Hammer strength,or free weights?

[Apotheosis]

is it possible to put on as much mass with hammer strength machines as with free weights or doing dum bell exercises?

[Twist]

no. combine all to work effectively

[LiftedDuramax2007]

I love a gym with hammer strength machines. The ones where you put the free weight on some pegs right?

I also do both free weights and then finish off with heavy sets of hammer strength

[Darksyde]

some of the hs machines are sweet, but free weights still reign supreme.

[ray0414]

i do not believe there is a machine that can compare to barbell rows. and im sure the list goes on.i started doin rows and lovem!

[JasonT]

Free motion > Free weights > *


Hammer strength machines are good for injury recovery/prevention as they are more conservative in that the line of motion is fixed. This eliminates the use of your stabilizers and makes the lift easier. Easier does not mean better. You will obviously see better results with free weights.

I know that many pros prefer these machines because they don't want to risk injury and only want to target a specific muscle in a specific way. But they definitely didn't get to where they are by using these machines alone.

[tballz]

I do love hammer strength machines but I will always use free weights first and foremost.

[fattymcbutterpants]

I like using freeweights first, then finishing up sometimes with the hammer strength machines so i can push it that last little bit