Body Building Workouts

Strength training through bodybuilding helps your body reverse the natural trend of muscle loss as you get older. While there are many different workout programs for bodybuilders, each with its own benefits and drawbacks, the act of weightlifting itself increases your bone density, helps with weight control, improves your stamina, lowers your risk of injury and contributes to an overall sense of well-being, says MayoClinic.com.

Free Weights

Training with free weights is one of the most common and traditional body building methods. Free weights include dumbbells, barbells and plate weights, typically housed in their own section of the gym. One of the biggest benefits of bodybuilding with free weights is the complete range of motion. When you're not stuck with a single plane of motion, as you are on a machine, your abdominal, lower back and hip muscles must work to stabilize the rest of your body, says the American Council on Exercise, or ACE. With only a single set of dumbbells or a barbell, you can hit pretty much any muscle group in your body. The disadvantages of free weights include a greater risk for injury when exercises are not performed properly, difficulty isolating a single muscle and the temptation to use momentum to swing the weight up and down instead of carefully lifting it only with muscle strength.

Machine Weights

While bodybuilding with machine weights may not offer the stabilizer muscle workout that free weights offer, they do have their own set of advantages. Most weight machines are simple to use, and often have the directions printed on the machine itself. Many machines allow you to isolate particular muscles, and you can quickly move from one to the next to hit your whole body. If you're working out alone, or are new to bodybuilding, weight machines ensure the proper movement while supporting your back and joints. If you are exceptionally small or large, some machines may not accommodate your size.

Kettlebells

Kettlebells, developed in Russia in the 1700s, have since gained popularity in the West as a way to quickly develop strength, stamina and flexibility. A kettlebell workout requires you to clean, press and swing a heavy iron orb with a handle attached. The quick, full-body movements give you a high-intensity cardio workout while building strength in your muscles. While kettlebells can cut down on your time at the gym by joining cardio with weights, the exercises can cause injuries if not performed properly. ACE recommends enlisting the help of a certified kettlebell trainer before starting your program.

Circuit Training

Circuit training involves moving through a series of exercises with timed rest intervals in between. Each exercise, or station, is performed for a specified period of time or number of repetitions, with a longer rest period between each circuit. Circuits can be customized to work your entire body or a single muscle group per workout. Like kettlebells, circuit training allows you to combine your cardio and strength workouts into one. You may find circuit training to be frustrating if you exercise in a busy gym and find yourself waiting in line for equipment on a regular basis.