GM. The stabilizer muscle is a made up fiat science term. You gain no additional benefit in doing a bench press that requires you “stabilize” a bar vs using a machine chest press. It just adds more injury risk. You also don’t ever need to lift heavy. You can use a moderate weight on a machine at a slow and controlled pace until you reach momentary muscle failure. Both methods effectively stress your muscles but one approach reduces wear and tear on your joints and requires less time.

I highly recommend following Jay Vincent, he’s a great resource for info on high intensity training and fitness science.

https://video.nostr.build/1d64c5af8670883c3bb68010e3c6bc3041036b7788e4c66a29e101cf6fe1c0f0.mp4

https://youtube.com/shorts/3VbY4CLckOE