Lifting for the Look You Want

Weight lifting is not a specific category of fitness. It is a broad type of exercise that can be manipulated to go in many different directions. Have you ever noticed how you can have a weight room full of people and nearly all of them will have different body types? That’s because different people are training for different bodies.

I personally try to train for a combo body, but I usually lean towards big weight for big muscles. There is no doubt, I will have a higher body fat percentage from heavy lifting (compared to a lighter lifter). I’m already a naturally heavier person – when I was at 5′8” 180 pounds I looked more like 150, but the point is the more muscle (and subsequent weight you have), the harder it is to keep the fat low. Of course, I still also want a slimmer but athletic look. I believe this indecisiveness hurts me a little bit as far as exact focus, but as long as I’m in the gym 5 times a week, I’m not worried too much about whether my workouts are perfectly tailored.

To get the body you want, you can first start with a basic foundation of weight lifting, cardio fitness, and eating. As you elevate your fitness status beyond beginner, you’re body will be able to better adjust to creating a new you. If you want to become a hulking, massive beast in the mode of a slimmer lineman, you have to increase calorie intake and pound out heavy, heavy weight. I will warn those of you considering this path, you can get fat in a hurry. Ever notice what happens to lineman after they stop playing football? If you become a massive human being – more concerned with power and brute strength than anything else – you’re mass is going to convert to fat as soon as you stop being active. If you choose this course of action, you have to be careful to ween yourself away from food as your activity level decreases.

Another body type is the hugely muscular but still lean. Another football analogy for this could be a running back like Ricky Williams. Williams has huge muscles but is very ripped for his size. I think this is the ideal category. You still have a lot of power but you’re also able to remain athletic and diverse in what activities you do. This is the hardest type of body to train as you’re constantly pushing to become stronger but at the same time maintaining speed, quickness, and agility through cardio to remain lean.

Moving down the line, you have athletic and muscular but more toned. You’ll see these types in MMA lower weight classes. Usually these people lift not so much to get stronger, but to retain what they believe to be an optimum fitness level.

Of course there are subclasses and categories in gyms everywhere. You know where you’re at right now. If you want a different body, change your routine and diet accordingly. The decision is easy, the process is much harder. The video below shows you a pretty cool body transformation over a years time.