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. This type of training will also help prevent injury for athletes. There are benefits and limitations to weight training as compared to other types of strength training. Contrary to popular belief, weight training can be beneficial for both men and women.
Weight training and bodybuilding
Although weight training is similar to bodybuilding, they have different objectives. Bodybuilders use weight training to develop their muscles for size, shape, and symmetry regardless of any increase in strength for competition in bodybuilding contests; they train to maximize their muscular size and develop extremely low levels of body fat. In contrast, many weights trainers train to improve their strength and anaerobic endurance while not giving special attention to reducing body fat far below normal.
The bodybuilding community has been the source of many weight training 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. Not all bodybuilding is undertaken to compete in bodybuilding contests and, in fact, the vast majority of bodybuilders never compete, but body build for their own personal reasons.
Complex training
In complex training, weight training is typically combined with plyometric exercises in an alternating sequence. Ideally, the weight lifting exercise and the plyometric exercise should move through similar ranges of movement i.e., a back squat at 85-95% 1RM followed by a vertical jump. An advantage of this form of training is that it allows the intense activation of the nervous system and increased muscle fibre recruitment from the weight lifting exercise to be utilized in the subsequent plyometric exercise; thereby improving the power with which it can be performed. Over a period of training, this may enhance the athlete’s ability to apply power. The plyometric exercise may be replaced with a sports specific action. The intention being to utilize the neural and muscular activation from the heavy lift in the sports specific action, in order to be able to perform it more powerfully. Over a period of training this may enhance the athlete’s ability to perform that sports specific action more powerfully, without a precursory heavy lift being required.
Ballistic training
Ballistic training involves throwing a weight such as a medicine ball or slam ball. The ball may be thrown as far as possible, or thrown into a wall and caught on the rebound etc. Whilst the term ballistic strictly refers to throwing, in its modern usage as a categorical term it is sometimes construed more broadly. In such cases ballistic training can be said to focus on maximizing the acceleration phase of a movement and minimizing the deceleration phase. This is done in order to increase the power of the movement overall. For example, throwing a weight, jumping whilst holding a weight, or swinging a weight. These actions can be contrasted with standard weight lifting exercises where there is a distinct deceleration phase at the end of the repetition which stops the weight from moving.
Weighted jumps (loaded plyometrics)
Weighted jumps, also known as loaded plyometrics, involve jumping whilst holding a weight, such as a trap bar or dumbbells, or jumping while wearing a weight such as a weighted vest or ankle weights. Weighted jumps are commonly used in a training regime to increase explosive power.
Contrast loading
Contrast loading is the alternation of heavy and light loads. Considered as sets, the heavy load is performed at about 85-95% 1 repetition max; the light load should be considerably lighter at about 30-60% 1RM. Both sets should be performed fast with the lighter set being performed as fast as possible. The joints should not be locked as this inhibits muscle fibre recruitment and reduces the speed at which the exercise can be performed. The lighter set may be a loaded plyometric exercise such as loaded squat jumps or jumps with a trap bar.
Similarly, to complex training, contrast loading relies upon the enhanced activation of the nervous system and increased muscle fibre recruitment from the heavy set, to allow the lighter set to be performed more powerfully. Such a physiological effect is commonly referred to as post-activation potentiation, or the PAP effect. Contrast loading can effectively demonstrate the PAP effect: if a light weight is lifted, and then a heavy weight is lifted, and then the same light weight is lifted again, then the light weight will feel lighter the second time it has been lifted. This is due to the enhanced PAP effect which occurs as a result of the heavy lift being utilized in the subsequent lighter lift; thus, making the weight feel lighter and allowing the lift to be performed more powerfully.
Weight training versus isometric training
Isometric exercise provides a maximum amount of resistance based on the force output of the muscle, or muscles pitted against one another. This maximum force maximally strengthens the muscles over all of the joint angles at which the isometric exercise occurs. By comparison, weight training also strengthens the muscle throughout the range of motion the joint is trained in, but only maximally at one angle, causing a lesser increase in physical strength at other angles from the initial through terminating joint angle as compared with isometric exercise. In addition, the risk of injury from weights used in weight training is greater than with isometric exercise (no weights), and the risk of asymmetric training is also greater than with isometric exercise of identical opposing muscles.