Talk:Strength training

Refer Talk:Weight training#Merging.

Searching for Isokinetic exercise is not listed in your information. Appx 52 years ago we developed a new type exerciser that we called the Mini Gym. A couple years later Dr James Perina at Univ of Iowa designed a much larger exerciser, he called Cybex and named the exercise ISOKINETIC. Both our exercisers controlled the speed of exercise,and accommodated to the user instead of the user accommodating to the resistance as with weights. Now there were 3 types of resistive exercise, Isometrics, isotonics and isokinetics. ISOKINETICS IS POSITIVE ONLY EXERCISE AND DEVELOPS ATHLETIC POWER. I tell my story on our Home page Powerspeed-training.com (formally called Mini Gym Co.) In 1972 our small isokinetic Mini Gym was used by Skylab Astronauts in Space flights. Our most famous exerciser, the Isokinetic Leaper changed athletic training in 1975 when we introduced Speed Training with Positive only exercise (concentric) and no (eccentric) lowering of weights. Athletes could do 50 repetitions in less than one one minute. The Fast Speed Training develops athletes white quick twitch muscle fibers for higher jumping, more speed and quicker reflexes. We have had 5 patents issued in our 50 years. Coaches for many years used weight training to get athletes stronger and bigger. Isokinetic adds another advantage of higher jumping, more speed and reflexes. There are hundreds of articles written about isokinetic exercise on web sites and thousands of training centers, big and small (even in homes or garages) improving young athletes. Also, there are hundreds of manufacturing companies making some type of isokinetic exerciser. Isokinetics used in measuring muscle injury and strength gains. Also, rehab leg limbs, and recently training young athletes to improve their game.

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 21 January 2025 and 1 May 2025. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): FootballJ11 (article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by FootballJ11 (talk) 16:46, 27 March 2025 (UTC)

The redirect Head harness (weight training) has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2026 January 29 § Head harness (weight training) until a consensus is reached. Shhhnotsoloud (talk) 18:18, 29 January 2026 (UTC)

Regarding the intro paragraph, although lots of people confuse weight training as being equal to strength training, I believe there's an important difference being lost here. Using weights is just one of several ways to achieve strength training, although using weights is the most wide-spread form. I have a slight COI on this matter though, so would prefer someone else to do the editing. /Urbourbo (talk) 11:40, 6 March 2026 (UTC)

I looked at this a while ago, the answer was I could not find clear sources to explain the difference. Particularly, although I did find sources that distinguished them, I also found reliable sources that said they were the same. So linguistically, it is something like you ask someone what they are doing, and they say "training", and then you ask "what kind of training?", and they will variously answer "strength training", "weight training", "resistance training" according to their dialect. And then it is kind of getting in the weeds, like saying "no, it is po-tay-toh, not po-tah-toh" to distinguish those, and nobody actually considers the difference important. Like, looking at the current article, where would you even discuss the difference? It all discusses aspects of one topic. Mathnerd314159 (talk) 19:58, 11 March 2026 (UTC)

Thanks, good points and interesting perspective. It would be interesting to learn what key sources claim that strength training equals weight training though, I can't recollect having read such statements other than in more casual contexts. My perception is that most exercise-science literature defines strength (or resistance) training in terms of muscles contracting against external resistance, without limiting the modality (such as free weights, weight-stack machines, resistance bands, flywheels, pneumatics, etc). Having said that, I still think weight training could merit a mention in the intro, for the reasons you mention. Perhaps something along the lines of the following? I'm thinking this should be consistent with most review papers and textbooks etc:

Strength training, or resistance training, is physical exercise in which muscles contract against external resistance in order to increase strength, endurance, or muscle size. Weight training—using free weights such as barbells or dumbbells—is one common method of performing strength training.

Btw, the article could use some serious clean up as well, such as creating a separate chapter about modalities. But that's for another day... Best, /Urbourbo (talk) 13:16, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

well like for example this book, there is the sentence "Throughout the last ten years there has been a massive rise in the number of people who now perform some kind of resistance (or weight) training." This kind of phrasing equates resistance training and weight training and erases any distinction. Generally speaking such sources outnumber and outweigh any sources that do draw distinction. Mathnerd314159 (talk) 21:13, 15 March 2026 (UTC)

See also Commons:Categories_for_discussion/2026/03/Category:Weight_training_equipment /Urbourbo (talk) 17:12, 6 March 2026 (UTC)