Benefits of training with weight plates

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 train using weight plates as part of your routine. They are a very powerful and versatile tool for working different muscle groups.

However, for those who have little experience in the gym, it is common for them to perform their exercises on machines and not use plates. Except when they have to use them to increase the weight of a machine's bar, such as the Smith machine or the leg press to work leg strength and endurance. 

However, there are many muscle areas that can only be exercised using plates. Therefore, they are crucial for achieving a complete training that is totally free from the restrictions and limits imposed by the use of machines. For this reason, in this article, we will explain the advantages and benefits of strength training using weight plates. 

Main advantages of strength training with plates

As we said earlier, those who are starting at the gym to be in better physical condition usually use machines more than weight plates. But, as we said, weight plates have great advantages that is worth taking advantage of in your training. Since they serve to work different muscle groups. 

Plates allow free and natural movement

The free weight strength training with plates has great advantages over using machines. Although we do not want to undervalue the use of machines, the truth is that they limit the movement of the athlete using them, just as happens with using dumbbells for training. However, when performing free weight exercises with plates, the movement is much more natural. 

Plates allow for a wide variety of uses

As we mentioned earlier, weight plates are a powerful, useful, and of course, very versatile. This is because we can use them in different ways. For example, we can use them as if they were dumbbells, or 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 dead weight

Also, the plates themselves are dead weight, so when doing strength exercises with them, we won't have the assistance of the machine's pulley. This forces us to exert more effort to lift them. 

You can adjust the weight of the plates to your physical condition

Another main advantage of weight plate training is that it allows you to adjust the weight depending on your physical condition. Therefore, you can start with one or several lighter plates and gradually increasing their weight as the weeks or months pass and your physical condition improves. 

Benefits of strength training using weight plates

Now that you know the advantages of training using weight plates, we will show you the different benefits you can obtain from their use. Some of these strength training benefits are obvious. However, there are others that are not so much and, therefore, we often overlook them very easily. And not being less obvious does not make them less important. 

Training with weight plates increases strength and physical endurance

It is evident that the increase in strength and physical endurance is one of the benefits of strength training. In fact, it is usually one of the main reasons of people to go to the gym. 

But the strength and endurance are not the same. Therefore, strength is the maximum amount of weight you can move with a single movement, while muscular endurance is your muscles' ability to sustain a movement over a prolonged period.

Thus, to improve strength, you must use very heavy weights and lift them with few repetitions and rest for long periods. On the other hand, to improve endurance, it is necessary to use lighter weights and do many sets of repetitions with little rest time between them. These exercises are perfect for maintaining muscle tone and preventing muscle mass loss with age.

Strength training with weight plates speeds up metabolism

Just like when we perform any type of physical activity, there are many benefits of strength training with weight plates. Among them, it is important to highlight that, thanks to their use, the body's energy expenditure increases, in addition to providing remarkable muscle growth, which will further increase energy expenditure to maintain muscle tone. 

Therefore, training with these plates allows minimize muscle tone loss and burn a large amount of fat. Since the body tends to maintain what is used the most. 

In other words: if you use your muscles often, the body will spend more energy maintaining them and will understand that it doesn't need the fat. Therefore, the higher the level of muscle mass compared to body fat, the faster the metabolism will be and more energy will be needed. 

Increase in bone density

According to experts, from the age of 40, a person's bone mass decreases 1% every year that passes. Therefore, as age advances, the risk of suffering from osteoporosis increases. This is a serious bone disease that makes them much thinner and more fragile than normal. Therefore, the risk of suffering a bone fracture increases as time passes and we get older. 

However, it is proven that among the benefits of strength training is slowing down bone mass loss, as well as bone regeneration. This regenerative effect is produced by the training itself, by acting on the bones thanks to muscle tensions. 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 weight plates, but let's name just a couple more. Among these are the benefits this effort has on your mind. Since it strengthens it, improving brain activity and mood.