Free weights, machines and cables: how to choose
There are no magic exercises and no forbidden ones. There are exercises you can do well today.
Three things, in this order
One: it loads the muscle you are after, and you feel it there. Two: you can measure it and add to it, because an exercise where you cannot tell whether you are progressing tells you nothing. Three: it does not leave you sore in a joint the next day. Fail the third and the first two do not matter.
Free weight vs machine
Free weights ask for balance and coordination, which is why they tax the whole body more and teach more. A machine holds the path, so you can go close to failure without your technique falling apart or hunting for a spotter. For growth, with effort matched, they are far closer than the internet argument suggests.
What a cable adds
Constant tension through the whole range, and a direction you can change by moving yourself. That is what makes it so good for muscles that run out of tension exactly where it matters with free weights: the side delt, the stretched part of the chest, the hamstrings.
How many per muscle
Two or three, well chosen, repeated for weeks. Rotating five exercises per muscle every session feels like variety and what it does is erase the only signal you have: whether the weight is going up.
More on Hypertrophy
How many sets a muscle needs per week
The number that decides whether you grow. Not four, not forty.
Close to failure, not always to failure
What RIR is, why you leave one or two reps in the tank, and when to push.
Progress without stalling: double progression
When to add weight, when to add reps, and why not both at once.
How long to rest between sets
Two minutes is not a quirk: it is the reps on your next set.
Once a week per muscle is not enough
Why splitting your volume over two or three days beats one hammering.
Protein: how much and how to spread it
The daily total is what matters. The exact timing, far less than you hear.
This is general information written from the training literature, not medical advice or a personalised plan. If you take medication, have a health condition or something genuinely hurts, the person to ask is a healthcare professional.