Weight Training

Overview:

Weight training or resistance training is an exercise that utilizes progressive resistance movements, typically with free weights or weight machines, to build strength or muscle endurance.  the activity of weight training has become very popular, with several different purposes.  Some perform weight training for sport; that is, they participate in weight lifting, power lifting, or bodybuilding competitions.  Athletes of other sports, such as football or track and field, use weight training to enhance their performance in their own sports.  Many people also use weight training for general fitness; they just want to look and feel better.  However, the value of weight training in the promotion of health has been recognized and recommended by The Surgeon General of the United States.  Weight training has been used by physical therapists, athletic trainers, and occupational therapists to restore the musculoskeletal system to health from disease or injury.  It is now clear that weight training by improving strength and increasing lean body mass has a important role in lowering the risks of osteoporosis, loss of function with increasing age, and obesity.  Although these reasons for lifting stem from different goals, all those who participate in a weight-training program expect the program to produce benefits such as increased strength, increased muscle size, and an improvement in the ratio of fat-free mass to body fat.

History:

The exact period in history when weight training became a practice or part of a training regimen is not know.  Strongmen such as Samson, Hercules, and the Greek warrior Milo are part of ancient myth and folklore.

In its earliest form, weight lifting was a part of everyday life.  Weight training also played an important role in preparing soldiers for battle in the days of the Greeks, Egyptians, and Romans.  During the Middle Ages, Romans trained their soldiers by marching them over long distances with heavier-than-normal loads.  Throughout the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, most of the empires and armies of Europe followed the Greek and Roman examples and trained with overloaded packs.

Weight "lifting" soon found its way into carnivals and circuses and onto vaudeville stages, where men and women performed unbelievable feats of strength that in fact were tricks-which probably was responsible for most of the myth and mystery that has surrounded weight lifting until recent times.  Weight training survived this era and went on to find its way into YMCA's and athletic health clubs.  With these organizations promoting the activity, evidence of the value of weight training began to grow.

Through most of the early 1900's, weight training was practiced, almost exclusively, by those who competed in one of the weight-lifting sports.

The sport of weight lifting has been included in the Olympic Games since 1896.  At first there were two events, a one-handed lift and a two-handed lift, and the lifter's body weight was not considered.  In 1920 the press, snatch, and clean and jerk were introduced, and this system remained until 1972, went he press was eliminated.  In the United States, organized competition began in 1929 when the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) held its first national championship.  In 1932 the United States entered its first team in Olympic competition.

The sport of bodybuilding first began in the United States in 1938 when the Amateur Athletic Union held the Mr. America contest.  This was the only group to organize national contests until 1950 when the National Amateur Bodybuilders Association (NABBA) began the Mr. Universe Competition.  The International Federation of Bodybuilders formed in 1946, and it began the Mr. Olympia contest in1965.  Today this is the biggest and most prestigious bodybuilding competition.  In 1965 the NABBA held its first Miss Universe competition.  In 1980 women began competing in the Miss Olympia contest.

The sport of power lifting involves three lifts: the squat, dead lift, and bench press.  In recent years it has been the most popular form of competitive lifting in the United States. In less than ten years the sport grew to the extent that more than forty nations compete in the International Power lifting Federation World Championships.  Although a comparatively new form of competition, the sport of power lifting is now being considered as an additional event in Olympic competition.

Using weight training for other sports was not done until the late 1960's when the San Diego Chargers and the University of Hawaii both had strength coaches and had successful seasons.  The University of Nebraska followed suit and won national championships in 1970 and 1971.  They credited their success to their strength program.  Strength and conditioning quickly became popular for the sport of football.  Today strength and conditioning for sport is done for most all sports and is being used even at the high school level.

Medical doctors, physical therapists, athletic trainers, and occupational therapists began experimenting with strength exercise for injury rehabilitation and muscle rebuilding soon after World War II.  Their efforts were successful, so they encouraged physical education to include weight training in gym classes.  Magazines devoted to weight lifting and bodybuilding also helped to make the public more aware of the benefits of this activity.  More gyms opened up throughout the country, but they were still used by mostly hardcore lifters.  In the 1970's, weight machines were introduced into many gyms and weight training became more popular amongst the general population.  In the 1990's the Physical Activity and Health: A report of the Surgeon General established that increased risks for a variety of chronic diseases are associated with physical inactivity and a sedentary life-style.  This report contained specific recommendations indicating that a physically active life style should produce sufficient levels of all components of health related fitness-cardiorespiratory endurance, body composition, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and flexibility.  Weight or resistance training was specifically recommended for improving muscular strength and endurance and increasing or maintaining lean body mass. Reduced risks for osteoporosis, loss of functional capacity, and loss of lean body mass are related to a lifetime of weight or resistance training.

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