Anyone who works out has probably wondered if there is a right time to use small weights or your body weight When is it more effective to appeal to one method or another to turbocharge your muscles?

What not many people know is that body weight and regular weights in workouts are used for very different purposes, so when choosing between the two, it all comes down to defining what your goals are.

Body weight

There are many activities that use only body weight, such as yoga and ballet. The tricky part, however, is that although they don't require dumbbells or any accessories, these activities can still be challenging.

Body weight training has a number of benefits that weight lifting does not offer. Probably the most important aspect is the development of spatial awareness and body control The ability to run, crawl, jump, balance on one foot, push and pull is fundamental to maintaining long-term health, as well as increasing coordination.

One of the main benefits of bodyweight training is the joint mobility The ability to focus on finite movements will expand competence in gross movements (such as squats and push-ups) and reduce the risk of injury.

By the way, using your body weight is something you can do anywhere.

Also read: What is the ideal ratio of lean mass to fat mass in the body?

Lifting weight

The use of real weights is more useful for those looking to build muscle. Traditional weight training helps increase maximum strength and the hormones responsible for muscle mass.

The use of weights applies stress to tendons and ligaments similar to the forces of sports and running. By strengthening connective tissue through weight training, you are less likely to injure yourself during a basketball game or a run.

And, looking at health and longevity, weight training improves bone density and maintains lean muscle mass .

Also, unlike using just your body weight, you can control how much you are lifting and know when you are getting stronger, since using dumbbells allows you to adjust the weight to challenge your muscles.

Also read: How to lose arm fat

When to use both

If the goal is to improve health, be athletic, and feel good about how you look and move, a combination of weight lifting with bodyweight is the best bet. When training with weights alone, for example, overall movement ability may be limited.

In addition, using both methods will increase relative and absolute strength. Relative strength is the term used to describe strength in relation to your body weight, meaning how many push-ups you can perform or how fast you can run a kilometer.

Absolute strength, on the other hand, is a measure of how much actual weight you can lift, an external load, i.e. using apparatus.

Both are very important measures of fitness and health, so ideally you should follow a workout that allows you to do both.