Muscle: Bigger is Not Better

I had the privilege of watching UFC 111 on the big screen, March 27, 2010. It was the beginning of the inspiration for this article. One of the fights that stuck out in my mind was:

Rodney Wallace

Vs.

Jared Hamman

I know what you're thinking; Rodney Wallace was probably the winner, as he is much bigger than, in the words of Joe Rogan ‘built like a mailman’ Jared Hamman. Incorrect, Jared Hamman was the victor in this fight. They were evenly matched in skill; however, Jared’s lean muscle beat out the big flashy muscles of Rodney Wallace. Wallace had the misconception that big muscles mean you are stronger. The reason he gave for training as a fighter was ‘Because the guys didn’t look all that tough to me on TV.’ Once again, big muscles mean big strength doesn’t pan out.

Body Building

Look at all those muscles! He must be strong! Wrong. First, this is not muscle. Training the way our bodybuilder here actually causes calcium deposits over the muscle, not actual lean muscle. Additionally this guy is actually the weakest he can be on competition day, due to the days of dehydration and starvation so the ‘muscle’ is better defined. Bodybuilders often suffer from high cholesterol and high blood pressure due to bodybuilders eating five to six times what they should be eating to attain results like this.

Let us look at a renowned bodybuilder:

Arnold Schwarzenegger



He is a perfect example of how big ‘muscles’ must be sustained with regular weightlifting. Lean muscle never goes away, but let a month or so pass for this big ‘muscle’ and it just melts off

He has some good lean muscle definition, but all those big lumps just went away when an injury during the filming of Terminator 2 prevented Arnold from weightlifting for three months.















Here is a great example of bodybuilding lean muscle

Sean Connery began bodybuilding as a hobby, which culminated in 1950 when he placed third in the Mr. Universe competition. Connery kept this physique throughout his career, even though bodybuilding to him was just a hobby.

Female Bodybuilding

One of the hot topics of the fitness community is the masculinization of Female Bodybuilders. Shrinking of the breasts, infertility, and low libido are all side effects of this kind of bodybuilding.

Strength training is necessary for stability and agility, two indispensible components of fitness. Like everything, is unhealthy when done to excess.

Core Training Post Pregnancy

Three things, the stretching of the abdominals, fat, and the stretching of the skin cause saggy midsection after pregnancy.


The fat and abdominal muscles are remedied by diet and exercise. Stretching of the skin can be improved with Supplements and topical moisturizing





Diet

It is recommended to go no more than a two pound a week weight loss regimen by starting a calorie deficit diet. Eliminating soft drinks and battered deep fried foods are a good start to the deficit.

Abdominal Exercises

Avoid floor crunches. These not only do more harm than good but also you have to do lots of them. Any exercise that needs more than a dozen reps and a few sets is a waste of time. The best abdominal exercise is to maintain a good posture and keep your abdominals tight all the time. Eventually it will become second nature. Good abdominal exercises are Plank, Stability Ball, lunges and squats. Invest in some dumbells, start with 2 5lb dumbells and go up to 10lb and then 15lbs.

Make sure you doing Cardiovascular Fitness a couple times a week and keeping up with your non-exercise activity thermogenesis.

Loose Skin

This is improved with some supplements and topical moisturizer. In addition to your multivitamin, add a supplement of biotin. Apply skin moisturizer, cream, lotion or natural oil. Also, make sure you are staying hydrated.

For more in depth training, follow the link to Fitness & Combat Training