August 24th, 2014 Issue 13

Arthur Jones, founder of Nautilus and MedX exercise and medical equipment companies, always said that a machine is simply an improved barbell. Arthur, who was into weight lifting himself, realized that in order to target his back muscles he would have to use his hands first. Since the muscles of the hand are smaller and weaker compared to the larger muscles of the back, he suspected that the grip would give up before effectively reaching the stimulus threshold of the larger latissimus muscles of the back. After many prototypes and several years, the first Nautilus pullover machine was developed in the mid 60's.

Young Arnold on one of the original Nautilus pullover machines. Image courtesy of forum.bodybuilding.com

The pullover machine not only allowed trainees to directly target their lattisimus muscles by moving the weight from their elbows, it also provided variable resistance to ensure the muscle tension of the machine matched the natural strength profile of the targeted muscles. From there the company went on to design and produce their famous Nautilus machines.

MedX Lumbar Extension,
ca. early 90s

It did not stop there for Arthur, he realized that by strengthening deep extensor muscles of the back people felt alleviation in back pain and some even where eliminating it. He then decided to sell Nautilus in 1986 and with collaboration of orthopaedic specialists from University of Florida dedicated his efforts to building what would become FDA approved medical instruments for addressing back, neck and knee issues. The MedX company was born. The MedX Lumbar Extension machine (shown above) was even nominated for a Nobel Prize in Medicine at one point.

Originally MedX only produced medical equipment, but in the early 90's they combined their knowledge from building the best exercise machines from the Nautilus days with everything they learned by working with medical professionals when designing the MedX medical machines, and created an exercise line of their MedX. Even today MedX still remains the most bio-mechanically correct equipment you can find. When MedX's engineer asked Arthur what was his budget to design those machines he replied that he did not have a budget, he wanted to design the most accurate equipment possible...

As part of our Full Strength series, in this newsletter we feature some pros of proper machine training compared to free weights.

Enjoy the read!

NET Team

What critics say about machine-based training

Machine-based training has become increasingly popular. Machines are replacing dumb-bells. Despite this they still have their vocal opponents. Those who advocate training with "free weights", such as dumbbells, use the following arguments.

'Barbells allow greater freedom of movement'

False, in fact the opposite is true. Gravity dictates the precise course of a movement with a barbell. If you doubt this, try bench-press exercises lifting a barbell along a plane other than one vertical to the Earth's axis. Machines also dictate the course of the movement. However, in this case the movement does not necessarily follow gravity; rather it corresponds to the physiological needs of the muscle.

'Barbells also work those muscles not directly involved'

True, they do work these muscles but the load is below the stimulus threshold; training tires them but the stimulus is absent. To reach the required stimulus threshold you must exercise individual muscles directly.

`Barbells are better for athletes than machines because they also improve coordination'

True, but only the coordination required for the specific exercise, as coordination skills are not transferable. Replicating movements required in a sport but under more difficult conditions is probably the commonest form of stupidity found in sports training. The real reason for the popularity of barbells is an emotional one. You can only use the coordination developed with barbells if you are a weight or power lifter. They are the only disciplines that require training with heavy barbells, as they require the coordination that comes from lifting them. The origin of barbells is a pointer in this respect. They were originally used as aids in strength demonstrations at funfairs and circuses as they were better than any other equipment when it came to lifting very heavy weights. In other words barbells can train strength and "demonstrate" it as well. The aim is to see what you can achieve and to show others as well.

The advantages of strength machines

The five main benefits of training with machines rather than free weights or exercises using your own body weight are as follows:

Accurate control of the tension through the entire range of motion, it is not random. The muscle exceeds its stimulus threshold throughout its range, from full extension to full contraction. This prevents or corrects intra-muscular imbalance.
It guides (two-dimensional) movements. "Incorrect" movements are (almost) impossible reducing the risk of injury to near zero.
The pad, supports and restraints, which form part of the machine, ensure that individual muscles are isolated. This facilitates cross-sectional stimuli.
Machine training does not require coordination skills. You do not have to "learn" and so training is productive from the start.
The gain with machine-based training is pure strength; the gain is not a mixture of strength and coordination.

The main difference between the various makes of machine is their ability (or inability) to deal with these five points. That is not to say that strength machines cannot cause problems. There can be technical, space, investment or educational problems. In the final analysis it all comes down to cost.

Friction is a technical problem inherent with any training machine. For example: a biceps exercise on a poorly maintained biceps machine with a weight of 50 kg. As you lift the weight (contracting the biceps) you have to overcome 50 kg plus 20% due to friction: 60 kg. However, when the weight is lowered, resistance drops from 60 kg to 40 kg. In terms of training physiology the load during the extension phase is inadequate and so a waste of time. In other words at the very point where resistance should be as high as possible friction in the machine reduces resistance further. Features designed to minimize friction levels greatly influence the cost of a machine: ball bearings rather than bearing bushes, bars rather than chains or V belts, a large weight stack to minimize both the required stroke ("reduction ratio") and initial friction, guide bars made of polished steel, bushings made from porous bronze, etc. MedX machines have even dispensed with guide bars. However, this means that the weight of the weight stack is twice that of comparable machines because the path of the weight during the exercise must be 50% shorter.