How to Train for a Great Body
25 Aug
If you want to get a great body, there are a few things that you need to know. Specifically, I am going to discuss how to alter the proportions of your physique as proportions are what make a body nice to look at.
The proportions of the male and the female body are quite different and for that reason there are some differences in the way man and women need to train. Also, while weight management for men and women are pretty much the same, the role of strength training for men and for women is completely different.
In men the goal of strength training should be to alter the proportions in order to make the shoulder region more powerful looking. In women, strength training will only make the body – torso and limbs – firmer and the posture better. Women do not need to change their body shape. A healthy girl at 16 has all the body development she will ever need.
The Goal Of Strength Training For Men
If you are a man, you would look great if you had broad shoulders and a smaller waist. The way to accomplish this is to get strong enough in order to develop the muscles of the upper body and to keep the body weight down in order to keep the waist small.
Ancient Greek and Roman Statues
Check Out the small waist and broad shoulders. Ironically the first physical culture enthusiasts at the turn of the 20th century were inspired by these statues even though the the physiques of the modern bodybuilders are way too massive to pass off as art. Eugene Sandow, one of the pioneers of bodybuilding actually measured the proportions of the Greek and Roman statues and strove to develop a physique resembling them.
Getting Stronger – Here’s How To Do It
- Train consistently. Getting stronger takes time. If you stop or just train from time to time, you are not likely to succeed. The body is very adaptive both to stress and to the lack of it. If you are not training, you will not progress.
- Train with a correct form. You need to challenge your body systematically. It is like a machine with levers and in order to train correctly and produce the necessary force, these levers have to be in the right alignment.
- Gradually progress
Weight Management
This brings me to the next important concept. In order for the proportions to be at their best, the body weight needs to be close to the natural body weight for your particular body type and height. As an example, athletes, both male and female, who compete in events that have weight classes, display the most aesthetically pleasing physiques.
Boxers And Wrestlers Look Sleek And Athletic
They need to be light and thus they . Competitors from the absolute categories do not need to have their weight controlled and while they may be powerful and successful in their sport, their heavier body weight might mean that their hips and waists are too big as compared to their shoulders.
[Eugene Sandow does resemble a statue in a way. This kind of muscular development is a result of significant increases in strength.]
Weight management comes down to how much energy you burn and how much energy you take in. If you find a way to burn more or eat less, you will be able to stay at a lower body weight and have your proportions in check. This is what being in shape is ultimately about.
Photo by jmaximo
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Yavor,
This is a brilliant post buddy. I have tried to get the same message across for a long time, but you worded this in a better way than I ever have.
I really like it that you point out “keep the bodyweight down in order to keep the waist small”.
Even when men are at a low body fat percentage, when they put on a lot of mass the hips and waist grow to make their physique not as aesthetically appealing. The worst look is the protruding “steroid gut”…guys with ripped six pack abs that almost appear pregnant. I’m sure you have seen what I’m talking about.
Have a great one!
Rusty, thanks for the input. Strength training is great and it can do wonders for your body. One thing that is bad about it however is that people forget what got them into strength training in the first place. For many people it is to look better. When we focus on getting stronger and bigger, we forget to keep that waist line in check. A strong dude that carries a lot of fat looks worse than a small lean guy (who may not even train at all).
Very true. A lean proportional body looks much better than bulky muscle weight, tough, at least for me, it takes way more discipline and effort to achieve one than simply putting on muscle mass. I have been focusing on strength training lately. Circuit training to be more specific. Do you recommend any exercises to back up this type of training?
Yegin,
I’d say – first check how much you eat. Get your food right and eat only when you need to eat. Slimming down with exercise alone is just harder.
As far as circuit training goes, here is a home circuit I gave to a few girls that I train so they can do it at home when they are unable to go to a gym.
The circuit is repeated 2-5 times, depending on your conditioning. Do each movement 10-20 times and go to the next one.
1. One leg supine hip extension
Lay on your back and have your one leg up on a chair or bed. Raise your butt up by extending at the hips (squeezing your butt up)
2. Bench dips
Place your hands on the edge of a chair or bench with your back facing it. You can have your feet on the floor or on another bench or chair. Go down till your upper arms are parallel or almost parallel to the floor. If you experience shoulder discomfort, you can eliminate this exercise.
3. Stationary side lunges
Lunge sideways. Go down by sticking your butt out and back. Make sure knees and toes always point in the same direction.
4. Plank
Position yourself in a pushup position but instead of on your hands, rest on your forearms. Squeeze your butt and push it forward. Flex your abs so that the distance between your sternum (chest) and hips is shortened just a little bit. This way the tension can be focused on the abs instead of on your lower back. Hold the position for 30 – 60 seconds.
5. Bodyweight squats
Your feet should be shoulder width apart or a little wider. Squat down by sticking your butt out. Keep your chest up and push your knees out to the sides so that they are in line with your toes.
6. Pushups
Squeeze your butt and abs. Place your hands shoulder width apart and make sure your elbows go back and not completely to the sides. To make pushups easier they can be done on your knees or standing and pushing up against a wall).
7. Stationary lunges
Step forward and then descend directly downwards so that your knees do not go in front of your toes.
8. Side plank
Rest sideways on your forearm and make sure to squeeze the obliques – does muscles on the side of your waist. Hold the position for 30 – 60 seconds.
That’s it! Rest 1 minute and repeat 1-4 times.
Actually I should take some pictures and do a detailed post on the circuit…
Yavor
p.s. You’ve got a cool site! I will keep an eye on your posts!
this is very helpful thanks, Yavor.
yegin
Hey Yavor
Nice to see you have your own blog now, very good post this one, i always Loved training for aesthetics and strength, and anciente Greece has always been an inspiration, and of course some natural bodybuilders from the past, like the best one of all times Steve Reeves. The only problem with greek measures as seen on some sites, is that the legs are too small compared to upper body, but if you look at the statues that’s not true, the statues are very balanced. One of the most important advice i give to trainees wanting to look good is to avoid back squats and deadlifts, but the mainstream bodybuilding and even natural strength training are very based on those two exercises. The get big thing still rules around and that’s a shame, Vince Gironda use to say that a lot of very good physiques had been ruined by the use of those two exercises, and he was right, no doubt they’re excellent for mass and strength, but if you want to look good, don’t use them, and also avoid shrugs and cleans, they will overdevelop your traps giving the ilusion of very narrow shoulders.
Helder,
Thanks for the input. Depending on their body structure, some people can deadlitft and squat without ruining their proportions. Others can’t. If you train for relative strength – increasing how much you can squat and deadlift without gaining significant weight, you will benefit from these exercises. If you just eat big and lift big, chances you will be strong but fat and with overdeveloped hips and butt.
Cheers,
Yavor
Hopefully guys like you and Rusty are the pioneers of a revolution in the way people think about fitness and working out!
-Fred
Awesome article and I especially like your comment to Rusty, “Strength training is great and it can do wonders for your body. One thing that is bad about it however is that people forget what got them into strength training in the first place. For many people it is to look better.”
I believe that the drive to look better can only motivate you for a certain period, then the vanity motivation begins to dry up.
I have been motivated by my continual research and study of developing a lean and strong body, and it has lead to many great insights from strength training coaches and not one from any bodybuilder.
What I have found is a greater motivator than vanity, and the end result will always keep your waist in check while continuing to develop greater levels of strength. That motivator is performance and viewing exercise as training to increase performance and develop greater and greater degrees of athleticism. I think gymnasts, sprinters, combat athletes and navy seals are the best role models for pursuing greater degrees of athleticism and the natural result will be a lean body.
Chad,
great insights. I am in many ways like you. I wasn’t athletic as a kid, started playing basketball in high school and later got interested in bodybuilding and later strength training and sport science in general. That’s why I read/watch so much on the topic. That’s why the blog exists. And that’s why I also get paid to whoop people into shape lol as a personal trainer.
That being said howver, my point is – all this knowledge is great, but being in kickass shape is greater.
Cheers buddy,
Yavor