Weight Lifting (cont.)
How much do I increase?
Unlike aerobic conditioning where duration and
intensity is increased by 10%, increases in the weight you lift aren't
prescribed with such precision, partly because muscle groups vary so much in
size and strength, and partly because of the practical matter of the weights
available at the gym. Typically you increase to whatever dumbbell is next on the
rack (or plate on a weight machine), and so if you're lifting 12 pounds with
biceps curls, then the next dumbbell available is usually 15 pounds. There is an
option to increase in smaller increments with dumbbells by using an accessory
called a donut, a magnetic 1¼ pound weight that attaches to the end of the
dumbbell (they come in other weights besides 1¼ pounds as well). Weight machines
have half weights for the same purpose. Ask your gym manager to purchase donuts
if they don't have them.
Free weights vs. machines
Dumbbells and barbells are free weights. They are
"free," or untethered, unlike a weight machine where the weight stack is
connected by cables to cams and pulleys and only move in one direction. There
are advantages to both styles of lifting.
Weight machines:
1. Weight machines
are easy to learn and use.
2. There are some exercises you can do with a machine
that you can't do with a dumbbell. For instance, cable rows would be difficult
to replicate with free weights. You could do bent over dumbbell rows, but they
won't be quite the same. For my money, cable rows feel smoother than any
exercise in the gym!
Free weights:
1. Free-weight training requires balance and
coordination, and so if you are involved in a sport that requires balance, or
you just need balance training, then free-weight training might be more
effective.
2. Free-weight training may recruit more muscles than a machine
because you have to stabilize your body when you lift a dumbbell, whereas the
weight machine supports you. For example, a biceps curls is going to feel more
natural and use more muscles in your torso (to support the weight) than if you
did a seated biceps curl in a machine where the machine does some of the work
and you can lean against it for leverage.
3. There are a variety of exercises
that you can do with dumbbells that you can't do with machines. Lunges,
step-ups, and many upper body exercises can be performed with free weights if
you're creative.
4. There is no evidence to suggest that either method is
superior to the other. My suggestion is to combine free weights and dumbbells to
get the best of each. The ACSM weight training position stands states the
following: "For novice to intermediate training, it is recommended that the
resistance training program include free-weight and machine exercises. For
advanced strength training, it is recommended that emphasis be placed on
free-weight exercises, with machine exercises used to complement the program
needs."
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