Weight Training

Weight training is a common type of strength training for developing the strength and size of skeletal muscles. It uses the force of gravity 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, weightlifting, powerlifting and strongman, which are sports rather than forms of exercise. Weight training, however, is often part of the athlete's training regimen.

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. 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 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.

Although weight training is similar to bodybuilding, they have quite different objectives. 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.

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Related Links:

• Mayo clinic

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