CapeRoadie

But mostly for health club owners with huge liability policies. The problem with a lot of machines is that they're simply bad for you. The seated ab machines actually cause low back pain. So do the seated extension machines. The seated trunk rotation machines are dangerous. Prone leg curls work a part of the hamstring that is almost useless for athletes (unless you're a bodybuilder). Seated leg extensions exercise the quads in isolation and therefore are without function, unlike squats, lunges, split squats, etc., unless of course, you want to kick your cat really hard.

Machines are not preferred by athletes. Free weights are preferred. Functional movements are preferred by the better trainers, not machines. Safety comes from proper instruction, another thing health club owners do not want to pay for. Proper instruction means people learn how to use their bodies correctly and safely, so that free weights are used safely. Further, training muscles in isolation is a bad idea, and doing so dumbs down the nervous system, making people more vulnerable to injury. On the contrary, training movement patterns, not individual muscles, will make you a better athlete. Machines, for the most part, cannot accomplish that.

Mike Boyle, Juan Carlos Santana, etc., and the functional training seminars they offer shouldn't be missed by any athlete anywhere.