Several people posted sensible comments about this debate.
Any patent attorney can email me at
OvinceZ@idx.com.au.
I agree with Arthur Jones and prefer machines. I have sustained injuries with bench pressing and dead lifting and consider those two exercises dangerous if done with very heavy weights. It is usually demonstrating strength that leads to injuries. That some do not get injured is no argument that it is safe. Bodybuilders should never do heavy deadlifts if they want their biceps to stay in one piece. Bench pressers will eventually have sore shoulders or torn pecs. This is not a matter of opinion because the evidence is there.
I have been designing and building gym equipment since 1975 when I built my first leg extension machine. It was one of the first machines in the world to have an adjustable back and leg pad length. I was the first to popularise linear motion bearings on machines. I solved the friction problem in Smith machines by using these linear bearings. That was in 1981. I also use linear bearings exclusively on guide rods for weight stacks, and for sleds on leg presses and hack machines. The amount of friction with the best Thompson linear bearings is very low and virturally negligible. You cannot detect a difference.
If machines do not pivot in the right place then the feel will be wrong. This is vital in pec decks, leg extensions, curl machines and shoulder machines, etc. Pec decks should ideally have accommodating pivot points but that might increase the price substantially.
There are lots of things that go into designing superior gym equipment. Function, friction, looks, longevity, comfort, adjustability, size, footprint, portability, stability, safety, user-friendliness, ease of use, effectiveness, solidity, resale, and a few other considerations. There aren't that many great designers out there. The Jones family is responsible, through other engineers as well, for Nautilus, MedX, and Hammer. Then there is Cybex, Icarian, Flex, and several other known brands. Universal used to be the market leader but is no longer making much. There have been plenty of smaller brands that have been around for a while then have disappeared or have been bought out by larger companies.
Life Fitness built perhaps the best line of user-friendly machines ever for gym use. They have an electrical resistance and offers machines that allow you to use more resistance in the negative phase. You do one test rep on each machine and it sets the resistance for a set of 12 reps. You will be *finished* at the end of the allotted reps! A couple of sets and you will be done. When I think about it these machines would be *ideal* for HST training protocols. You could alter the reps and resistance as you pleased and train to any target you desired.
I have designed a great seated calf raise that allows you to duplicate the donkey movement. It provides a lot of tension on the hamstrings and users comment on the feel that it provides. This machine didn't just appear. A lot of thought goes into the designs. My hack machine required over 100 hours of design time. It is simply the highest quality exercise machine to ever be installed in a gym. Sorry, but you will have to visit Sydney to use it! It even has a stainless steel counterweight on it. You can also do heel raises by lying face down on the pad.
Machines are not perfect but some are just about that. Lat pulldowns, for example. My version has large eight inch pulleys, stainless steel handles, linear bearings and 330 pounds on the weight stack. My personal lat machine has 450 pounds on it! No, I can't lift it and I doubt if anyone can.
Smith machines that are sloped by about 10% are just as effective as barbell movements without the danger of dropping the bar.
Beliefs are strange things. If enough people believe something it is easy to embrace the same thing. In matters like religion it is clear that billions of people can be mistaken. So it is not surprising that some thousands of bodybuilders favour free weights. I still smile at how Nautilus machines were virtually unused at Golds Venice. It was great for anyone who appreciated training of those effective machines. I can't say that the latest Nautilus machines are as good as the last ones that Arthur helped design. Things are converging towards better designs but some equipment companies do not know what they are doing. If faults can be found on several of their machines it just isn't good enough. It merely shows that there are virtually no bodybuilders working as equipment designers except for myself and perhaps one or two others that I don't know about.
On most designs it takes a few prototypes to get the machines right. That can be very expensive for individuals. Someone reported that Arthur has a large factory of discarded prototypes. He is still the smartest guy in the irongame and that includes all the men with PhDs!
