Better Bodies In Training

Featured Guest Blogger: Adrian of 36pounds.com

Bodybuilding vs. Strength training

If you train to look good and be comfortable in your own skin, which training type is better? Bodybuilding or Strength training? Which one is more effective? Which one is “the magic pill”? In this post I will answer these questions and, hopefully, help you get the best training available.

Two sides of Training

There are two approaches to training and fans of both have “my method is the best” attitude. On one side there is bodybuilding training, which is most popular today and is widespread due to bodybuilding magazines and gyms (a.k.a, Spa). On the other side there is power lifting (strength or functional) training. The latter training method is not as popular as the former; it is mostly done in basement-type gyms or actual basements. The average trainee is a bit afraid of this training because he/she doesn’t want to look big and fat; he just wants to be “ripped”.

Bodybuilding Training

Bodybuilding is training done of the purpose of looking as good as possible (having a lot of well defined muscles) and being as big as possible while maintaining low body fat percentage. The main goal for pro bodybuilders is to have the best physique on the contest day where judges decide the winner based on symmetrical and aesthetics’ grounds rather than on how strong the contestant is. Bodybuilding training therefore, is not aimed at increasing strength, flexibility or speed. Bodybuilders train more with machines to isolate the muscles in order to “polish” how the muscle looks; this type of training is conventional now and uses mostly 3 sets of 8-10 reps of isolation exercises.

Source: http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/

Strength (Functional) Training

Here is a good quote from Tom Venuto, famous author of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle ebook, which was very popular (and probably still is):

Functional training would help the average person develop strength that carries over into daily activities such as pulling open a heavy door, hiking up a rocky, uneven trail, starting a lawnmower, carrying a child, unloading heavy packages from the trunk of a car, or reaching up and pulling down a bulky box from an overhead shelf.

Strength training, unlike the training with isolation machine like bodybuilding, is more about free weight exercises, core training, stability balls, dumbbells (often larger ranges of motion as compared to barbells; this type of training means more muscle fibers working, which means better stimulation for muscles to grow. Strength trainers using compound movements like squats, deadlifts, presses, and rows. Powerlifters and Strongmen, most common types of strength trainers, use this type of training. While they don’t look as good as average trainee wants to look, they are incredibly strong. They just have a lot of mass and therefore are big. One very popular way of training is 5x5 training written about in books by Mark Rippetoe, Stuart McRobert and other “old-school authors”.

Source: http://www.criticalbench.com

Look great and Be strong as an ox!

So for an average trainee, I think finding the middle road is the best option. Getting that great looking body and gaining a lot of strength is a huge thing! To accomplish this task, we first need to focus on using compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, presses, and rows; we should also stay away from machines and only do a few isolation exercises once in a while to keep your body from imbalance. I prefer isolation exercises not to make up more than 20 percent of total exercises (1 in 5 exercises only). While we still need to do some, trainees need to build a solid base of muscles first and only then finish off their physique with some isolation exercise work. Work your face off with Strength training and total body training three times a week with 20% of your exercises being isolation. Do this training for half a year or a year, then go on an upper/lower split bodybuilding type training to finish off your masterpiece.

Cheers, Adrian

Adrian is a blogger who writes about his personal experiences with exercises. You may read more of his posting by visiting his personal blog http://www.36pounds.com/