I hear it all the time from my athletes who think they know what their goals are. “I want to lift heavy weights” or “I want big arms” or “Isn’t CrossFit better for athletic development?” These questions come from not knowing the difference between a bodybuilding or mass program, a power lifter program, and an athlete performance program.
I also encounter people who don’t really know what they want. It might be to be a great athlete and play at the college level, or it might be as simple as looking yoked for the opposite sex.
Let’s look at the goals of bodybuilding, powerlifting, and CrossFitting and see why they are not for athletic development. And YOU are an athlete, remember?
This is my blog, so these are my definitions. If you disagree with my definitions or feel I did not accurately capture the idea of each of these programs, well I don’t really care. You can tell me but I don’t care.
Bodybuilding/Getting Ripped
Ok every guy on earth wants to look one of two ways:
- Jacked out of their mind with veins bulging out of their bad self, delts the size of bowling balls and pecs that look like they were chiseled out of two slabs of granite.
OR
- Shredded like Pepper Jack cheese, appealing to all the senses and a little spicy to the touch*. You know what I am talking about, just think Hugh Jackman, (and I mean how he looked in X-Men, not how he looked in Kate and Leopold).
*I instantly regret writing this description but I will keep it. It’s poetic license or something.
The goal of bodybuilding is to get big and defined. The dream of any bodybuilder is to swim in a large pool of bronzer with other large defined men and then proceed to flex it out in their underwear.
Powerlifting
The powerlifter is a man’s man. He doesn’t give a shit what he looks like as long as the weights keep going up. They eat meat, talk like pirates, and drink water from gas cans. They have one goal – lift as much weight in the bench, squat, and deadlift. That’s it, they are simple folk.
CrossFitting
I have never talked about CrossFit before. I feel like a 6 year old about to do something I am not supposed to do, like say, “butt”.
I used to hate CrossFit. I have never have done it, it looks dangerous, sacrificing form for reps or time. I still think it is dangerous, but to say I hate it is no longer the case. I have found a grudging respect for what it offers participants. Their camaraderie, the competitive environment, these people are passionate about what they do and that’s great.
CrossFit in my mind is not something you do to feel better or get in shape. I see it like powerlifting, bodybuilding, or even playing a sport. The goal of CrossFit is to be good at CrossFit. Which is to lift a bunch of weights a bunch of times until you can’t go anymore.
The Goal of an Athlete’s Program
The athletes’ goal is simple when it comes to lifting weights. They are trying to recruit as many muscle fibers as fast as they can. They need to be strong, have size, speed and be fit. All these things play a role in making someone an athlete but they are not any one of these things all by itself.
Athletes are not powerlifter strong, bodybuilder big, or CrossFit fit. They are as strong, big, and fit as they need to be for their specific sport.
Take an O Lineman for example. His goal is to be strong but be able to recruit that strength very quickly, much faster then a powerlifter. He needs to be big but not defined so that he can hold his ground and that size will help his strength. His fitness level only requires him to go for 4 to 5 seconds at a time so he does not need endurance training.He just needs to be quick and explosive for 4 to 5 seconds and then be able to recover in 15 to 30 seconds.
If I trained like a powerlifter, I would be strong but may not be able to recruit that strength quickly enough to be useful in a game. If I train like a bodybuilder, I will have lots of muscle endurance but will be weaker and slower than I need to be. If I just do CrossFit, I will have a mix of power, strength, and endurance but nothing that is specific to my actual sport.
Another Big Difference
I would say it is ok for a powerlifter, bodybuilder, or CrossFitter to get injured in training. Why? Because they are practicing their sport and injuries will happen when playing your sport and pushing yourself to be the best at that sport.
It is never ok for an athlete to get injured in the weight room. Lifting weights is not their sport, it is a supplement to their sport to make them better, but it is not their sport.
Closing
The goal of an effective athletic training program is to optimize the attributes that pertain to your specific sport, while preventing injury. Unless your sport is powerlifting, bodybuilding or participating in the CrossFit games, you don’t need to be doing any of these activities! You need an athetic program specific to your sport or goals.
If you need to be strong get strong; if you need speed, train fast; if you need size, eat some food (the right kinds but that’s another topic for another day) and train for size. Remember you are a mix of size, speed, strength, endurance, etc.
If you need help with making a program, check out my online coaching page here.
Best,
Josh Williams
