For optimum output or performance, everything needs maintenance. It does not matter how expensive your car is or how big your house is. If it is not maintained correctly, it will not deliver the optimal result.
The same can be said for our bodies. Our bodies perform various activities throughout the day to keep us functional. To get the optimum output, we must maintain our bodies. There are multiple things we can do to maintain good health. One of the most effective ways to keep our bodies fit is to do weight training.
When we hear the term “weight training” most people assume lifting weights like barbells and dumbbells. While this is not incorrect, it does not reflect the whole picture.
In this article, we will discuss:
- What is weight training?
- Different types of weight training?
- Some common misconceptions about weight training.
- What benefits does weight training provide?
By the end of this article, you will have a complete understanding of weight training and will have cleared up common misconceptions about it.
Contents
What is weight training?
Weight training is a type of resistance training in which your body gets trained against some resistance.
In weight training, we lengthen and shorten our muscles against specific resistance so that our muscles develop over time.
What are the different types of weight training?
As mentioned previously, when we hear about weight training, we imagine lifting dumbbells and barbells. However, it is not limited to that. Different types of weight training variations are:
Bodyweight training
By the name, we can easily understand that in this type of weight training, the resistance that we get is from our body weight and gravity. No additional pieces of equipment are needed for this type of weight training.
Examples: pushups, Dips, Pullups, bodyweight squats, etc.
Free weight training
In free weight training, the exercises include dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, etc. It is called free weight training because it is not connected to anything and has a free-moving path.
Every exercise done with dumbbells, barbells, or kettlebells can be considered free weight training, such as dumbbell curls, barbell bench presses, barbell squats, etc.
Machines
Different kinds of weight machines can be used in weight training. Usually, machines have a fixed resistance curve. Unlike free weights or body weights, machines can provide resistance from different angles, which can be very beneficial in training particular muscle groups.
Some common misconceptions about weight training
When there are facts, there will always be misconceptions; weight training is no different from that. There is a ton of misinformation regarding weight training. The most common ones are:
If you stop lifting, then your muscles will turn into fat.
We are still searching for the source of this misinformation. Muscles can never turn into fat, and fat can never convert into muscle.
Muscle and fat are made of different kinds of tissue. Muscle cannot become fat if you stop working out. This misconception arises because when people stop working out, they also start to consume more foods, especially unhealthy ones. As they burn fewer calories and eat more, they develop more fat.
Usually, after 3 or 4 weeks, if you do not train your muscles, you start to lose muscle. Both of these events (losing muscle and gaining fat) usually come to people’s notice in similar periods; thus, the misinformation gets spread that if you stop lifting, the muscles you build will turn into fat.
Weight training affects your height.
A human’s height is mainly genetic, though sometimes the environment can play some role in it.
Weight training does not affect how tall or short you are. Many bodybuilders are short, and there are also many tall bodybuilders. Their weight training variations did not make them short or tall; it was their genetics that dictated their height.
So, it is a baseless statement that weight training affects a person’s height.
Weightlifting decreases flexibility.
It is not baseless, like the other two pieces of misinformation we discussed previously. You might have seen bodybuilders who cannot reach their backs with their hands. However, it is their large muscle size that prevents them from doing so, not because of weight lifting.
Weightlifting does not limit mobility; it increases it. When you train, you stretch your muscle fibers, which makes them more flexible. So, weightlifting does not make your muscles stiff.
If you want to know more myths, then we have an article related to that; you can read that article, which explains different myths in detail.
Benefits of Weight Training
We have learned about weight training, its different forms, and some myths related to weight lifting.
Why would we want to do weightlifting, many of you may ask?
You should do weightlifting because it provides various benefits. The benefits that you will get are:
Improves strength & endurance:
Strength is the ability to withstand force or pressure. If we explain it in simpler terms, then we can say that strength determines how strong you are.
If you can lift 10 kg with one hand now and, after some time, can lift 20 kg with one hand, then it will indicate that your strength is rising. Weightlifting is a great way to improve your strength. To improve your strength, your muscle fibers also need to get stronger. Weight training’s primary focus is the development of your muscles, so over time, you will improve your strength.
Increased strength in day-to-day life can provide various benefits. You can do different chores more quickly and efficiently.
Endurance is the ability to withstand any activity for an extended period of time. Weight training can significantly increase your endurance. Weightlifting sets and reps especially helps in increaing muscular endurance. Muscular endurance improves stamina, which also helps in performing different daily activities.
Calorie Burning:
One of the top benefits of weight training is that it can build muscle and burn more calories at the same time. However, this statement can be contradictory. You might have heard that weight training does not burn as many calories as cardio exercises.
Yes, this is true. Then why are we saying it can help you burn calories?
The reason behind that is that lifting has an after-effect that also burns calories and can increase calorie expenditure over time. When you do weight lifting, your muscle fibers receive micro-tears, so even when you are resting after your training, your body is continuously working to fix those tears that burn calories.
Weight lifting helps you build muscle. To maintain muscle, your body needs to expend more calories than it does to maintain fat.
Two people with the same height and weight can be built differently. One may be muscular, and one may be obese. Even if they eat the same amount of calories, the person with a muscular body will burn more calories than the person who is obese, even if they sit all day and do nothing.
Decreasing the chances of injury
When you do weight training, you not only train your muscles but also your joints. When joints experience a certain amount of pressure, they become resistant to it or adapt to it over time. As our joints become more robust, the chances of injury drop significantly.
Also, weight training helps us to increase our range of motion, which is the ability of a muscle to extend and shorten.
Most injuries occur due to joint mobility, or strength problems; weight training greatly solves both of these problems.
Improves cardiovascular Health
The heart is also a muscle that needs to be trained. Cardio exercises are usually performed to increase the heart rate, which is a kind of training for the heart.
Weight training also helps to improve cardiovascular health in many ways. Weight lifting exercises also increase heart rate.
Weight training reduces LDL, which is known as bad cholesterol. A high amount of LDL usually blocks arteries. On the other hand, weight training increases HDL, which is known as good cholesterol. HDL usually absorbs cholesterol and carries it back to the liver.
Increase the explosive power of the muscles.
When we do weight training, it strengthens the muscle fibers and increases the muscles’ explosive power, which is also known as explosive strength.
Increasing explosive strength can benefit you in many ways. In specific sports, increased muscle power and speed can give some advantages. Explosive strength benefits sports like sprinting, pitching in baseball, rowing, etc.
Improves sleep quality
Insomnia has been a great problem in recent times, especially among teenagers. One of the primary reasons for insomnia is a sedentary lifestyle.
Weightlifting can help with both. It can reduce the problems of a sedentary lifestyle and contribute to good quality sleep.
Sleep efficiency improves when you do weight training, as it releases different hormones and reduces cortisol (the stress hormone), which helps you sleep a good night. Also, as weight training improves heart health, the oxygen circulation of the body improves, which improves sleep quality.
