Why the Numbers on Weight Machines Are a Lie

For several decades now, the fitness game has been blessed with commercial fitness and “wellness” centers (whatever that means). The first thing you notice when you enter one is an endless supply of machines, most of which can only exercise one body part in one motion.

Now, I'm not going to do a long free-weights-versus-machines rant. That has been done many times and by much more articulate people. What I am going to explore is how the novice is slyly conned by the manufacturers of these machines.

The Problem of Mechanical Advantage

Whether we are novices or Olympic medalists, we all like to lift more weight. It satisfies the ego and is an innate part of the human condition. Nothing wrong with that. Strength athletes need something to measure their progress with and the amount of weight on the barbell or machine seems to be an objective way of doing this. Since this seems obvious, you are probably wondering how the manufacturers of weight machines (and by extension those who purchase them for their facilities) find a way of conning you.



Let's start with the weight stacks used in many of the machines. Most weight stacks are fairly accurate. Some have been discovered to be slightly lighter than advertised, but this is not the main way you will be fooled. Any variances of this type are not that significant enough to worry the prospective gym member.

Where the real problems occur is in the mechanical guts of the various machines. It is fact that the makers build in a certain amount of mechanical advantage to their wares. Do you remember this term from high school physics? You likely at least remember this is what makes a machine desirable in the first place. The whole idea is that a machine can move more resistance than the effort put into it.

Levers, Pulleys, and Inclines

That works well in the industrial world, but in the gym things are a bit different. Trainees are told to keep track of their workout poundages in order to track progress. This makes the figures they enter into those little books very important. And as we've all been trained to be good little consumers, we like to think we are getting our money's worth.

"The whole idea is that a machine can move more resistance than the effort put into it."

In the gym, that means that our effort should equal the machine’s resistance, not that resistance be far greater than effort. We want that 1:1 ratio. What goes in must equal what comes out. But that is not what happens with many of these machines in gymnasiums today.

If you also remember from physics, machines can be divided into levers, pulleys, and inclines. The observant gym members will note that all of these can be used on various machines. If they are even more observant, the gym members will notice that seldom do they experience a 1:1 ratio of resistance to effort.

Almost all of the machines give the user a little bit of help, making the ratio anywhere from 2:1 to 5:1. Many machines utilize not just one such assistance device, but often two or even more, each with its own mechanical advantage. You must then multiply them all to get the total mechanical advantage. Let's look at each type of machine separately.

The Overhead Press Machine

This machine is based on a simple second-class lever. The fulcrum is at one end, the effort is at the other, and the resistance somewhere in the middle.

The trainee presses up on the ends of the lever while the weight is attached to somewhere closer to the fulcrum. Our mechanical advantage is simply the ratio of the distance the lifter’s hands are from the fulcrum (A+B in the graphic below) divided by the distance the weight/resistance (W) is from the fulcrum (A).



The machine in my gym has a 4:1 mechanical advantage. Let's say a trainee selects 200 pounds and rattles off a nice set of ten reps. If he forgets his high school physics, he is going to feel pretty strong. But should he? By now you should know that he shouldn’t. All he really did was fifty pounds for ten reps, nothing too impressive to someone who could do the same with a 200-pound free weight.

The Pulley Machines

Some of these are honest and some of them are not. How can you tell? Remember what your physics teacher said - and count the number of supporting cables.

More than one cable means you do have a mechanical advantage. Many machines have two supporting cables and some even have three, often hidden so that counting them is difficult. To be fair, some machines label the stacks to compensate for this.

In addition, some machines have not only an advantageous lever, but it is attached to a 2:1 pulley system. In that case, you feel very strong as you write down your day’s poundage.

The Incline Leg Press Machine

We all know that we can incline press a little more than we can military press, but not as much as we can bench or decline press. This is a good illustration of the effects of force vectors.

Left: Incline Press; Middle: Bench Press; Right: Decline Press

But there is another machine in the gym where this incline idea is used more insidiously. You all know what I'm talking about. It's the leg press machine, the favorite of squat dreaders everywhere. Some truly awesome poundages can be moved on this device and they are all very gratifying to the ego. Even former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright boasted of a 400-pound leg press, and she was in her seventies at the time.

But those who want to do leg presses instead of those nasty old squats should be aware of one thing. Most leg press machines made today are built with tracks moving at a 45-degree angle. Back in the 1950s, we leg pressed lying on our backs and resting a barbell across the bottoms of our feet. This was a stupid thing to do, of course, but it had one advantage. It at least gave us some honest reading of what we were pressing.

"This is more or less completely safe and you can move tremendous weights on it. The trouble is you are not lifting as much as you think you are."

But today we have something better - the leg press sled on a 45-degree angle track. This is more or less completely safe and you can move tremendous weights on it. The trouble is you are not lifting as much as you think you are.

  

To determine the actual weight, you have to take the cosine of the angle the machine deviates from the vertical. The gentler than angle, i.e., the more it deviates from the vertical, the easier it is to lift. Most leg press machines today are on 45-degree angles, although some are far gentler. The cosine of 45 degrees is about 0.71, giving a 1:1.4 mechanical advantage. This means that Ms. Albright's 400-pound leg press is really only 285 pounds if she did it on a 45-degree angle.

Look Past the Numbers

I'm not sure if the manufacturers were thinking of this, but I'm sure it occurred to somebody that a mechanical advantage could be turned into a financial advantage. People like to move big weights and most don't care about the engineering niceties.

The gym owners who buy these machines are well aware that progress is best proven with impressive figures. And maybe it doesn't bother the average trainee as long as they can see progress. Being able to lift eleven plates in the stack is still better than being able to lift ten. Whether it's 110 pounds or 110 “something-or-others” makes little difference since it's still more than 100.

Serious trainees will not be fooled, but they're a minority anyway. And this is yet another reason why free weights have enjoyed a renaissance even as the machines have taken over in commercial gyms.

Whole-body Training Versus Split-Training: Which is Better?

Both split-training and whole-body approaches are conceptual ways of organizing your weekly training schedule.

• A split-training approach involves apportioning different muscles or body regions to specific workouts (for example, chest and quads on Mondays, back and hamstrings on Wednesdays, and arms, abs, and calves on Fridays).
• A full-body approach typically emphasizes “big” (meaning multi-joint) exercises each and every workout (for example, squat and chins on Mondays, bench and lunge on Wednesdays, and deadlifts and overhead presses on Fridays).

Not many people use the former option, and here’s why: a true split routine limits you to mostly single-joint exercises. After all, if you squat on quad day, you’re also training low back, core strength, and hamstrings (just to name a few). A true quad day pretty much limits you to leg extensions.

How to Utilize a Split Routine

Few, if any, serious physique or strength athletes limit themselves exclusively to single-joint exercises these days. This means very few people use true split-training routines, and neither should you. The exercises that produce the most results are the ones that involve the most joints (and muscles) simultaneously. Examples include squats, bench presses, chins, lunges, overhead presses, Olympic lifts, and deadlifts. None of these can be performed using a split routine.

With all of that said, there is a variant of a split routine that does permit the use of multi-joint exercises: the upper-lower split. On your upper-body day, you can perform things like bench presses, chins, rows, overhead presses, and so on. On lower-body day, you can use Olympic lifts, squats, deadlifts, lunges, and step-ups.

For the best results, alternate between the lower- and upper-body sessions, training a total of four times per week. This is pretty much how my own training is organized, as you may have noticed).

This Week’s Training

This will be a short entry this week, partly because there’s not too much to report, and also because I’m having a busy week due to a few professional obligations.

That said, I did manage a 265lb bench press, which is my best bench this year, and only five pounds shy of my best paused-bench press ever. I also hit a 425lb pull without warmups, a belt, or chalk.

On the less positive side, my last two lower-body sessions have been abbreviated - the first one due to knee issues and the second due to scheduling issues. Not the best thing to happen this close to competition, but sometimes life doesn’t cooperate with your best intentions.

That’s about all for this week. Sorry for the brevity, but I hope your training is going well, and please leave any questions or comments you might have below!

Weekly Training Volume: 21,410 lbs (Last Week’s Volume: 48,424 lbs)

Significant Lifts:

• Bench Press 265x1
• Deadlift 425x1 - No warmup, belt, or chalk

Monday, September 29, 2014

Bodyweight: 201 lbs

Volume: 1,290 lbs

Squat

Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
Set 2: 95 lbs × 5
Set 3: 135 lbs × 3
Set 4: 185 lbs × 1

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Free Workout

Bodyweight: 201.6 lbs

Volume: 11,264 lbs

Bench Press

Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
Set 2: 95 lbs × 5
Set 3: 135 lbs × 5
Set 4: 185 lbs × 3
Set 5: 215 lbs × 1
Set 6: 235 lbs × 1
Set 7: 247.5 lbs × 1
Set 8: 247.5 lbs × 1
Set 9: 247.5 lbs × 1
Set 10: 225 lbs × 2

Chin Up

Set 1: +35 lbs × 1
Set 2: +35 lbs × 2
Set 3: +35 lbs × 3
Set 4: +35 lbs × 4
Set 5: +35 lbs × 6
Set 6: +35 lbs × 4

Bicep Curl (Dumbbell)

Set 1: 80 lbs × 8
Set 2: 80 lbs × 8
Set 3: 80 lbs × 8
Set 4: 80 lbs × 8
Set 5: 80 lbs × 5

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Free Workout

Bodyweight: 201.4 lbs

Volume: 8,856 lbs

Bench Press

Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
Set 2: 95 lbs × 5
Set 3: 135 lbs × 5
Set 4: 185 lbs × 3
Set 5: 205 lbs × 1
Set 6: 225 lbs × 1
Set 7: 245 lbs × 1
Set 8: 255 lbs × 1
Set 9: 260 lbs × 1
Set 10: 265 lbs × 1
Set 11: 225 lbs × 6

Deadlift

Set 1: 425 lbs × 1 (Video Below)
Notes: No warmup, no belt, no chalk



Chin Up

Set 1: +45 lbs × 3
Set 2: +45 lbs × 3
Set 3: +45 lbs × 3
Set 4: +45 lbs × 3
Set 5: +45 lbs × 3

The 6X6 Brutality Workout

Do you think you're tough? Do you think you're invincible and have faced your greatest workout challenge? If those are true, congratulations - you're the woman or man. If not - or you seek another challenge - I've got something for you. It's an ass-kicker, provided you follow it properly.

It's my 6 x 6 Brutality Workout.

Like all workouts should be, it is simple to understand but difficult to do. In this case it is extremely difficult to do. Give it a shot and let me know your results.

How You Do It

Perform six rounds of six exercises (36 total bouts) taken to volitional muscular fatigue at approximately 10 repetitions. That is - work to the point where no more perfect repetitions are possible. Don't simply stop at ten reps if you can squeeze out a few more, safely. There should be minimal rest between exercises and rounds. The ultimate goal is to complete the entire workout using proper exercise form in the least amount of time.

Two different exercise sequences are used for the 6-exercise rounds, each consisting of two different upper body multi-joint push, upper body multi-joint pull, and multi-joint lower body exercises performed in the following order:

1. Upper body push exercise A
2. Upper body pull exercise A
3. Lower body exercise A
4. Upper body push exercise B
5. Upper body pull exercise B
6. Lower body exercise B

Example: Sequence 1

1. Dumbbell chest press
2. Seated row
3. Plate-load leg press
4. Machine overhead press
5. Close grip pulldown
6. Barbell squat

Example: Sequence 2

1. Barbell incline press
2. Low pulley upright row
3. Romanian dead lift
4. Parallel bar dips
5. Plate-load bent-over row
6. Dumbbell squat

The 6-exercise rounds are performed by alternating sequence 1 and sequence 2 three times each - sequence 1 > sequence 2 > sequence 1 > sequence 2 > sequence 1 > sequence 2.

Another example of a possible pair of sequences:

1. Barbell standing press
2. Wide grip pulldown
3. Trap bar dead lift
4. Machine chest press
5. Dumbbell bent-over row
6. Machine leg press

1. Dumbbell incline press
2. Chin up
3. Squat machine
4. Barbell bench press
5. Low row
6. Barbell lunge

You choose the exercises based on your equipment availability/training facility.Any free-weight, machine, or bodyweight exercise can be used provided it meets the 10-repetitions to volitional fatigue goal.

Use the attached workout recording form to document the exercises used, repetitions achieved, 6-exercise sequence time, and overall workout time. Partner timing is recommended. Start a stopwatch to begin the workout. At the conclusion of each 6-exercise round, record the watch time in the space provided, but do not stop the watch.

Your first time attempting this endeavor will require some estimation regarding the appropriate resistances to use throughout the workout. Because you will be moving quickly between exercises and experiencing extreme fatigue, the resistances used to match the proposed 10 reps at volitional muscular fatigue will require adjustments. That is, you will need to reduce the resistances that you would normally use in a less-fatigued state. This is why it is paramount to record your workout data so adjustments can be made accordingly.

One last time:

Six exercises for six rounds (36 total sets). Follow the workout recording form. Each set performed should be taken to the point of volitional muscular fatigue. The last repetition - whether it's more or less than 10 - must be brutally difficult. Be smart, use controlled lifting form, and secure a training partner to keep it safe. The rest between exercises should only be the time it takes you to move from the previous exercise to the next. If you have to gather yourself and rest, that's allowed. But remember, you're on the clock. Don't be ashamed if at some point you need to assume the fetal position to regain your composure. Again, you're on the clock, but you may need that to complete the workout.

How long should it take you to complete the 6 x 6 Brutality Workout?

• Very fit – 30 minutes or less.
• Decent shape – 30 to 40 minutes.
• In poor condition – good luck.

3 No-Nonsense Ways to Build Fitness Through Swimming

I grew up at a time when we didn’t have all the information in the world at our fingertips, just a press of a button away. If you wanted to know something, you either went and found someone who knew all about it or found one of these things called a book on the subject. If you did the latter, you then tried whatever it was you were reading about to gain some experience.

The "Expert" Dilemma

The closest we get to this these days is watching a ninety-second clip on YouTube. On rare occasions, people may attend an actual workshop or certification to learn more about a subject in greater depth, but I’m often left feeling like most fitness certifications are equally as bad as watching clips on YouTube. Without standards, which represent skill and experience in the field, all you have is a bunch of theoretical knowledge. And as anyone who has been around training for a while will tell you, there’s a big difference between some of the things that work in labs and things that work in the real world.

Training can really be broken into three big chunks: flexibility, strength, and conditioning. And while someone can be an expert in one area, it is rare to find someone who actually knows what they’re talking about in two areas, and even rarer to find someone who can talk shop with authority in all three.

The biggest disconnect seems to happen between the endurance and strength people, with both at seemingly opposing ends of the scale. And when it comes to endurance activities, swimming is the hardest for people to understand.

Swimming Is Watery Jiu Jitsu

Just about everything you normally apply to training can go out the window when it comes to swimming. For starters, swimming is difficult because unlike riding and running, you move through water, which has far more resistance than air. Secondly, you aren’t even partially weight bearing, unlike in cycling or running, as the water carries your weight. Finally, the muscles used to power swimming are much smaller and tend to be predominantly upper-body. In normal distance work you use the legs, which have a higher percentage of slow twitch endurance fibers in them.

For this reason, I see a lot of mistakes for people who add swimming to their training. One mistake is that people want to use swimming as a recovery from their regular training. Unless you’re already a good swimmer, you won’t recover much by trying not to drown as you struggle from end to end. While cold water is good for helping sore musclesrecover, most public pools these days are set far too warm, as they want to make sure the kids won’t freeze during swimming lessons. If recovery is your goal, you’ll be better off just getting in and moving around for half an hour, unless you're already a good swimmer.

If your goal is to use swimming to gain fitness, I have bad news for you. Swimming is incredibly technical. Think of it as being like watery Brazilian jiu jitsu – sure, you can muscle your way through it for a while, but ultimately technique wins out. That's why when you start swimming, every session will feel like an all-out effort to avoid drowning, aven though you won't actually be working that hard. What you’re feeling instead is local muscular fatigue from asking muscles to do something they’re not accustomed to.

If you are looking to increase fitness in the pool, here are my three pieces of advice for doing it effectively.

1. Work on Technique

My first piece of advice for anyone who wants to swim for fitness is to put in the technique work. It's going to take some effort on your behalf to become more skilled at swimming. I found this out a few years ago, when I was “lucky” enough to have shoulder surgery. I wasn’t allowed do anything with my arm for three months, so I spent that time doing body alignment and kicking drills. Then I was allowed use my arm gently, so I did other drills focusing on hand placement and how to catch the water.

All in all, I did nearly five months of skill training before I was swimming in earnest again. Funnily enough, I was faster at that point than I had been prior to surgery, yet had done no swim-specific fitness work. The difference was all in my technique and feel for the water.
 

2. Swim Hard

The next thing to keep in mind when swimming for fitness is that while your heart may feel like it’s going to leap out of your chest, you’re simply not working as hard as you do when you run or ride. Your maximum heart rate while running is always going to be higher than it is swimming. The more upright you are and the more load you carry, the greater your heart rate. This is one reason why using normal heart rate zones that you calculated for running won’t help much for swimming.

The second part of this to remember is that you use far smaller muscle groups for swimming than you do for running and cycling, so the load on the heart is less. The moment you stop doing that thing you call swimming, your heart will return to normal. Compare this to good swimmers, whose bodies will glow red from heat increases (because you can’t sweat to cool down in the pool) and who will drip sweat once they’re out of the pool as the body tries to cool itself down.

It might sound a bit odd, but all this means that even a hard session in the pool may only have the same effect on your fitness as a moderate running session, provided you’re actuallya competent swimmer in the first place. Have you ever wondered why swimmers spend so much time in the water? It’s because they need to develop the feel for the water, and because even at high levels of perceived effort they’re just not getting the same adaptation to the heart as a runner might.

If you are swimming for fitness, you need to bust your butt to swim hard. That’s the only way to get your heart rate high enough to get the top-end fitness you can get from running. While the impact on the body will be far lower doing this with swimming than running, the hard fact is that many people will never get to this point without years of dedicated effort.

3. Add Load to the Legs

Years of hard work can be somewhat mitigated if you choose to swim with fins. It may seem like fins would make swimming easier, and you will certainly go faster. But adding resistance for the leg muscles will jack up your heart rate tremendously. I actually recommend that clients who aren’t habitual swimmers only swim with fins for this reason. But don’t do this if you’re training for an open water swim or triathlon – you need to spend time swimming without fins for that purpose.

The three biggest things you can do if you’re looking to increase fitness in the pool are to get some technical coaching, swim hard, and use fins to add load to the legs and drive up the heart rate. Above all, though, put technique first as it will make the biggest single difference to your ability to swim hard for extended periods of time.