What 'Bow" Knows
February 10th 2007 16:01
The most annoying twerp in the gym has got to be the newbie who continues to ask how much everything weighs. How much does the bar weigh? How much does the apparatus on the machine weigh when there is no plate selected? As pathetic as this guy is, he is onto a serious consideration in weight training; how much weight should be used? Its a complicated one too.
This question prompts me to review a point or two that I have made in past posts. First, free weights are a superior athletic tool to machines and dumbbells are a superior athletic tool to barbells. This is because manipulating a weight in each hand involves a heightened neuromuscular response to that of manipulating a weight in both hands(a machine is actually, though it static handles, removing even a good portion of the neuromuscular response demanded by a barbell). More neuromuscular stimulation means more muscles.Machine manufacturers know this. They are in the business of making difficult movements manageable by the untrained and thereby make them less difficult and more attractive.
Second, there is no particular value in workouts, unless there is a way to raise and lower the weight you are using with ease. Bowflex,for instance, understands that. They know that training at home will not work unless you can add weights to each exercise. Their machine is multi-faceted and can be adjusted for weight. Their dumbbell set comes with an ingenious mechanism that allows you to select different weights.
Bowflex would agree with me, I think, when I say that you will make the best gains in fitness, strength, and body composition when you are constantly striving to increase the weight you are using. I'll add my own further assessment that you will be more successful if you continue to migrate toward dumbbells and away from machines wherever possible. A simple experiment will illustrate this. Take a barbell to the flat benchpress bench and put on as much weight as you can bench press one time. Now divide that weight in half and find dumbbells of this 1/2 weight. Using a flat bench try to bench press these. Its will be far more difficult, if not impossible for you.
This reality of different neurological demands means that the issue of how much weight you are using is more complicated than you might at first believe. If you are using a large weight on a machine, moving to a dumbbell version of the same movement will, no doubt, humble you. And it will cause more growth and adaptation than staying on the machine and raising the weight there.
So, selecting the proper exercise for a body part is a more significant move in the right direction than trying to pile the weight on an inferior movement. Once you are doing the most athletically challenging kind of movement, then you should be concerned to add weight to it as quickly as you can, provided that you are doing a proper number of repetitions and are not cheating.
A special word to the ladies. If you think buying a couple of five pound dumbbells and using them at home is going to make a difference in your fitness, you are wrong. You have to progress in the weight you are using to improve fitness and sculpt the body. The gym or a Bowflex is your only real hope. And forget worrying about using too much weight and getting big and bulky. Unless you are using male hormone it cannot happen-ever. Choose the best movements, pack on the weight as fast as possible, and find what you are looking for. Your servant, as always.
Versaltile and adjustable; Your best hope for serious work at home
This question prompts me to review a point or two that I have made in past posts. First, free weights are a superior athletic tool to machines and dumbbells are a superior athletic tool to barbells. This is because manipulating a weight in each hand involves a heightened neuromuscular response to that of manipulating a weight in both hands(a machine is actually, though it static handles, removing even a good portion of the neuromuscular response demanded by a barbell). More neuromuscular stimulation means more muscles.Machine manufacturers know this. They are in the business of making difficult movements manageable by the untrained and thereby make them less difficult and more attractive.
Second, there is no particular value in workouts, unless there is a way to raise and lower the weight you are using with ease. Bowflex,for instance, understands that. They know that training at home will not work unless you can add weights to each exercise. Their machine is multi-faceted and can be adjusted for weight. Their dumbbell set comes with an ingenious mechanism that allows you to select different weights.
Bowflex would agree with me, I think, when I say that you will make the best gains in fitness, strength, and body composition when you are constantly striving to increase the weight you are using. I'll add my own further assessment that you will be more successful if you continue to migrate toward dumbbells and away from machines wherever possible. A simple experiment will illustrate this. Take a barbell to the flat benchpress bench and put on as much weight as you can bench press one time. Now divide that weight in half and find dumbbells of this 1/2 weight. Using a flat bench try to bench press these. Its will be far more difficult, if not impossible for you.
I give them credit. This is a good idea too.
This reality of different neurological demands means that the issue of how much weight you are using is more complicated than you might at first believe. If you are using a large weight on a machine, moving to a dumbbell version of the same movement will, no doubt, humble you. And it will cause more growth and adaptation than staying on the machine and raising the weight there.
So, selecting the proper exercise for a body part is a more significant move in the right direction than trying to pile the weight on an inferior movement. Once you are doing the most athletically challenging kind of movement, then you should be concerned to add weight to it as quickly as you can, provided that you are doing a proper number of repetitions and are not cheating.
A special word to the ladies. If you think buying a couple of five pound dumbbells and using them at home is going to make a difference in your fitness, you are wrong. You have to progress in the weight you are using to improve fitness and sculpt the body. The gym or a Bowflex is your only real hope. And forget worrying about using too much weight and getting big and bulky. Unless you are using male hormone it cannot happen-ever. Choose the best movements, pack on the weight as fast as possible, and find what you are looking for. Your servant, as always.
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