Bodybuilding: The Cure or the Problem?
Not a hate article against Bodybuilding…ok that's out of the way Read ON!
As Athletes we are seeking to improve our overall health and wellness. There are many ways to do so in the world of fitness, all having their ups and downs. It is important to know that there is no perfect system and even if there was a perfect system someone would mess it up and make it seem bad again.
Trying and utilizing BodyBuilding is all well and good but…
What I do not agree with however, is the advertising that using one tool in health/wellness/fitness/strength is the only thing you need to reach all your goals or a healthier body. I am not being biased here and attacking Bodybuilding either. This rule applies to everything. Goes along with the sayings “Everything in Moderation” and “Too much of anything can be bad for you.” too much milk can be bad, too much water can kill you. I want you to know enough about the type of exercise you are going to engage in before your first day. Each discipline has its good points and bad points.
The Good Bodybuilding Brings to the table
Lifestyle changes focused on being healthy
Promotes lean body compositions
Increased Muscle mass
Gaining Strength
Healthy Nutrition options
Different methods to reaching goals
Simple movements
learning to struggle
Learn to commit
There are many components of bodybuilding you need to follow in order to be your best. Following this method of exercise can promote positive very lifestyle changes. This Is something I consider the most positive aspects of bodybuilding. Whether you think you know how to get to your goals on your own or not; the way you have been living your life up to this point has left you disappointed in one or more aspects so, change has to happen. Bodybuilding is the focus on building the best body you can. Not necessarily specific to one domain in fitness but if you are building your body correctly it will feel as good as it looks.
There are different divisions in bodybuilding. Not all of them are based off being a 300 pound slab of beef (male/female) with more muscle + definition than a camera lens has room for. Divisions range from natural, fitness/physique, figure, bikini, pro, amateur. All having different requirements but keeping one thing clear…you have to be lean. With the US topping the charts on the fattest nations poll year after year, competing or training for a bodybuilding competition could be seen as one route to the cure for obesity. A person who is obese is accepted in the world of bodybuilding only if they have desire to achieve a leaner more defined body.
Muscle size and strength while vastly different also have some similarities. You do not have to have very big muscles to be very strong but, you can be very strong while having very big muscles. Building muscle mass can either be a side effect of training or the purpose. With bodybuilding you will get stronger for sure but the goal is not about strength so your strength is a side effect of your attempts to build muscle. Having more muscle mass can help reduce the risk of injury to joints while also be pleasing to look at in and out of clothes. Having more strength can greatly improve the quality of life of a person as they advance in age. Activities of daily living will become easier and less fatiguing meaning you will have the energy to do some more with the time you have each day. The ability to do more things will be available from moving furniture without risking injury, recreation activities can be accomplished in more frequency without onset exhaustion.
Since there is a NEED to be lean and muscular for bodybuilding, nutrition plays a big role in how far you can progress. The tagline for getting abs is that “ they are made in the kitchen”. In order to eliminating the junk foods and keeping track of food/drink intake in order to reach goals.
There are different “roads” you can go down to reach your goal. There is not one set program to follow. One of the biggest excuses used when explaining why someone stops exercising is because they were bored with their routine. The only constant with bodybuilding is you need put in the work regardless of the program you choose. Find a program that fits your needs and desires.
The exercises and equipment most popularly used in bodybuilding programs are fairly easy to do. There are machines which have the movement guided, isolation and single joint exercises like the bicep curl and triceps push down. If you choose to start out on your own, a simple bodybuilding program will be easy to follow without the need for help by others.
In order to see the gains you want you, have to struggle. One of the easiest ways to improve your results is by being able to successfully struggle through a workout. Often independent exercisers have a hard time progressing their exercises and pushing themselves enough to elicit a change. The reason you are doing an exercise is to struggle and succeed in repetition to see progress.
If there is one aspect of exercising in general no matter the path you choose it is commitment. You have to be able to stay focused on your tasks daily. Commitment will always require effort and sacrifice and you may not like it especially with things you used to enjoy. Make sure you are ready for that level of commitment before you even make your goal.
THE BAD BODYBUILDING BRINGS TO THE TABLE
Image First
Mobility Issues
Flexibility Issues
Cardiovascular endurance
False Experts
Dietary Restrictions
Weight Cycling
Supplement abuse
Over-training
Overuse Injury
Program Jumping
It’s a sport based on looks and looks alone. Think of the stage competitions the same way you would a luxury high fashion show. Everything is about looks the same as fashion but the star in the show is the way you look and not the clothes you are wearing. There is no consistency in the judging of these competitions because its all based off of subjective opinions of the judges. No one is measure for body fat percentages, muscle diameters, girth measurements and size, etc. When the judgements are so subjective how is it possible to actually have a winner? As “selfie nation” takes over the social atmosphere without really causing any harm the narcissistic attitudes of the competitors can take a negative hit if they take these subjective judgments to heart.So much so that some participants are willing to sacrifice safety in order to try and reach that subjective desired look and approval from others.. It was seen with the involvement of performance enhancers ( steroids, pro hormones, supplements) and the insane amount of size small framed guys would pack on and the loss femininity in women using them.
One of the negatives of having the focus placed on the look first is that the actual function of the body parts can be put on the back burner. Maybe the professionals take a more well-rounded approach but, there are a lot of novice/intermediate lifters who focus on the elements of looks and size while ignoring mobility, flexibility, endurance, cardiovascular and stability benefits of exercising. Focusing on strictly one component of exercising will only make the likelihood of declining health and injury greater. There are even times when someone will make up their own variation of an exercise that might not be safe or really beneficial but, often times the impression is muscle contraction first and joint safety second. I trust that you have seen some weird stuff at the gym from beginners and fit people.
Unfortunately it is not easy to pick out a good trainer just by looking at them. The appearance does not always translate to knowledge and experience. Following your friend in the gym just because he is a regular gym goer and has seen some results does not make him an expert. There is a term for some of the BS information that you might hear in the gym; it is called Bro-Science. It will seem legit to you because they are using big words every now and again plus, you just don’t know better. To someone with only basic exercise knowledge pretty much anything will sound good. You tell me something about quantum physics and string theory and I will believe you if you sound convincing.
Due to the amount of Bro-Science out there the nutritional guidelines are often limited and boring for the novice lifter. Boiled skinless chicken breast, broccoli and brown rice is very limited nutritionally and lets face it just boring. Boring and restrictive diets are never going to be a long term solution and you will most likely fall of the wagon hard and fast. Also, Diets are often cycled the same way as the professionals in the bodybuilding industry. Cutting cycles following bulking cycles in a continuous loop may be effective for the pros but, more often than not lead to terrible YO-YO dieting in novice exercisers who don’t know how to control the cycles properly. Since the typical person struggles in dealing with restrictions these cycles are usually done in extremes. The biggest request in fitness is for fat loss and muscle tone. Yo-Yo diets might help in the short term but, do not get you there for the long-term and can lead to more serious nutrition problems like malnourishment and nutrient deficiencies and even more weight gain on top of your normal weight gains.
The other side of the nutritional battle is not with food at all. It is with supplements. A Billion market that has limited regulations for quality and proven products but absolutely amazing marketing…like really amazing. Every professional bodybuilder(even some amateurs) are endorsing a supplement company and all of their products even though they won’t ever use them. Not all of them are bad but, there is no replacement for real food and having a bulletproof diet structure. Regardless of the supplements you use; if your diet sucks really bad then the results you want will never come. Wen the results don’t come the supplements are often abused using the principle of more is better and can end up terribly for the person using them.
When you are committed and driven to see results sometimes the amount of time spent working out starts to increase to a point where results are actually being hurt. Often times it is again the more=better attitude that gets us in trouble. Overtraining and under recovering are the same thing. Training too hard too often is bad but even worse is training really hard and then not letting yourself recover when you are out of the gym. Recovery and rest are often overlooked and seen as hurting your progress instead of helping it. This is a flawed way of thinking. Overtraining and under recovery will lead to injury and, the lack of overall balance in your exercise selections will lead to overuse injuries no matter the weight used. Too much of anything can have a negative affect. This paired with lifting heavy things will only speed up the process.
There are tons of popular bodybuilding magazines and websites with different ways to lift and programs to follow. Following one program is often not done, instead is doing this workout from a magazine one time and then a different individual workout from another source. Each program may have its benefits if carried out exactly as written but is rarely done. I have said it before it is better to Train in a system then piece together random workouts.
Often times these magazine/website routines are solely focused on one aspect that they miss different components of training that are actually beneficial. When was the last time you saw a “ get a Superman Chest in 6 weeks” program include any stretches, warm ups, accessory exercises, assistance exercises to keep you from getting hurt? Probably never. To someone who does not know better, this is bad. That program can seem like a chocolate chip cookie recipe; where everything you would need is laid out for you in writing and all you have to do is follow it to the letter for perfection. If it was really important then they would have included it right? Wrong.
So there you have it, BODYBUILDING is not the Best thing in the world! The overall bottom line is that just like everything else…Don’t over do it! It’s that simple, the best program or exercise routine for health benefits, fat loss benefits, athletic benefits, strength and power benefits is BALANCE! And just like there areshitty personal trainers out there in the world taking shit courses and getting “certified” if that…there are also the same people like that for Bodybuilding. Not every Chiseled piece of stone looking body is an expert in training. They might look nice but you are not them and things might be different for you in terms of the best way to train. Without an education they will just be giving you a version of their own routines.
Originally published at fitletes.com
Thanks For taking the time out of your day to read.
If you enjoyed it then I hope you follow, It would really mean the world to me.