is it good? What are the benefits and advantages?

L’training with weights it is a very widespread practice and used for various purposes and purposes:

That said, due to the inevitable stereotypes that arose in the age of “muscularity”, even today the concept of weight training is associated with various negative connotations: poor joint mobility and muscle flexibility, clumsiness, low aerobic endurance, use of anabolic drugs, high risk of injury, body image disturbances and even a low cultural / intellectual level.

It goes without saying that it is common placesas weight training can offer numerous benefits e advantagesfrom many points of view. Of course, like any other activity, weight training also requires knowledge of the facts, method, logic and above all reasonableness; aspects that have certainly disappeared in a period of enormous consensus among the general population, such as that which occurred in the 80s in bodybuilding gyms.

In this short article, we will focus on the positives of weight training, trying to explain how to adapt and integrate it according to your needs.

What is meant by weight training?

Weight training falls into the category of resistance trainingor “against resistance” training.

Resistance training is training interspersed (Interval Training) and, hopefully, ad high intensity (High Intensity Training). It is therefore a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training).

All forms of weight training have the same training parameters. The macro parameters are:

• intensity (understood as a percentage of the maximal repetition o %1RM);
• volume (understood as “quantity of work”); the volume micro parameters are: repetitions (rep), serie (set), times under muscle tension (TUT) – which must obviously be related to the shifted overloads;
• density (proximity of stimuli in the same series, i.e. recoveries).

Another training parameter not to be overlooked, especially at advanced levels, is the number Of sessions In the microcycle.

The management of the parameters can change radically according to the objective.

In fact, by training with overloads, we can dedicate ourselves to real sports, in which the goal is to improve strength performance: weightlifting e powerliftingor to the construction of the body, understood as bodybuildingor again at functional improvement of the same.

A very interesting contemporary trend is that of “promiscuity”, i.e. the search for performance, with a consequent improvement in physicality, but with respect for the state of health (constructive and non-destructive attitude).

When we talk about “weights,” we include the following categories:

Furthermore, resistance training includes all the exercises of callisthenicstraining with: TRX e rings, rubber bands / resistance bands, battle ropetires or other bootcamp gear etc.

In the past, weight training was considered the “antagonist” of calisthenic and functional workouts. Today, fortunately, the two methodologies have mostly become complementaryremedying the shortcomings that these systems present if adopted with rigidity.

Weight training, in all its applications, is almost always integrated with bodyweight exercises, and is increasingly characterized by the presence of functional and the pliometric. Furthermore, in the field of bodybuilding, we find the adoption of pure strength protocols more and more in use, typical of powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting.

What are the exercises with weights and how are they divided?

Exercises they are not all the same. Also in this kind of workout we find different sub-categories, which are part of a single “whole”:

This consideration suggests that, in the absence of valid medical reasons, any strictly “exclusive” protocol is essentially wrong.

In short:

• Exercises with free weights;
• Strength machine exercises;
• Cable exercises;
• Ballasted calisthenics exercises.

It’s still:

• Multi-joint exercises:
  • Primary – also known improperly as “fundamental“;
  • Complementary – or, if desired, secondary.
• Exercises monoarticolar – also known as “of isolation” o “finisher“.

Benefits and advantages of weight training

We finally come to the benefits and advantages that can be obtained in the practice of weight training.

Before starting, it is necessary to make a premise: the benefits and advantages of weight training are closely linked to a series of both objective and individual variables:

1. Starting point: the lower the person’s functional level, the greater the progress achieved thanks to the weight training protocol; it is the opposite, however, if we consider the absolute margin for improvement (a sports story is always advantageous);
2. Degree of commitment: the potential benefits are closely related to “how much” and “how” you train in time;
3. Expertise of the reference sports technician: as in all activities that require a service, even the theoretical-practical preparation and experience of the technician can make a certain difference.

In summary:

• increase of forza: especially at high intensities on the %1RM, weight training stimulates the ability to express maximal strength; increasing the volume, on the other hand, we focus more on the resistant force;
• increase of muscle mass: if supported by an adequate diet, weight training promotes muscle hypertrophy;
• if we train with weights to improve strength for sporting purposes, we undoubtedly get a increase from the performance;
• strengthening of connective tissue: muscle sheaths and tendons become stronger;
• improvements cardiovascular e pulmonary bronchus: even weight training, if set on resistance strength, creates: greater volume of stroke volume, reduction of HR at rest, drop in arteriovenous pressure, better bronchial fitness and thoracic mobility. This is true for “non-athletes”, while those who already have functional cardio-circulatory and respiratory conditioning will not appreciate great improvements;
• preservation or slight increase in bone density in old age: weight training is able not only to hinder bone thinning, but also to promote – to a certain extent, in osteoporotic subjects – the restoration of bone density;
• booster Of development in childhood: weight training, well calibrated and managed, favors the anabolic axis of the youngest ensuring peak bone mass and conferring epigenetic advantages of great use in adulthood;
• in the sedentary and in old age, improvements of the nervous system: both central and peripheral in nature;
• improvement from the joint mobility: this is especially true if the exercises are performed at full ROM, and even more in non-athletes;
• improvement of proprioceptive abilities e coordinating: especially in non-sportsmen;
• increase of daily calorie consumption: circa 200-300 kcal / workout, in media;
• improvement of body composition: to the advantage of lean mass over fat mass, with important metabolic implications (on blood pressure, cholesterol, glycemic control, uric acid, triglyceride, etc.);
• improvement aesthetic;
• increase of self consideration he was born in mood tone.