But in all seriousness now, from my absolute lack of experience and knowledge, I see machines in the same way that I see an easy difficulty level on a videogame. If you've been doing it all your life, you start on normal or hard. But if you haven't touched a controller ever, it might be a good idea to walk your first hours on that setting. And also, finishing a game on easy usually doesn't mean that you are good at it. Just that you had your hand held all the way.
Also, I've seen on my gym that most people with a big amount of muscle only use the machines sparingly and usually at either the beginning or the end of the workout. They seem useful depending on your goals. If you are just getting some fitness thing going, working out a little for general health purposes, they are OK. If you are planning to grow some muscles up, then you have to know their limitations.
Then again, I'm a huge n00b, so what do I know. That was just common sense. Mr. Snrub, you look like somebody who does this at a high level, so I can see where you are coming from. I will keep posting my progress and near-deaths when I get a barbell on my hands!
