Machine Exercises

A machine fixes the movement path and supports your body, so the only thing left to do is push or pull hard. That makes machines the safest way to train close to failure without a spotter, the simplest way to isolate one muscle, and a straightforward way to keep training around an injury — a leg press asks nothing of your shoulders, a chest press asks nothing of your lower back. Changing the load takes a second, which suits drop sets and high-rep work.

The catch is that the machine decides the path, so a poor fit leaves you working in an awkward range. Set the seat so the joint that bends lines up with the machine's pivot, and use the full range the machine allows rather than the middle third of it. For muscle growth, machines are as effective as free weights when the sets are taken equally close to failure — they simply ask less of your coordination, which is exactly what makes them useful late in a session.