Weight-lifting is one of the three main types of exercise. It is versatile because you can do numerous exercises to work the same muscles. You can also alter how much resistance you want and how many repetitions you perform to increase your strength.
Types of Weights
Many types of weights can be used as either light weights or heavy weights, such as dumbbells, barbells and adjustable weight machines. If you want to do multiple repetitions, you choose a lighter weight. If you desire fewer repetitions, you choose a heavier weight. However, exercise balls and exercise bands are almost always light weights.
Similarities
Light-weight and heavy-weight exercises are both considered strength exercises, rather than aerobic. They involve slow, controlled, repetitive motions. According to William McArdle, Frank Katch, and Victor Katch in the book "Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition, and Human Performance," resistance training increases the size and strength of muscle fibers, resting metabolism, lean body mass and bone mineral density. It also decreases your body fat.
Differences
A normal exercise protocol states that you should do resistance exercises to the point of fatigue--when you cannot do another repetition using good form. If you use heavy weights, you can do far fewer repetitions that you could using light weights. The American College of Sport Medicine's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription explains that you can reach a high intensity either way, but light weights require eight to 12 repetitions, whereas heavy weights only require three to six repetitions to achieve a high intensity.
Disadvantages
Light weights have the distinct disadvantage of consuming much more time than exercises with heavy weights. Psychologically, it is also harder to know that you have to lift that weight 12 times instead of three times. The disadvantage of heavy weights is their imprecision. Perhaps you lift 20 lb. dumbbells four times during a bicep curl but you are not quite fatigued yet, however you cannot do another repetition. If you had been using 10 or 15 lb. dumbbells, you could have actually finished the exercise to the point of fatigue.
Advantages
While neither type of resistance exercise is considered an aerobic exercise that increases your endurance, using light weights will improve your endurance for strength exercises. Using heavy weights will increase your absolute strength. For example, imagine you are pedaling a bicycle (an aerobic exercise). If you have be training with lighter weights, you will be prepared to climb a long, gradual hill, but you will have a hard time on the short, steep hills. However, your work with heavy weights will prepare you for a short, steep hill, but you will get tired before you reach the top of a long, gradual hill because your endurance for strength exercises is limited.
References
- "Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition, and Human Performance;" William McArdle, Frank Katch, and Victor Katch; 2007
- ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription;" American College of Sport Medicine; 2006
Member Comments