Caltrops - American McGee's Honda Civic





	[quote name="NDD"][quote name="WITTGENSTEIN"]The whole free weights/machine weights debate interests me a lot. I use both, depending on my mood and whether I'm going alone or with my wife. (to spot each other) And it's absolutely true that no machine weight can replicate the squat. But for most stuff I'm not really sold on the free-weights-are-superior schtick. Machine weights provide objective measurement (aside from pull-downs/cables) and clear progression. I think that's important for beginners. <a href="http://startingstrength.com/index.php/site/platform_the_dumbbell_rack">As the man himself says</a>, free weights can lie. I can never tell whether the shiny, stainless steel barbell that's racked on the bench is 5-10 pounds lighter than the rusty iron one I was using last time. [/quote] Are machine plates really any better? There are three different lat pulldown machines at my gym and I cap out at a different weight on all of them, same with leg press, same with leg curl. Worst of all are the (admittedly comfortable) machines where your bodyweight makes up part of the equation. How the fuck much am I lifting? There's a big black "9" on the plate where the pin is but the listed weight is based on a 150-lb user. In lieu of calibration all anyone can do is stick with the same barbell, weights, machine, etc. and improve based on that single marker. But the thing I found compelling about Rippetoe's argument wasn't the part about machine weights being contrived or free weights being spiritually pure or whatever. It was the part about accessory muscles and managing coordination. Someone like me, who will tear the shit out of this or that machine but who struggles to maintain a grip or, as it turns out, keep steady through a single squat, can't help but notice a certain <i>unevenness in development.</i> With that in mind, I was at the gym tonight and wtf is there any other woman in the world who ever does a bench press in public? I got stared at hardcore and it wasn't because of any kind of meaningfully huge lift either.[/quote]