Jeff Cavaliere shares his high seven elite machine workout routines.
Final up to date on April fifteenth, 2025
Not all gymnasium machines are equally helpful. In mid-April 2025, Athlean-X founder Jeff Cavaliere ranked what he believes to be the worst commonplace gymnasium machine workout routines and provided higher alternate options you ought to be doing.
Cavaliere based mostly his critiques on biomechanical security, distinctive advantages, and total performance. Try the lists under:
Worst Workouts
Higher Workouts
Higher Nonetheless
Nearly Finest Workouts
Very Finest
[Related: The Science of Calf Growth — Are They Different From Other Muscles?]
The Worst: Skip or Modify
Mendacity machine leg curls are dangerous, in keeping with Cavaliere, explaining that sustaining hip flexion whereas digging the knees into the pad throughout a working set strains the decrease again.
The kidnapping/adduction machine is a go-to for constructing firmer, rounder glutes, however it’s a suboptimal train for the gluteus maximus, the biggest glute muscle.
- Cavaliere defined: “This truly targets the gluteus medius…and even that’s not that nice.” He suggests standing and pointing the toes out for higher gluteus medius activation.
- Cavaliere additionally urged folks to swap seated adductions for lunges or slides.
The problem with machine lateral raises is the fastened grip. “We’re not pouring pitchers throughout lateral raises,” Cavaliere cautioned, stressing the significance of exterior shoulder rotation to optimize movement and stop ache. “I’d reasonably see that thumb finish increased than the pinky.”
The preacher curl machine is a superb biceps builder, however Cavaliere says it’s safer to face whereas doing them, reasonably than sitting. Doing the transfer in a standing place permits the arms and lats to interact for stability, decreasing the danger of biceps tears.
Higher: Good Workouts That You Can Hold Doing
Cavaliere ranked machine-seated dips above body weight bench dips, noting, “These machines are considerably of an enchancment over the body weight model of the dip.”
Leg presses are an ego train for a lot of and a mediocre glute motion for the reason that hips stay flexed, however they’re nonetheless respectable.
For the Smith machine squat, a typical mistake is putting the ft too far ahead, which limits dorsiflexion and floor response forces. Place your ft again beneath you a bit to actually get essentially the most out of it.
The “Nearly Finest”
The benefit of seated cable rows is the flexibility to puff the chest, which Cavaliere claimed is “the primary requirement for an efficient again train.” This enables most shoulder extension and concentric contractions—a determiner of muscle positive aspects.
The hack squat is a standout. “There’s no higher machine for the quads,” Cavaliere affirmed. He in contrast them to entrance squats, that are as efficient as again squats with much less knee pressure. “The tilted foot plate promotes regular biomechanics on the knee and hip,” Cavaliere furthered.
The Finest: King of Machine Workouts
Topping Cavaliere’s rankings are machines that provide advantages unachievable with free weights. The belt squat permits anybody to squat, eliminates spinal compression, and permits self-spotting. Moreover, belt squats drive correct squat approach.
[Belt squats] clear up the problem of the knee-to-hip flexion that many take care of.
—Jeff Cavaliere
Seated hamstring curls belong with one of the best machine workout routines attributable to much less hip flexor involvement than mendacity and standing leg curls. “[This allows] give attention to knee flexion,” Cavaliere stated.
Lastly, the standing calf increase machine, cable crossover, and lat pulldown spherical out the elite class. A current research discovered that standing calf raises produced twice as a lot calf development because the seated variation. (1) “Keep in that [stretched] place for about 4 seconds to remove the benefit of the Achilles tendon,” Cavaliere suggested.
Crossovers permit for a better vary of movement and coaching angles and are extra shoulder-friendly throughout the stretch.
One of the best ways to coach your again is with lat pulldowns.
—Jeff Cavaliere
Lat pulldowns are extra accessible and supply extra grip choices than pull-ups and rows.
Although hip thrust machines aren’t in each gymnasium, they maximally load the hips throughout extension, which no different motion does. They’re simpler to arrange than free-weight barbell variations.
Extra Coaching Content material
Reference
- Kinoshita M, Maeo S, Kobayashi Y, Eihara Y, Ono M, Sato M, Sugiyama T, Kanehisa H, Isaka T. Triceps surae muscle hypertrophy is larger after standing versus seated calf-raise coaching. Entrance Physiol. 2023 Dec 13;14:1272106. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1272106. PMID: 38156065; PMCID: PMC10753835.
Featured picture: @athleanx on Instagram