Article: Positives of Free Weight Training

Positives of Free Weight Training

as sxi said, i would definitely try to work with the free weights (barbell or dumbbells) whenever possible. this is for at least a few reasons:

1) natural movement angles, so there isn't any painful torsion forces on your joints or muscles from moving weights at fixed, awkward angles;

2) you involve stabilizer muscles, which not only can contribute to greater applying force but also means more energy expenditure, a greater chemical disequilibrium generated from working out (which also means more energy expended to restore that equilibrium) - all contributing to forcing your body into a higher metabolic state;

3) many machines isolate muscles/are for isolation exercises which most beginning weightlifters shouldn't spend time on. they should instead focus on compound movements which are more bang for you buck movements in the effort put in and the results you get in strength and muscle development.

so just keep that in mind. i understand a lot of gyms don't have a good equipment selection available so you're limited. do what you can for now (i think that workout layout looks fine for now, do it 3x week or every other day). make sure to challenge yourself with each workout, doing either more reps, more sets, higher weight with same reps or sets, etc. but keep a lookout for gyms with better equipment. golds tend to offer very cheap membership and always have decent equipment, minus this one where i live that has the shittiest dip bar and no hip abductor machine :confused: :no:...

for fat loss, try throwing in some cardio after your lifting. longer low intensity sessions are great (no shorter than 20 mintues), as are hiit cardio but for short periods (well under 45 minutes, preferably 15-25 minutes) so that you can get some protein in you as soon as possible after lifting.