Bodybuilding is a sport enjoyed by thousands of gym-goers across the country. Bodybuilding can best be described as a marriage of art and sport. Although the bodybuilders do gain strength with this style of resistance training, achieving a certain appearance is the actual goal. The athletes who partake in bodybuilding must commit nearly every facet of their lives to compete at the elite level.
Cycled Training
Bodybuilders are judged on their combination of muscular size, definition and symmetry. To reach peak overall condition, bodybuilders will adjust their training and diets over the course of the year, focusing on different attributes at different times. The reason for these adjustments is the fact that it is difficult, especially for experienced bodybuilders, to gain a significant amount of muscle while losing a significant amount of fat simultaneously. Extreme muscle gain requires an abundance of calories, while fat loss can only occur by limiting calories.
Form Over Function
Bodybuilding differs from other forms of training because there is no performance component. Bodybuilding training is intended to increase size as much as possible. While strength is not the goal, increasing muscle size will result in some strength gain. Body parts are trained separately on different days so that each muscle group can be fatigued as much as possible. Set and repetition ranges will differ based on the phase of the training. A typical bodybuilding split would be to train back and biceps on one day, chest, shoulders and triceps on another, and legs on a third.
Bulking
During the off-season, bodybuilders will try to gain as much muscle mass as possible. This period is referred to as a bulking phase. Calorie intake is drastically raised, and most bodybuilders will train with very heavy weights to stimulate as many muscle fibers as they can. While some bodybuilders choose to eat healthy foods while bulking, many use this phase to indulge in foods not allowed when they are on a strict diet. Cardiovascular training is generally avoided during a bulking phase.
Cutting
Following a bulking phase, bodybuilders will switch their diets and training program to one that is more conducive to body fat loss. This period is referred to as a cutting phase. By losing a substantial amount of body fat, the muscles become more visible, giving the bodybuilder a more aesthetically pleasing appearance. The cutting phase diet calls for a significant reduction in calories with almost no starches. Training weights are lowered because most bodybuilders cannot recover from heavy training on such a low caloric intake. Most bodybuilders will use cardiovascular training such as the stationary bike and treadmill to burn more body fat. Intensity levels are generally kept low to minimize muscle wasting.
Competition
Bodybuilding competitions are not unlike beauty pageants, in that the athletes are judged on appearance. Contestants are lined up onstage and compared in various poses called "mandatory poses." There is also a free posing round where a choreographed routine is performed. Posing practice plays an integral role in the success of a competitive bodybuilder, and it is practiced with the same attention paid to training.
References
- The American Council on Exercise: "Fit Facts"
- "The Anabolic Solution for Bodybuilders"; Mauro Di Pasquale M.D; 2002
Member Comments