[pvnick]

Good question, yes they are. Free weight exercise done the right way, as described in Starting Strength, is the best way to prevent injury and improve health. Progress will be fast enough to impress you and motivate you to keep working, but slow enough to where you can stop increasing the weights if you feel that you're getting too "ripped." But watch as your squat weights start increasing, your clothes start fitting better, and you start getting more looks from people of your preferred gender, and you'll love having a body that's the product of weightlifting.