Gym Machines Missing the Mark

by Ivy Lim, personal trainer, and founder of iPower Fitness

As a personal trainer I’ve gone from working in the big-box gyms with all the high-tech equipment, to in-home private clients, to outdoor in-the-park bootcamps and to small group training. I’ve used a multitude of ways to exercise and move the body.

In the gyms I’ve witnessed people consistently using the machines improperly. This results in ineffective exercise (thus wasting workout time) or worse yet, subjecting yourself to injury.

Now that I have a fitness studio, and after years of assessing people, I am still to this day amazed at how many clients I see that are “gym members” and still cannot perform a proper squat or lunge, pushup or back row – using “free weights” and “free body”.

Using machines is great for specific body strengthening and they are easy to use. However, even though they provide a lot of support (making them less risky than free body exercise), there still is a chance of injury if you don’t maintain good form and technique. On the flip side, they don't truly work your body the way it's designed.

Your body is designed and made for “primal” movements; "primal" meaning "this is what was required before the dawn of machinery in order to move and maintain life" (ie hunting, gathering, building shelter).

Primal movements are:

- squat
- lunge
- to push
- to pull
- to reach up and down
- and to flex at the hip

The chest press machine is designed to work your pectoralis majoris. This is a large muscle group in your upper body. It’s a “pushing” motion, but we use this machine sitting down. When in our real lives do we actually “push” anything while we are sitting down? Normally when we need to push anything we are in a standing position.

Another example is the standing leg press machine. We’re squatting down and it's great because we get back support. But again, when in real life do we actually squat with our back against anything?

Your body is an assemblage of parts that together perform a particular function. Free weights enable you to use your body “freely” and as a system working as one with each other. You may be asking yourself “what’s in it for me?” Well, when you use your entire body as a functional unit, you can actually create a “tougher workout” for yourself, which means you can have a higher calorie burn, while firing up a slew of muscle groups in just one exercise.

We’ll compare the pushup versus chest press machine.

The push up engages your entire body. The abdomen and core area, your legs are fired up, as well as your chest and arms. Let’s not forget about our wrists getting strengthened, our back and even our ankles. Whereas with the chest press machine, you're sitting back, so your back muscles aren’t as engaged, your core definitely not as much and of course your lower body is not being used at all.

All this being said, if you are beginner, it’s safer and easier to use a machine. But if you are new to exercise (or new to free body exercise) then I highly recommend you invest some time in learning the primal movements using your free body. It will give you the confidence to try new exercise programs, whether it’s a DVD or a bootcamp, or simply getting equipment for home. These fundamental free body exercises are that you should perfect are the:

- squat
- lunge
- pushup
- back row

If you need to, ask someone or get a professional trainer, it will be well worth the time, money and effort. This is knowledge and education for yourself and for your health. Learning the fundamental movements opens you up to a greater range of exercises, adds new life to your exercise program, enhances everyday functions and overall provides total body strength and mobility.

Ivy Lim from iPower Fitness is the owner of a boutique fitness studio exclusively for women in Brampton, Ontario. The iPower Fitness method of training entails a fusion of core strengthening, traditional weight training and bootcamp exercises, yoga and pilates strength moves, as well as athletic style training. Ivy developed this style of training because it is fun, dynamic, effective, and INTENSE. And... it works!

You can contact Ivy through her website: www.ipowerfitness.com