WEIGHT TRAINING

Weight training is a common type of strength training for developing the strength and size of skeletal muscles. It uses the weight 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.

BASIC PRINCIPLES

The 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, and size. 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 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 sometimes requires more force than moving 10 kilograms on a weight stack if certain pulley arrangements are used. In other cases, the weight stack may require more force than the equivalent dumbbell weight due to additional torque or resistance in the machine.

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.

1.     STRENGTH EXERCISE SELECTION

What exercises you choose to do are the starting point for creating an optimal workout. You have to make wise selections that make the most of each exercise. My advice is to choose strength exercises that are multi-joint exercises rather than single joint movements. For example, choose a squat over a leg extension and you get far more return on your exercise investment. Additionally, this sort of exercises selection is much more likely to simulate real life or real sports movements. In real life we use many muscles and joints in very rapid succession to move. Working out this way eliminates the need for isolated movements like bicep curls. Keep this in mind when you select your exercises during training.

Keep the number of exercises manageable. Three to five high intensity exercises is about right. Don't think you can do 15 strength exercises in one session and still get a high intensity workout. With too many exercises, you tend to fatigue before you finish or lower your overall output and get a lesser quality workout.

The optimal time for a full strength training workout at high intensity is about 30 minutes.

2.     FREQUENCY OF STRENGTH TRAINING SESSION

The two factors the determine your strength gains are the intensity of the exercise performed and allowing an appropriate rest and recovery period after the workout. For this reason, most strength workouts are build around the concept of short, high intensity weight workouts followed by one to two days of rest to let the muscles rebuild and become stronger.

Research shows that muscles continue to build fibers and become stronger for up to a week after a workout that is performed to muscle failure. This underscores the importance of alternating a high training intensity with adequate rest periods in order to build muscle.

3.     NUMBER OF SETS PERFORMED

There is a lot of discussion about how many sets of an exercise to do. The bottom line is if you can do one set to exhaustion, that is probably enough. The reason many people need to do multiple sets is that they didn't perform the first one at maximum intensity.

There are other reasons to perform multiple sets and the biggest one is safety. Performing one set of maximum effort can increase your risk of injury f you haven't thoroughly warmed up or if you don't use perfect lifting technique. Sometimes it's smart to use a set to make sure you don't over-lift (lift more than you are capable of lifting in a safe manner).

If you are experienced and skilled at weight lifting, go ahead and perform the first set at max effort and work to failure.

Research backs up the idea that one set training produces the same strength gains as multiple sets and it does this in less time.

4.     NUMBER OF REPETITIONS PERFORMED PER SET

There are a lot of different recommendations regarding how many reps to perform during weight training. How many you should do depend on your training goals and current level of fitness. Keep in mind that strength training promotes increases in both functional strength (how much you can lift) and muscle hypertrophy (how big your muscles grow).

Higher repetition during weight lifting sessions stimulate the slow twitch muscle fibers and promote muscle endurance. Lower repetitions during weight training (at a higher intensity) activate the fast twitch muscle fibers and increase strength and muscle size. One simple way to get the best of both of these training methods is to vary your training repetitions. Because both are important for overall athletic conditioning, and many strength training experts will recommend varying the number of repetitions through a 8-10 week training cycle. Keep in mind that performing high intensity lifts is still necessary even if you are performing 50 repetitions. The weight must be heavy enough that you reach fatigue at the last repetition in order to promote functional muscle growth.