RISE OF THE MACHINES!

Machines. They’re everywhere. No not the cybernetic organisms from the future but the fixed pivot kinds that pollute our gyms and make our athletes slow and weak. Yes, I mean conventional gym kit that you probably use on a daily basis. This month I have been pulled from the kitchen and into the gym to give my two cents on these metal monstrosities.

First up, cardio!

FITNESS – Treadmills, cross trainers and rowers can be found in pretty much every fitness facility in the world. Why? Because people can jump on them and plod away believing they are both great for fat loss and fitness. The reality is that steady state cardio activities such as walking or jogging are pretty crap for dropping fat and getting fit.  Gyms make a lot of money convincing people that paying £30 a month to go walking is a good thing. As an athlete or player, walking or jogging in a straight line has very little cross over to a sport involving sprint work and changes in direction. In fact, ‘floating’ on a treadmill is not the same as pushing off the ground and cross trainers are pivoted in such a way that they cannot be adjusted to suit the individual. This can lead to injury – not cool.

FAT LOSS – If it was possible to burn a lot of calories just walking or jogging, our bodies would never have survived evolution. We would have dropped dead before we found our next meal. The real secret to fat loss and fitness is sprint work and weight lifting! Without going too scientific on you here let’s consider EPOC – Excess Post Oxygen Consumption. When you go for a walk or jog you may be burning a few hundred calories. Given that the average man may be eating 2500 per day or 17500 per week then a few hundred lost through cardio is very little in the grand scheme of things. By lifting weights or sprinting you increase EPOC which in turn leads to an increase in the number of calories burned even when you finish exercising.

Next up, weights!

MACHINES – Resistance machines are expensive pieces of kit with one benefit – anyone can read the label and use them. While some cable machines are actually very good, the majority of those found in ‘entertainment’ gyms force the user into one fixed plane of movement. The stabiliser muscles are basically allowed to put their feet up. What does this mean to us? The target muscle may become stronger but those other muscles and joints are not exposed to the same loads. The human body works best as a total unit and can only be as strong and as powerful as the weakest link in the chain. Using machines will create weak links in your chain.

FREE WEIGHTS – Free weights are the most basic form of gym kit yet they provide the most benefit. A few barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells and clubs are all you need to work every single muscle in the body through all your planes of movement. Having extra muscle and a well oiled nervous system will make you faster on the pitch. Unless your sport involves throwing small arrows at a board on the wall then you need to be shifting iron!

SUMMARY –

- Do not worry about the calories burned during exercise. The important thing is that you work hard enough to increase the metabolic rate 24/7.

- While some isolation work may be done on cable machines to strengthen small areas like the rotator cuff, the majority of gym work should be based around large compound movements.

- You get plenty of cardio already. Extra free time should be spent lifting weights explosively.

About the Author –

Neil is a Personal Trainer / Strength Coach in Belfast and the Online Fitness Editor for Men’s Health Magazine. Neil’s e-book ‘The Diet Plan’ is a basic guide to nutrition which can be downloaded from his website. Anyone downloading this plan will receive free email support. Visit www.neilmct.com for details.