What is wrong with conventional weight-lifting?
The Negatives of Conventional Weight Training
By Marv Marinovich
June 30, 2008
Why is conventional weight-lifting so negative?
- Conventional weightlifting increases non-essential muscle contractions, which do not contribute to specific stability or mobility.
- Muscle relaxation time decreased markedly as the athlete's skill improves. The best athletes look like they are not even trying, because they are only utilizing appropriate muscles.
- Dynamic, integrated, whole body movement sequences are commonplace with elite athletes, because the nervous system only stimulates the appropriate muscle firing and relaxes the inappropriate muscles. In conventional weight lifting, more tension is thought to be better, but the inappropriate tension on opposing muscle groups interferes with the body's ability to have integrative, coordinated, fast movements. One muscle group need to be stimulated, while the opposing muscle group needs to be relaxed. If both the agonist and the antagonist (the opposing muscle groups) are stimulated at the same time, then you have "gridlock", which depreciates speed and power.
- Conventional weight training destroys optimal nervous system function- maximum frequency of movements depends on the efficiency of the nervous system stimulating and inhibiting muscles.
Why does conventional weight-lifting lend itself to injury?
- Rapidly employed loads strengthen the tendons and ligaments. Plyometric loading utilizes elastic energy from tendons and ligaments, which increases power and actually strengthens the joints. Weightlifting is too slow and thus, is counterproductive because it put undo pressure on the joints, ligaments and tendons.
Why are bench presses problematic?
- Bench presses are slow with and, even with lighter weight; the limb speed is still too slow to duplicate sports movement.
- It is difficult to utilize all three types of muscular work- concentric positive, eccentric negative and isometric holding, when executing a bench press.
- The position of the hands, elbows and shoulders when executing a bench press are too inflexible. In sports, the hand, elbow and shoulder have to produce the force on different planes of motion and in different rotational aspects and positions.
Why are "power cleans" problematic?
- Power cleans should not be attempted without a full core strengthening program as the foundation.
- Power cleans are too "linear". What sport requires only linear up and down movement?
- Power cleans place undue pressure on the shoulders, elbows and wrists and back.
- Coaches use power cleans as a method of evaluating power, which forces athletes to lift weight beyond their capabilities and risk injury.
- Power cleans do not provide avenues for rotational force that involve the feet, hips, shoulders or arms that duplicate integrated sports movement.
The speed of muscular contraction diminishes as the load increases, which means that heaviest is not the best for optimum athleticism. The best athletes don't necessarily have the biggest muscles or lift the heaviest weights, but produce the greatest force, by utilizing high speed of muscle contraction, elastic energy (the relaxing of the extended muscles along with the contraction of the moving muscles) and neuromuscular efficiency- coordination, rhythm, and timing.
This information and expertise is the result of the systematic testing and evaluation of approximately 5,000 elite athletes throughout the U.S. over the last 40 years. It has been well documented, with Marv's athletes, that a combination of isokinetic resistance and plyometric loading stimulates the neuromuscular system well beyond traditional weight lifting. This produces advancements in strength, speed, power, vertical jump, lateral movement, and gains in muscle mass, and reduces the risk of injury, well beyond traditional methodology.