Table 2.
Characteristics of the studies included in the review
| Study | N | Training programme | Exercises free weight group | Exercises machine group | Duration (w) | Strength measurement | Hypertrophy measurement | Training status | TESTEX score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aerenhouts & D’hondt 2020 [23] | 24 men (12 FW & 12 machine) | 2 sessions a week with 3 sets of 12 reps on every exercise | Upper-body: barbell bent over row, standing shoulder press with dumbbells & dumbbell bench press. Lower-body: Barbell back squat & barbell deadlift | Upper-body: Chest press, seated row & shoulder press Lower-body: Leg press & hip extension | 10 | 1 RM | Circumferences | Untrained | 9 |
| Augustsson et al., 1998 [32] | 21 (11 FW & 10 machine) | 2 sessions a week with 3 sets of 10 reps | Barbell back squat | Leg extension & hip abduction | 6 | 3 RM | NR | Trained | 10 |
| Fry et al., 1992 [34] | 12 men (7 FW & 5 machine) | 3 sessions a week with 3 sets of 10 reps | Barbell back squat | Leg extension & leg press | 8 | 10 RM, MVC | NR | Untrained | 7 |
| Langford et al., 2007 [12] | 29 men (16 FW & 13 machine) | 2 sessions a week. 3 sets with 12 reps in week 1, then 5 sets of 4–6 reps | Barbell bench press | Machine chest press | 10 | 3 RM | NR | Trained | 7 |
| Lennon et al., 2010 [35] | 304 men (173 FW & 131 machine) | 3 sessions a week, core lifts 3 sets with 10–12 reps’ week 1–5, 3 sets with 6–8 reps week 6–9 and 3 sets with 3–5 reps week 10–12. Auxiliary lift was performed with 3 sets of 10–12 reps | Free weight bench press | Motion specific machines | 12 | 1 RM | NR | Trained | 6 |
| Mayhew et al., 2010 [36] | 90 women (38 FW & 52 machine) | 3 sessions a week, core lifts were performed with 3 sets of 10–12 reps’ week 1–4 and 3 sets of 6–8 reps week 6–8. Auxiliary lifts were performed with 3 sets of 10–12 reps’ week 1–8 | Free weights | Motion specific machines | 12 | 1 RM | Skinfold | Untrained | 8 |
| Prieto-Gonzalez et al., 2021 [24] | 22 men (11 FW & 11 machine) | 2 sessions a week. 3 sets of 12 reps in week 1&2, 3 sets with 12–10-8 reps in week 3&4, 3 sets of 8 reps in 5&6 and 3 sets of 6 reps in week 7&8 | Upper body: Weighted crunches, dumbbell press, one arm dumbbell row, triceps kickback, alternative dumbbell curl. Lower body: Lunges with olympic bar, romanian chair weighted back extension | Upper-body: abdominal crunch on machine, machine back extension, chest press, rowing machine, tricep dip machine, bicep curl on scott machine Lower-body: Leg press | 8 | 1 RM, CMJ | Skinfold | Untrained | 7 |
| Rossi et al., 2018 [37] | 17 men (8 FW & 9 machine) | 2 sessions a week, 6 sets with 8–12 reps | Barbell back squat | Leg press | 10 | 1 RM, CMJ | Bod pod | Trained | 9 |
| Saeterbakken et al., 2019 [4] | 24 men (11 FW & 13 machine) | 13 sessions in total. Session 1–4 were conducted 3 sets of 10 reps, session 5–10 with 4 sets of 8 reps and session 11 and 12 with 4 sets of 6 reps | Barbell back squat | Smith machine squat | 7 | 10 RM, MVC, CMJ | Ultrasound | Trained | 9 |
| Saeterbakken et al., 2016 [27] | 25 men (13 FW & 12 machine) | 2 sessions a week. 4 sets of 6 reps | Dumbbell bench press | Smith machine bench press | 10 | 6 RM | NR | Trained | 9 |
| Schwanbeck et al., 2020 [38] |
36 (7 men and 11 women FW & 8 men and 10 women machine) |
4 sessions a week, 4 sets on each exercise, 8–10 rep’s week 1–3, 6–8 reps week 4–6 and 3 sets of 4–5 reps week 7 and 8 | Upper body: Flat barbell bench press, incline barbell bench press, bent over barbell row, chin-ups. supine elbow extension, dumbbell kickback, dumbbell shoulder press, dumbbell lateral raise, camber bar curl & preacher curl Lower-body: Barbell back squat, straight leg deadlift, lunge & single-leg calf raises | Upper-body: Smith machine bench press, smith machine incline bench press, seated row, lat pulldown, machine triceps press-down, rope press-down, shoulder press, machine lateral raise, machine biceps curl & machine preacher curl. Lower body: Smith machine squat, leg extension, seated hamstring curl & machine calf raise | 8 | 1 RM & 6–10 RM | Bod pod & ultrasound | Untrained | 7 |
| Schwarz et al., 2019 [39] | 18 women (9 FW & 9 machine) | 2 sessions a week, 3 sets of 10–12 reps’ week 1, 3 sets of 8–10 reps week 2, 4 sets of 6–8 reps in week 3, 5 sets of 6–8 reps in week 4, 5 sets of 3–5 reps in week 5 and 6 sets of 3–5 reps in week 6 | Barbell back squat | Hack squat | 6 | 1 RM, CMJ | NR | Trained | 8 |
| Wirth et al., 2016 [40] | 83 men (43 FW & 40 machine) | 2 sessions a week, 5 sets of 8–10 reps’ week 1–3, 5 sets of 6–8 reps week 4–6 and 5 sets of 4–6 reps week 7 and 8 | Barbell back squat | Leg press | 8 | 1 RM, MVC, CMJ | NR | Trained | 7 |
Note: 1 RM 1 repetition maximum, 6 rm 6 repetition maximum, NR not recorded