Guided Lifts: The Illusion of Strength

REFLECTIONS IN MOTION

Talking guided lifts through the lens of purpose

In your journey to a capable, high-performing body, focus on free weights rather than guided lifts.

Guided lifts use machines to move along a fixed path. They’re easy, predictable, and make you feel strong — but that fixed path doesn’t exist in real life.

You’re training your muscles to move in only one direction, and when life demands something different, that training works against you.

Discover why reducing machines in your training is key if you want to become real-life strong…

P.S. Free weights won’t just make you real-life strong — they’ll also add more muscle and strength over the long run.

Why should you care about reducing guided lifts?

Guided lifts give you the illusion of strength. When you face uncontrolled environments — what life is really about — that strength fails.

Your muscles may be strong along that fixed path, but when the machine’s guidance is gone, they fail. Free weights and cables force your body to engage fully to stay stable.

Using free weights, you teach your muscles the art of balance, stability, and movement. You’re training for life’s unpredictability, for the wrestling match rather than the scripted dance.

Where using guided lifts often goes wrong

Many gym-goers swear by machines for building strength and muscle. They let you train to failure safely and are easy to use when you’re fatigued — but they come with a hidden cost.

You might say guided lifts are safer than free weights — and they are. That safety gives you false comfort.

You are building strength, but not strength that you can trust to be ready every time you need it.

Another argument for guided lifts is that they isolate specific muscles, making them more effective for building strength. Technically true — but you’re only strong in that movement.

For example, the motion of an incline chest press machine rarely appears in daily life, I would guess.

You become strong in a specific area, but your body can’t do anything with that strength. It’s essentially useless strength.

THIS WEEK’S STOIC INSIGHT

A moment this week that taught me something

Live from Eindhoven, Netherlands

Last week Wednesday morning I was in the gym doing my workout. I saw someone doing his sets. I saw me from a couple of years ago. Someone who had just started in the gym, no clue what to do. Just trying out exercises, figuring out how much weight to take, and failing to get it up.

I saw it from a distance. Finished my workout and on the bike back home, I realized something. I only watched — didn’t go up to him and say, “Good job, man,” or give a tip. I was only focused on me.

Seneca – "Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for kindness."

I remember early in my gym journey when I got a tip from a bigger guy — it made my day. That day, I didn’t do it. Next time I will. It’s such a small thing, but it can make someone’s day and motivate them even more. Hopefully, they’ll pass it on later to others too.

How to train with free weights the right way

The solution isn’t to scrap guided lifts completely from your workouts. It’s about prioritizing exercises that engage multiple muscles at once, just as in real-life movements.

This doesn’t mean you can’t isolate — you can, by using variations that emphasize different muscles each time.

Start thinking in terms of systems, not isolated moves. For example, select hamstring exercises that emphasize the hamstrings but also activate the entire lower body.

Apply the same approach to other muscles in both the upper and lower body.

You can still choose guided lifts, but they should be an addition. They should never form the foundation of your workout.

If I Had to Swap Every Guided Lift in My Workout, I’d Start With These 5

The foundation of my workouts (lower and upper body) is always compound exercises.

I always start with (incline) bench press, chest supported row/barbell row, squats, and military shoulder press, depending on the focus of the workout.

After that, I look at what muscles I want to target extra in isolation, but keeping movements in mind.

These are the main replacements I made from guided lift to free weights:

1. Machine Rear Delt Fly → Single Cable Fly (Rear Delt Emphasis)

2. Leg Extension → Elevated Kettlebell Goblet Squat

3. Sitting/Lying Hamstring Curl → Heavy Sled Push

4. Lat Pulldown Machine → Sled pull (using only arms, no walking backwards)

5. Incline Chest Press Machine → Incline Dumbbell Press

END ON PURPOSE

One question to ask yourself today…

Where can I better play to my strengths?

It’s easy to focus on improving your weaknesses instead of your strengths.

When you train your strengths, just like when you train with free weights, you put yourself in positions where you can perform in the real world.

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