O.C. Senior Fitness

There's no easy way out. If there were, I would have bought it. And believe me, it would be one of my favorite things!              - Oprah Winfrey (1954 - ), O Magazine, February 2005

 

Weight training versus strength training 

 

Strength training is an inclusive term for all kinds of exercise devoted toward increasing muscular strength and size (as opposed to muscular endurance, associated with aerobic exercise, or flexibility, associated with stretching exercise like yoga or pilates). Weight training is one type of strength training, but one of the most common and is seen by all but specialists as synonymous with strength training. The difference between weight training and other types of strength training is how the opposition to muscular contraction is generated. Resistance training may also use elastic or hydraulic (water) forces to oppose muscular contraction, and isometric exercise uses structural or intramuscular forces (doorways or the body's own muscles, for example).

 

 

History

 

Hippocrates explained the principle behind weight training when he wrote "that which is used develops, and that which is not used wastes away." 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 second 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 nineteenth century, and has recently made a comeback in the form of the club bell.

      The dumbbell was joined by the barbell in the latter 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 1980s, 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

 

The basic principles of weight training are essentially identical to those of strength training, and involve a manipulation of the number of reps, sets, tempo, exercise types and weight moved to cause desired increases in strength, endurance, size or shape. The specific combinations of reps, sets, exercises and weight depends upon the aims of the individual performing the exercise; sets with fewer reps can be performed with heavier weights, but have a reduced impact on endurance.

      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 or the body's own weight in the case of chin-ups and push-ups. 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.

      Weight training can be a very effective form of strength training because exercises, weights, sets and repititions (reps) can be precisely manipulated to challenge individual muscle group in a way found to be the most effective for the individual. Other strength training exercises or equipment may lack the flexibility and precision that weights offer, and often cannot be safely taken to the point of momentary muscular failure.

 

 

Comparison to other kinds 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 use of elastic or hydraulic resistance to 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 only strengthens the muscle at the specific joint angle that the isometric exercise occurs at. In comparison, weight training strengthens the muscle throughout the entire range of motion of the joint.

 

 

Is weight training the same as bodybuilding?

 

Although weight training is similar to bodybuilding, they have quite different goals. Bodybuilders compete in bodybuilding competitions, so 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 a tremendous flexibility in exercises and weights which can allow bodybuilders to target specific muscles and muscle groups, and attain specific goals.

 

 

Safety

 

Weight training can be one of the safest forms of exercise, especially when the movements are slow, controlled, and carefully defined. However, as with any form of exercise, improper execution can result in injury. 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, weight training exercises must be performed correctly. Hence the saying: "train, don't strain."

      An exercise should be halted if marked or sudden pain is felt, to prevent further injury. However, not all discomfort indicates injury. Weight training exercises are brief but very intense, and many people are unaccustomed to this level of effort. The expression "no pain, no gain" refers to the discomfort expected from such vigorous effort. It does NOT suggest ignoring the more severe pain that comes from injury.

 

      Discomfort can arise from other factors. Individuals who perform large numbers of repetitions, sets and exercises for each muscle group may experience lactic acid build-up in their muscles. This is experienced as a burning sensation in the muscle, but it is perfectly harmless. These individuals may also experience a swelling sensation in their muscles from increased blood flow (the "pump"), which is also harmless.

 

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