The Difference Between Bodybuilding and Getting a Hollywood Body

Bodybuilding and strength training are synonymous, right? Well, not really. Weight lifting is generally the catalyst for both, but the way you lift can give you very different results.

What kind of physique are striving for? This the the first decision you need to make. Are you looking to gain muscle mass or merely define and sharpen the muscle you’ve already got? Here’s where we’ll take a look at mass-building workouts and strength training workouts–the roads you’ll need to take to get where you’re going.

So how do we differentiate the two?

During a mass-building workout your intention is to actually break down and “damage” the muscle tissue. The days to follow is where the growth will occur, with rest and protein to repair. That’s when the muscle will rebuild itself larger and stronger than it was before. The goal of strength training workouts is to enhance the mind-muscle connection of the targeted muscle which will allow it to become denser, rather than larger, but stronger as well.

Breaking down the different types of lifting

Muscle Gaining aka Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy:
This type of lifting is designed to increase size and strength
-I recommend doing 3-5 sets at 6-12 reps per set
-You will want to go to failure or near-failure
-Your muscles should really feel pumped after your workout
-You will have a tendency to be sore the next few days

Muscle Strengthening aka Myofibrillar Hypertrophy:
This type of lifting is designed to increase strength and density/hardness without adding mass
-I recommend doing 1-4 reps at very heavy weight (high intensity)
-You should use a challenging weight, but be able to lift the weight without a spotter
-Do NOT lift until failure
-Muscles will feel firmer after workout, but you shouldn’t be sore afterward

The first step is looking at your body as it is now and deciding what you would eventually like it to look like. After that, you can determine what kind of workout to design for yourself. If you feel you’ve got an adequate amount of muscle already, I recommend you focus your weight work on strength training. Likewise, if you need to accumulate some lean mass, I suggest you do so by following a slightly higher rep-range workout, fatiguing the muscles and causing them to regrow larger.

As I’ve mentioned before–and I’m sure you already knew–nutrition plays a tremendous role in achieving your fitness goals. For this reason, I’ll be focusing on that topic in a post to follow.