Both are great and in my opinion, done right, weights are paramount.

But mostly after getting a functioning core and functioning body.

Gymnasts, who may have never touched a weight in their life, can be taught how to bench and kick ass on most any weight lifter and probably rival many power lifters or Olympic (maybe stretching slightly here to make a point) .Their bodies function and they have functional strength.

Do you need weights? No. Can they be a big help? Yes.

It all depends on how you do it and how well your body functions etc

I just did a camp with the inventors of FatGripz (both use to work for/with Charles Poliquin).

The best results people get are with fat bars and they cost loads. These guys made some attachments to regular bars, save you thousands.

Basically the nervous system will limit what you can do to the strength of the weakest link (simplifying here).For many and most that is grip strength. This is to help grip strength then EVERYTHING else goes up.

I think they are pretty cheap - check them out. The inventors are great guys too! One Brit and one Canadian.. The Brit is living in Dubai and the Canadian in TO.

""... as much as possible, train with thick bars when training the upper body ... Can't add size to your biceps? Try working the forearms!"

- Charles Poliquin, trainer of over 400 Olympic athletes, Olympic medalists in 17 different sports and numerous bodybuilders and stars of the NFL and NHL"

www.fatgripz.com

(say hi from Little Hawk lol)