If you have ever been to the gym, or if you usually go to train several times a week, it is very likely that you have seen that many people training with weight plates as part of their routine. They are a very powerful and very versatile tool to work different muscle groups.
However, for those people who have little experience in the gym, it is usual to do their exercises on the machines and not use the discs. Except when they have to use them to increase the weight of the bar of a machine, like the Smith machine or the press to work the strength and resistance of the legs.
However, there are many muscle areas that can only be exercised using the discs. For this reason, they are of crucial importance to achieve a complete training that is totally free from the restrictions and limits established by the use of machines. Therefore, in this article, we are going to explain the advantages and benefits of strength training with the use of weight discs.
MAIN ADVANTAGES OF STRENGTH TRAINING WITH DISCS
As we have said before, those people who are starting out in the gym to be in better physical condition tend to use machines more than weight plates. But, as we have said, weight plates have great advantages that are worth taking advantage of in your training. Since they serve to work different muscle groups.
DISCS ALLOW FREE AND NATURAL MOVEMENT
The free weight of strength training with plates has great advantages over the use of machines. Although we do not want to detract from the use of machines, the truth is that they limit the movement of the athlete who uses them, just as it happens with the use of dumbbells for training. However, when performing free weight exercises with plates, the movement is much more natural.
DISCS ALLOW FOR A WIDE VARIETY OF USES
As we have previously commented, weight plates are a powerful, useful and, of course, very versatile tool . This is because we can use them in different ways. For example, we can use them as if they were dumbbells, or we can drag them or hang them from our body to drag their weight and we can even use them as a support point.
WEIGHT PLATES ARE A DEAD WEIGHT
In addition, the discs are a dead weight in themselves, so when doing strength exercises with them, we will not have the help of the pulley of the machines. This forces us to make greater efforts to be able to lift them.
YOU CAN ADAPT THE WEIGHT OF THE DISCS TO YOUR PHYSICAL SHAPE
Another of the main advantages of weight disc training is that it allows you to adapt the weight depending on your physical condition. For this reason, you can allow yourself to start with one or more less heavy discs and gradually increase their weight as the weeks or months go by and your physical condition improves.
BENEFITS OF STRENGTH TRAINING USING WEIGHT PLATES
Now that you know the advantages of training using weight plates, we are going to show you the different benefits that you can obtain from its use. Some of these strength training benefits are self-evident. However, there are others that are not so important and that is why we tend to overlook them very easily. And not because they are less evident are they less important.
TRAINING WITH WEIGHT PLATES INCREASES STRENGTH AND PHYSICAL RESISTANCE
It is evident that the increase in strength and physical resistance is one of the benefits of strength training. In fact, it’s usually one of the main reasons people go to the gym.
But strength and endurance are not the same. Thus, strength is the maximum amount of weight you can move in a single movement, while muscular endurance is the ability of your muscles to support a movement for a long period of time.
Thus, to improve strength, you must use very heavy weights and lift them with low repetitions and rest for long periods of time. Instead, to improve endurance , you need to use lighter weights and do many sets of repetitions with little rest in between. These exercises are perfect for maintaining muscle tone and avoiding losing muscle mass with age.
WEIGHT TRAINING SPEEDS UP METABOLISM
As with any type of physical activity, there are many benefits to strength training with weight plates. Among them, it should be noted that, thanks to its use, the body’s energy expenditure is increased , in addition to providing remarkable muscle growth, which will further increase energy expenditure to maintain muscle tone.
Therefore, the fact of training with these discs allows you to minimize the loss of muscle tone and burn a large amount of fat. Since the body tends to keep what is being used the most.
In other words: if you use your muscles often, your body will spend more energy maintaining them and will understand that it doesn’t need fat. Therefore, the higher the level of muscle mass compared to body fat, the faster the metabolism and the more energy you need.
INCREASED BONE DENSITY
According to experts, from the age of 40, a person’s bone mass decreases 1% with each passing year. Therefore, as age advances, the risk of osteoporosis increases. This is a serious bone disease that causes the bones to be much thinner and more brittle than normal. Therefore, the danger of suffering a bone fracture increases as time goes by and we get old.
However, it has been shown that the benefits of strength training include slowing down the loss of bone mass, as well as bone regeneration. This regenerative effect is produced by the training itself, by affecting the bones thanks to muscle tension. Therefore, training with weight plates helps increase bone density.
OTHER BENEFITS OF STRENGTH TRAINING WITH WEIGHT PLATES
There are many other benefits of strength training using plate weights, but let’s just name a couple more. Among these are the benefits that this effort does in your mind. Since this is strengthened, improving brain activity and mood.
Finally, this training is capable of improving the quality of sleep in order to sleep better during the 8 hours of daily sleep recommended by the WHO. Lack of sleep and poor brain health go hand in hand, so if you don’t get enough sleep or your sleep is not quality, you are more likely to suffer from stress or anxiety. On the other hand, yes, thanks to strength training, you can have a quality sleep, reducing all the negative signs, and increasing brain activity.
