fitness magazine and find an article or two about Functional training. The progress we as trainers see from this training eclipses the old school way of working out. This is why we use almost all free weight, bodyweight, or functional movements in what we do. It’s all about results.

If you are new to fitness, a machine workout is a great way to become comfortable with your gym and how people interact with each other. But start looking to expand your horizons and learn as much as you can about form and technique. The Dobbs Personal Training exercise library is an excellent tool and all explanations are taught with the expertise of teaching hundreds of people just like you. We work from the core out. We are always concerned about your abs being tight and your form being perfect. We are working smarter. Join us!