Why Barbells
Barbell movements help develop bone strength, muscle memory and your neuromuscular system to improve your balance, coordination and muscle recruitment.
For those of us starting from a low level of general fitness, most exercises will produce benefits. Which is the reason why there are so many believers in “there” system.
Over time it becomes harder and harder to see strength gains past the initial progress.
A system needs to be able to increase weight incrementally to stress the body past its current equilibrium. The body adapts to the increased stress and gets stronger. Systems that rely on volume will develop endurance but not much strength past that required for the movement. Keep in mind that strength will help with your endurance, but endurance will not help with strength.
You do not see many strong marathon runners.
The body likes to train as a whole system and full range barbell movements do this. Barbell movements help develop bone strength, muscle memory and your neuromuscular system which will improve your balance, coordination and muscle recruitment. Barbells will train your body for everyday movements like lifting things off the ground, over your head, getting off the ground and pulling yourself up, etc.
Machines force you to move a load along a defined path that designed to work an isolated muscle group. Machines do not mimic the way our bodies move in everyday life. The control of the bar and the balance and coordination required is unique to free weights and barbell training.
Much of our concept of exercise is drive by the business model for most gyms, which is to get customers signed up on recurring fees and make it as hard as possible to cancel. There ideal customer is a paying member that does not come to the gym. If you do turn up it is much easier for them to put you through a machine circuit, then to train you how to lift barbells and train the trainers how to train you. Their business model is not to get you stronger.
The main problem with barbell training is that most people do not know how to do it correctly. And that most people do not understand that the business model is pushing them towards a form of exercise that may not be the best return on there time. Starting Strength Introduction to Barbell Training.