The reason that isolated body part training on machines doesn't work is the same reason thatbarbells work so well, better than any other tools we can use to gain strength. The human body
functions as a complete system - it works that way, and it likes to be trained that way. It doesn't like
to be separated into its constituent components and then have those components exercised
separately, since the strength obtained from training will not be utilized in this way. The general
pattern of strength acquisition must be the same as that in which the strength will be used. The
nervous system controls the muscles, and the relationship between them is referred to as
"neuromuscular." When strength is acquired in ways that do not correspond to the patterns in which
it is intended to actually be used, the neuromuscular aspects of training have not been considered.
Neuromuscular specificity is an unfortunate reality, and exercise programs must respect this
principle the same way they respect the Law of Gravity.
Barbells, and the primary exercises we use them to do, are far superior to any other training
tools that have ever been devised. Properly performed, full-range-of-motion barbell exercises
are essentially the functional expression of human skeletal and muscular anatomy under a
load. The exercise is controlled by and the result of each trainee's particular movement patterns,
minutely fine-tuned by each individual limb length, muscular attachment position, strength level,
flexibility, and neuromuscular efficiency. Balance between all the muscles involved in a movement
is inherent in the exercise, since all the muscles involved contribute their anatomically determined
share of the work. Muscles move the joints between the bones which transfer force to the load, and
the way this is done is a function of the design of the system - when that system is used in the
manner of its design, it functions optimally, and training should follow this design. Barbells allow
weight to be moved in exactly the way the body is designed to move it, since every aspect of the
movement is determined by the body.
Machines, on the other hand, force the body to move the weight according to the design of
the machine. This places some rather serious limitations on the ability of the exercise to meet the
specific needs of the athlete. For instance, there is no way for a human being to utilize the
quadriceps muscles in isolation from the hamstrings in any movement pattern that exists
independently of a machine designed for this purpose. No natural movement can be performed that
does this. Quadriceps and hamstrings always function together, at the same time, to balance the
forces on either side of the knee. Since they always work together, why should they be exercised
separately? Because somebody invented a machine that lets us?
Even machines that allow multiple joints to be worked at the same time are less than
optimal, since the pattern of the movement through space is determined by the machine, not the
individual biomechanics of the human using it. Barbells permit the minute adjustments during the
movement that allow individual anthropometry to be expressed.
Furthermore, barbells require the individual to make these adjustments, and any other ones
that might be necessary to retain control over the movement of the weight. This aspect of exercise
cannot be overstated - the control of the bar, and the balance and coordination demanded of the
trainee, are unique to barbell exercise and completely absent in machine-based training. Since every
aspect of the movement of the load is controlled by the trainee, every aspect of that movement is
being trained.
בהיבט אחר....
מה"תצפיות" האשיות שלי כמאמן, כשמדובר על היפרטרופיה, ולאו דווקא ביצועים - זה לא משנה הרבה, לפחות ברמות שלנו כ"חובבים" (מה שרק גורם להעריך עוד פחות היפרטרופיה כמטרת על).
