Combine Free Weights, Movement For Better Workout

“In the beginning, weight training was for bodybuilders. Gyms were built around the idea of bulking up, and weight machines focused on training individual muscles, using single-joint movements. Today, weight training is for everyone, and more and more people are moving away from machines in favor of compound exercises that combine weights with movement to achieve a more effective full-body workout.‘People lead such sedentary lives already that the last thing they want to do when they get to the gym is sit in a machine, and work one muscle at a time,’ said Tia Fields, director of personal training at Gold's Gym in Latham, N.Y. Compound exercises, which use free weights and movement to work both the upper and lower body at the same time, burn calories faster and build muscle in less time, Fields said. The other advantages to these routines are that they feel more like natural movements, and they can improve coordination and balance, she said. ‘How many muscles in a joint? Zero,’ said Fields. For a better workout, add movement to your weight training, not weights to your walk, Fields said.”

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/chi-wire-dumbbell-faster-1102nov02,0,7213836.story