Weight sports

Specific nutritional concepts and related articles can be found at the bottom of this page.

Strength training is both a sport category and a type of sport. As the name suggests, the development of high, specific strength and muscles are the primary focus of any type of strength training but are also its limiting factors. Weight-lifting and bodybuilding fall under this category. However, in bodybuilding, aesthetics (muscle mass) prevail over functional aspects such as strength. Sports of more technical nature, like track and field (e.g., shot put and javelin) or alpine ski racing, also require high strength to some extent and thus have accordingly developed muscles. As explosive power and strength-endurance are the main focus, such sports fall into the category of strength training. The quantitative and qualitative development of muscles is mainly achieved by training muscles with weights at varying intensities and repetitions along with the appropriate diet. The extent to which muscle development and/or improved intramuscular coordination occurs, strongly depends on the training technique. Muscle development also depends on nutrients which support both muscle and strength development independent of the training background. Protein and creatine are most commonly used supplements but also ones that support nitric oxide metabolism and delay muscle fatigue exist.