Established 2005
There is weight training for fitness and there is weight
training for sport. The two often overlap, but sometimes they are confused.
The confusion is particularly unhelpful
to women who often believe that weight training will cause
them to bulk-up.
In preparing goals for your gym or home workout, it is necessary to know
what you are doing and why you are doing it. Here is some information
guided by fitness professional, Rich Fitter, who has run the entire gamut
from weight trainer to weightlifting champion to professional
body builder.
Weight Training
Weight training is not a sport, but a component of other
sports, including bodybuilding and weightlifting. Weight
training is a kind of exercise for developing strength and
endurance by lifting or resisting against increasing amounts
of weight. The weight may take the form of a dumbbell,
barbell, medicine ball, resistance band, cable pull or your
own body weight.
Weight training technique consists of repetitions ("reps")
and sets. Repetitions are the number of times you work the
muscle without a break. For example, one rep will often
consist of raising and lowering a weight. Reps are grouped
into sets, which are separated by a short break. Most
effective workouts for women involve two to three sets of 8
to 12 reps each. More than this is ineffective for
developing strength and lean muscle.
As you perform repetitions, the muscles you are working
receive tiny micro-tears. In fact, you are breaking down
your muscle when you workout. During rest, your body builds
muscle by repairing and overcompensating for these tears,
making you stronger and able to lift more weight during your
next workout. Beware, however, without the proper rest and
nutrition, your body won't be able to conduct the necessary
repair and development of stronger muscle tissue. You will,
in fact, be injuring and re-injuring yourself each time you
workout in a rundown state.
Bodybuilding
Bodybuilding is a sport that develops muscle mass through a
combination of weight training, diet, nutritional or
chemical supplementation, and rest. It should not be
confused with weightlifting sports, such as Olympic
weightlifting and powerlifting. Unlike weight lifting,
competition in bodybuilding is not based upon degree of
strength, but upon physique and aesthetics, the criteria of
which is established by various bodybuilding associations,
and applied by judges in bodybuilding competitions.
Bodybuilders display their physiques in competition through
various poses.
Mainly a male sport, women became involved in bodybuilding
in the 1980's, but their participation has since waned.
Many bodybuilding tournaments that include women now have a
"Figure Competition" offshoot, which instead of posing, has
women display their physiques in flowing dressing gowns or
flashy swim suits while walking gracefully across the stage.
Weightlifting Sports
There are actually various kinds of weightlifting sports.
The two most common are Olympic weight lifting and
powerlifting. As with bodybuilding, weight training is a
component of competitive weightlifting. Conversely,
weightlifting is a component of weight training, but weight
training is not the same as competitive weight lifting.
Olympic weight lifting involves lifting heavy barbells over
your head with record speed. Powerlifting involves
squatting, bench pressing and deadlifting with heavy
barbells. Both are competitions based on a display of
strength, unlike bodybuilding which is a competition based
on physique.
In sum, weight training can be performed solely for the sake
of improving health and fitness, or it may be performed as a
means for competing in sports, like bodybuilding and weight
lifting. You will get different results depending on which
you are training for. Whichever program you follow, weight
training will take you on a valuable journey when done
consistently and correctly.
Authors:
Janet Ford, is President of PowerFit LLC and co-owner of
http://TheFitWomanOnline.com/, a
website of women's fitness
and weight training equipment. Special thanks to Rich
Fitter, A.C.E. Certified Trainer, Weight Lifting Champion,
WNBF Body Building Champion, who guided much of the contents
of this article.
Weight Training
Exercise