What`s new, athletes? In this segment, I`ll discuss the difference between
bodybuilding (training for muscle size and looks) vs. strength training
(training for strength and body coordination and efficiency).
Before choosing, first you must determine what your goals are.
Are you trying to get big and build nice looking muscles; or are you training
for a sport and want to be strong, fast and explosive? Regardless why you’re
training, you must train in different ways for each result.
A bodybuilding program will leave you with chiseled, nice
muscles but you won`t gain much muscle coordination. Your muscles won't be able
to work together as effectively as if you trained for strength. On the other
hand, if you train for muscle strength and coordination you will be able to do
many real life movements which involve many muscle groups (like jumping,
running and other athletic movements). However, you may develop some muscle
imbalances and won`t grow as big as if you were to train with isolation
exercises. Lagging muscles might slow you down as they might not be trained as
hard as other muscles if you don`t have a complete program.
So which one is best? Again it all depends on what you are
trying to accomplish. However, according to me I think that starting with a
base of strength training is always the best way to go. If you are a beginner
and have never worked out before, you'll always want to start to train with
compound exercises (multiple muscle exercises) before moving on to isolation
exercises. By doing this you ensure the best of both worlds if you are unsure
as to which side you want to specify in. Training for strength will develop a
base of muscle and efficiency around your whole body so that when you do switch
to isolation exercises later on, you will already have a head start ahead of
someone who just trained with isolation exercises from the beginning.
So how should you start off? Well start by doing exercises
like squats, dead lifts, bench press and other body weight exercises like chin
ups/pull ups and push-ups/dips. After you've done this for a little while (a
few months) and have been building a good foundation of strength (by
progressively adding weight to the bar), you can then switch to adding or
replacing it with isolation exercises. This will ensure the best combination of
size and strength. When I first started working out, I did a workout called Stronglifts which incorporated compound exercises and progressive loading. After doing it for a few months I was amazed at how much stronger I've gotten and bigger I was, without once doing an isolation exercise. I still do that workout to this day and I'm glad I started with strength training.
Try it out and let me know how it goes!
See you next time!
Sources:
http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5-beginner-strength-training-program/
Sources:
http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5-beginner-strength-training-program/
bodybuilding can be for many different sports as boxing, mma, and maybe basketball, but strength comes in different sizes it depends on which sport for example Ronaldo is a soccer player he is pretty big but the thing about him is that he exploded himself to certain levels as he has a 39 vertical inch and is very fast maybe one of the fastest even if he is big.
ReplyDeleteA person can train for strength and size at the same time. It is very uncommon to see someone like that but it happens sometimes. Look at football players, they are very big and can explode like a sprinter. The fast twitch are the ones doing the work during explosive training, the more of these you have the bigger and faster you can be.
ReplyDeleteStrength vs size... I too have walked the line and experimented with both. At one point (before I left with the military) I was 5'8 solid muscle and weighing in at 195 something unheard of at the age of 16. I was able to bench 300+ without having to think about it. Now, that I have dropped quite a bit of weight I've noticed a great difference in my athletic ability's ( I weigh about 160 now). Since ive been boxing I've noticed a great increase in my speed and stamina. If you would put my new self in the ring with my old self I would wear out my heavier version of myself and capitalize (providing I didn't get knocked out). Though loosing the weight has helped me with stamina and speed, I do miss my size. It was ultimately intimating to other people which I liked, as well as would have helped for football season as the more you weigh the harder you are able to hit and get hit.
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