“Don’t lift weights!”

“Lifting weights will get you bulky.”

“Weights make you muscle-bound and slow.”

The fear of weightlifting has touched every sport. So should you lift weights for sports?

Yes. All athletes should do some weightlifting.

Some of the resistance against weightlifting came from bodybuilders like this:

Some athletes are afraid of getting as big as the picture above. For one thing, if getting this big was easy, we would have a lot more ripped people in society. Plus, many people who have achieved this level of musculature are on steroids. The fear of gaining excessive muscle is irrational.

Addressing further anti-weightlifting sentiment, there is much more nuance than the claim “gaining muscle will decrease your speed.” Just by looking at the physic of world-class sprinters, we see some of the fastest athletes on earth have an impressive amount of muscles:

By breaking down real-life examples, we can learn how extra weight affects athleticism.

For this analysis, we have to adjust for the athlete’s height.

For simplicity’s sake, all athletes’ weight will be adjusted for height with 4 pounds for each inch.

Example: Stephen Curry weighs 190 pounds at 6’2″. He is 4 inches taller than the average male height, 5’10”. By subtracting 4 pounds for each inch, we take away 16 pounds (4 pounds x 4 inches) to get to 174 pounds 5’10” adjusted.

Formula:

Example: Stephen Curry

(Weight in pounds) – ((Height in inches) – (70 inches)) x 4 = 5’10” adjusted weight

(190 pounds)-((74 height in inches)-(70 inches)) x 4

190 pounds – 4 (inches above 5’10) x 4

174 pounds 5’10” adjusted weight

For this breakdown, 5’10” adjusted height will be used.

Linear Speed

At first glance, looking at NFL data in the 40-yard dash, we see that more weight means slower athletes. Weight clearly decreases linear speed with a strong correlation between weight and decrease of speed.

However, when we look at the non-quarterback skill positions (wide receiver, running back, and defensive backs), the correlation goes from very strong to weak. We even see the fastest 40 yard dash time is performed by a 190 pounds adjusted weight athlete which is around the average adjusted weight for a skill position. This shows the relationship between speed and weight is more complex at these lower weights.

Taking it a step further to below 200 pounds:

When we go below 200 pounds, the correlation becomes very weak(.12). 5’10” adjusted 200 pounds is a large human being and there is not a statistically significant loss of speed up to this weight. To give context to how much muscle this is, here are a few players who are at or under 5’10” adjusted 200 pounds: Reggie Bush, Dwayne Wade, Kawhai Leonard, Micah Richards, and Bryce Harper. Ronaldo comes in at just a 5’10” adjusted weight of 168 pounds.

This shows athletes can get quite large and muscular without seeing significant negative effects on linear speed!

Change of Direction

The 40-yard dash only measures linear speed, yet we know that sports encompass more athletic qualities. Let’s look at how weight affects change of direction.

The 3 cone drill will be used to measure change of direction based on Harvard Sports Analysis’ 11 year analysis of combine data. The results determined the 3 cone drill is a significantly predictive NFL combine drill of NFL performance. The 3 cone drill shows even more predictability of NFL performance than the more often discussed change of direction drill, the shuttle.

There is the same pattern of a strong correlation (0.84) between higher weight and slower performance for the 3 cone drill.

Similarly, under 200 pounds, there is a very weak correlation between weight increase and speed in the 3 cone drill.

Let’s check out vertical jump to see if weight has an effect.

Vertical Jump

Similarly, the same pattern exists in the vertical jump with an extremely weak correlation below 200 pounds. The correlation is -0.03 which is even lower than the correlation in the 3 cone drill.

100 Meter Dash

Over time, the 100 meter dash times have improved with Usain Bolt holding the current record. Let’s look at how weight has changed over time:

Athletes are putting on muscle and their times are improving over time.

From another perspective, we can look at the average weight of the 15 best Olympic performers.

Triple and High Jump

Looking at other top performances in athletic events can give us more insight into how weight affects athleticism.

The top 15 performers in these events weigh an average:

• 171.05 pounds for the high jump

• 172.07 pounds for the triple jump

• 178.2 pounds for the 100-meter dash

All of these weights are above Ronaldo who is generally considered to be a muscular athlete.

If you are below 5’10” adjusted 171 pounds, the fear of gaining muscle will slow you down is not justified.

History of Weightlifting

The history of weightlifting in sports is an excellent case study on weightlifting’s effectiveness.

Early adaptors of weightlifting had a distinct advantage.

Wilt Chamberlain, who lifted weights in the 1960s, far before it became a norm in basketball, still holds the NBA scoring record of 100 points in a game.

Babe Ruth lifted weights over 70 years before it became a norm in baseball. He set his record-setting 60 home run season at 32 years old after taking up weight lifting.

History of Weightlifting in Football

History of Weightlifting in Baseball

History of Weightlifting in Soccer

History of Weightlifting in Basketball

Weightlifting only gains in popularity over time in each sport.

The Shift in Weightlifting in All Sports

Every sport has seen a shift from rejection to acceptance of weightlifting. The evidence for weightlifting from injury prevention to strength, power, and speed development wins out in the long run.

Benefits of Weightlifting

So far I have only addressed people’s fears about gaining muscle. Now, I will dive into the benefits of gaining muscle.

Injury Prevention

Weightlifting prevents injuries.

Strength

Weightlifting increases strength.

Power

Weightlifting improves power movements such as the vertical jump.

Increase in Momentum/Harder to Slow Down

The bigger an athlete gets without decreasing speed, the harder they are to slow down.

For example, if an athlete goes from 180 to 200 pounds (increase of mass) while keeping the same speed, they will increase their momentum (velocity multiplied by mass). In other words, the 200-pound athlete running 20 MPH is harder to slow down than a 180-pound athlete running 20 MPH.

We can see the benefit of generating momentum with NFL running backs. The metric that combines weight and 40-yard dash speed called speed score “has a higher correlation with yards, carries, and DYAR than 40-yard times alone.”

In other words, speed plus weight, not speed alone, makes a good running back.

This applies to other sports as well. Other sports have similar characteristics as NFL running backs such as driving in basketball.

Experimentation

In each sport, there are different unique demands. Additionally, different people’s bodies react differently to different weights. To find the weight best for you, one technique is to experiment.

Charles Barkley, NBA Hall of Famer, talks about his experimentation with weight (https://youtu.be/UC0XOXvUpA4?t=260)

I think at this time I was 290…

I lose 10 pounds I am 280…

I get to 270 and now like okay you can tell I’m in good shape…

(at 260), I am really starting to kick some butt…

I got to 240 but I didn’t feel strong and explosive…

I played my entire career at (250.)

Through experimenting from 290 to 240, Barkley found his best weight. This is a good example of experimenting with weight for sports.

The complex question of what weight is right for you depends on your sport and what feels comfortable to you. The important takeaway from these examples is that a higher amount of muscle can be beneficial and that it should not be automatically discounted.