Strengthening and Body-Building: What's the Difference In Workouts?
So you want to start a new fitness routine. That’s fantastic! You might picture your ideal body in your head, whether that be a big, beefy bodybuilder or the lithe frame of a runner or swimmer. It goes without saying that stronger muscles are an essential component to a healthier, longer and more active life. However, the debate that seldom seems addressed is this — is it better to build lean muscle or to bulk up? The truth is it depends on what you’re looking to do.
Well, What’s the Difference?
Getting a more muscular body is not easy, no matter what you ultimately want to do. Therefore, it shouldn’t be said that building lean muscle is easier. Building lean muscle might, however, be considered a more commonplace result than bulking up muscles.
What Is Toning?
Toning has more to do with losing body fat than actually building muscles. This is in part why women tend to end up more trim in the end when it comes to weight loss or a prolonged fitness regimen. We all have some degree of lean muscle; as long as we lose fat, it starts to show up.
The reason it can be said that lean muscle is a more common result of a workout routine than bulking up muscle is creating a more lean, toned frame doesn’t require any specialized training. Calories in, calories out is typically the key for a vast majority of people to lose fat, and a good workout routine will help you build and tone lean muscle mass.
What Is Bulking Up?
Bulking up and building heavier muscle doesn’t actually have nearly as much to do with body fat levels. Bulking up means building muscle mass. This typically breaks down into two phases — bulking and cutting. Bulking is all about increasing size, whereas cutting is about cutting fat out of their diets and making their muscles look more defined.
What’s Your Type?
There are three body types when it comes to muscle structure. Some people are just built differently than others, and that’s okay. It’s important that you learn which type of body you fall under. This helps you set realistic goals for how your body will ultimately be, which is better for your motivation and, ultimately, your mental health.
Body types break down into three types, which for the sake of simplicity will be exemplified by WWE wrestlers:
Ectomorphs: These bodies are naturally skinny and have smaller muscles. Typically their metabolism is very fast, meaning they can down an incredible amount of food and it makes it difficult for them to gain fat or muscle. An example of this might be CM Punk; not overly muscular with a thin frame. Shawn Michaels is another example.
Endomorphs: Endomorphs typically have large frames and it ends up being easy to add both fat and muscle to their bodies. An example of an endomorph might be The Big Show or Kane; there’s a balance between fat and muscle, and both men are incredibly tall, which isn’t an atypical situation for an endomorph.
Mesomorphs: Mesomorph frames are balanced — broad shoulders, small waists, and a generally athletic frame. It’s a naturally athletic build. Losing fat is easy and putting on muscle is also easy. Most male wrestlers fall into this category, like Brock Lesnar (though maybe you could argue he falls more into endomorph, but that’s neither here nor there).
How to Bulk Up
Bulking up means watching diet and exercising in a certain way. Here are items that factor into it:
Load - how much weight is lifted.
Volume - How many sets and reps you do throughout the week
Frequency - How many times you work a certain group of muscles every week
Rest - Time between sets
Recovery - the time between workouts for muscles to repair and recover
Also included in bulking up is getting enough sleep, staying away from stress and increasing protein intake.
In terms of how to work out to build bulk muscle, it’s best to be moderate in reps, volume, sets and rest. This means learning your one-rep limit and backing it off by about 25 percent. Once you have a solid guess on the weight, do three to five sets of six to 12 reps with two minutes of rest between sets. Work a different set of muscles per workout day.
How to Tone
Let’s be clear. Yes, we all have some degree of lean muscle. However, even if you’re not looking to build up, it’s still important to strength train in addition to cardio. Training with weights and resistance helps strengthen both muscles and bones, which can lead to avoiding future health risks as you get older and overall improves your physical quality of life.
If you’re okay with a leaner frame, don’t follow the methods you need to bulk up. Lower weights are okay in these situations, but it’s important to lower the reps and rest time as well.
The diet plays a more significant factor when it comes to building lean muscle over bulking up. Lean muscles can form much better if you give yourself a diet lower in fast food and sugar and higher in vegetables and lean protein. Having more wholesome foods that are nutritionally denser tends to lead to a lower appetite anyway, therefore arguably making it easier on you when it comes to switching your diet to something a bit more healthy.
In conclusion: what to know about strengthening exercises
As with all changes in lifestyle, be sure to talk to your doctor before you start a workout routine or supplement regimen. It’s best you do what’s best for your health as you move forward on your fitness journey, hopefully becoming happier and more energized along the way.
There is nothing wrong with choosing to bulk up over choosing to build lean muscle, and there’s no shame in it being the other way around either. The important thing is to watch your diet and to practice a good exercise routine, and perhaps even consider taking some of the best muscle-building supplements. No matter what result you’re ultimately looking for, as long as you stick with it and keep working hard, you will get the result you’re looking for.
Resources— Livestrong, The Diet Authority
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