See also: Bodyweight exercise
Weight training is a common type of strength training for developing the strength and size of skeletal muscles. It uses the force of gravity (in the form of weighted bars, dumbbells or weight stacks) to oppose the force generated by muscle through concentric or eccentric contraction. Weight training uses a variety of specialized equipment to target specific muscle groups and types of movement.
Weight training differs from bodybuilding, Olympic weightlifting, powerlifting, and strongman, which are sports rather than forms of exercise. Weight training, however, is often part of the athlete's training regimen.
Weight training versus other types of exercise
Strength training is an inclusive term that describes all exercises devoted toward increasing physical strength. Weight training is a type of strength training that uses weights rather than elastic or muscular resistance to increase strength. Endurance training is associated with aerobic exercise while flexibility training is associated with stretching exercise like yoga or pilates. Weight training is often used as a synonym for strength training, but is actually a specific type within the more inclusive category.
History of weight training
Main article: History of strength trainingHippocrates explained the principle behind weight training when he wrote "that which is used develops, and that which is not used wastes away." The genealogy of lifting can be traced back to the beginning of recorded history where man's fascination with physical abilities can be found among numerous ancient writings. A 5,000-year-old Chinese text tells of prospective soldiers having to pass lifting tests. Progressive resistance training dates back at least to Ancient Greece, when legend has it that wrestler Milo of Croton trained by carrying a newborn calf on his back every day until it was fully grown. Another Greek, the physician Galen, described strength training exercises using the halteres (an early form of dumbbell) in the 2nd century.
Another early device was the Indian club, which came from ancient Persia where it was called the "meels". It subsequently became popular during the 19th century, and has recently made a comeback in the form of the clubbell.
Ancient Greek sculptures also depict lifting feats. The weights were generally stones, but later gave way to dumbbells. The dumbbell was joined by the barbell in the later half of the 19th century. Early barbells had hollow globes that could be filled with sand or lead shot, but by the end of the century these were replaced by the plate-loading barbell commonly used today.
The 1960s saw the gradual introduction of exercise machines into the still-rare strength training gyms of the time. Weight training became increasingly popular in the 1970s, following the release of the bodybuilding movie Pumping Iron, and the subsequent popularity of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Since the late 1990s increasing numbers of women have taken up weight training, influenced by programs like Body for Life; currently nearly one in five U.S. women engages in weight training on a regular basis.
Basic principles
Main article: Strength trainingThe basic principles of weight training are essentially identical to those of strength training, and involve a manipulation of the number of repetitions (reps), sets, tempo, exercise types, and weight moved to cause desired increases in strength, endurance, size, and shape. The specific combinations of reps, sets, exercises, and weights depends on the aims of the individual performing the exercise; sets with fewer reps can be performed with heavier weights.
In addition to the basic principles of strength training , a further consideration added by weight training is the equipment used. Types of equipment include barbells, dumbbells, pulleys and stacks in the form of weight machines, and the body's own weight in the case of chin-ups and pushups. Different types of weights will give different types of resistance, and often the same absolute weight can have different relative weights depending on the type of equipment used. For example, lifting 10 kilograms using a dumbbell requires significantly more force than moving 10 kilograms on a weight stack due to the use of pulleys.
Weight training also requires the use of 'good form', performing the movements with the appropriate muscle group, and not transferring the weight to different body parts in order to move greater weight (called 'cheating'). Failure to use good form during a training set can result in injury or a failure to meet training goals; since the desired muscle group is not challenged sufficiently, the threshold of overload is never reached and the muscle does not gain in strength.
Comparison to other types of strength training
The benefits of weight training overall are comparable to most other types of strength training: increased muscle, tendon and ligament strength, bone density, flexibility, tone, metabolic rate, and postural support. There are benefits and limitations to weight training as compared to other types of strength training.
Weight training versus resistance training
Resistance training involves the application of elastic or hydraulic resistance to muscle contraction rather than gravity. Weight training provides the majority of the resistance at the beginning, initiation joint angle of the movement, when the muscle must overcome the inertia of the weight's mass. After this point the overall resistance alters depending on the angle of the joint. In comparison, hydraulic resistance provides a fixed amount of resistance throughout the range of motion, depending on the speed of the movement. Elastic resistance provides the greatest resistance at the end of the motion, when the elastic element is stretched to the greatest extent.
Weight training versus isometric training
Isometric exercise provides a fixed amount of resistance based on the force output of the muscle. This strengthens the muscle at the specific joint angle at which the isometric exercise occurs, with some lesser gains in strength also occurring at proximal joint angles. In comparison, weight training strengthens the muscle throughout the range of motion the joint is trained in, causing an increase in physical strength from the initiating through to terminating joint angle.
Weight training and bodybuilding
Although weight training is similar to bodybuilding, they have different objectives. Bodybuilders compete in bodybuilding competitions; they train to maximize their muscular size and develop extremely low levels of body fat. In contrast, most weight trainers train to improve their strength and anaerobic endurance while not giving special attention to reducing body fat below normal. Weight trainers tend to focus on compound exercises to build basic strength, whereas bodybuilders often use isolation exercises to visually separate their muscles and to improve muscular symmetry.
However, the bodybuilding community has been the source of many of weight training's principles, techniques, vocabulary, and customs. Weight training does allow tremendous flexibility in exercises and weights which can allow bodybuilders to target specific muscles and muscle groups, as well as attain specific goals.
Safety
Weight training is a safe form of exercise when the movements are slow, controlled, and carefully defined. However, as with any form of exercise, improper execution and the failure to take appropriate precautions can result in injury.
Maintaining proper form
When the exercise becomes difficult towards the end of a set, there is a temptation to cheat, i.e. to use poor form to recruit other muscle groups to assist the effort. This may shift the effort to weaker muscles that cannot handle the weight. For example, the squat and the deadlift are used to exercise the largest muscles in the body—the leg and buttock muscles—so they require substantial weight. Beginners are tempted to round their back while performing these exercises. This causes the weaker lower back muscles to support much of the weight, which can result in serious lower back injuries.
To avoid such problems and to ensure training success, weight training exercises must be performed correctly. Standing exercises are performed in a completely erect posture, as though one's back were pressed to a wall, and sitting exercises are performed without slouching. Weights are not lifted with a jerk (which makes the exercise easier, but overstresses muscles and joints). Rather, trainers recommend that the positive phase of the lift take three seconds (counting "one-and-a, two-and-a, three-and-a"), followed by a one second pause and three seconds for the negative phase (lowering the weight).
Stretching and warm-up
Weight trainers commonly spend 5 to 20 minutes warming up their muscles with aerobic exercise before starting a workout. They al
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