WEBVTT

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Machines or free weights?

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First decide what the exercise needs to do.

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Practising a particular barbell lift and fitting a

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useful session into a hotel gym are different

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tasks, even when they involve similar muscles.

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Research has not found a consistent muscle-growth winner

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between the two categories.

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Strength tests can favour the equipment used in

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training. That is a reason to match practice

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to the goal, not to dismiss either option.

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Ask whether the setup fits you, whether you

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can repeat it, and whether you can progress

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appropriately. A familiar machine may answer those questions

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well. A free-weight exercise may be better for

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a specific skill.

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Forty kilograms on one machine is not automatically

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equivalent to another machine or a dumbbell exercise.

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Record the station and settings.

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Establish a new baseline when the equipment changes

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instead of copying the number blindly.

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A machine still needs correct adjustment.

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Free weights still need control and appropriate safety

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arrangements. Ask for instruction when the start, stop

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or safety features are unclear.

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Persistent pain needs assessment, not a category switch.

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A programme can include both machines and free

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weights. Choose exercises you can perform and repeat

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consistently. The full guide includes a decision table

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for travel, skill practice and tracking progress in

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an unfamiliar gym.