Bodybuilding
body·build·ing
\ˈbä-dē-ˌbil-diŋ\
noun
1. the developing of the body through exercise and diet; the developing of the physique for competitive exhibition.
What is Bodybuilding?
Bodybuilding is the process of building a muscular physique through muscle hypertrophy, from progressive resistance training, for aesthetic purposes. This form of fitness training is unique compared to, let us say powerlifting, in that it mainly focuses on muscular appearance, rather than muscular performance. However, if done correctly, bodybuilding is also a great way to improve our strength, stabilize our body, and optimize our overall health.
There are many different areas of bodybuilding that are split between the competitive and casual levels. Competitive bodybuilding generally refers to a bodybuilding competition where bodybuilders are viewed by judges, to determine who has the best physique. There are many different categories in competitive bodybuilding including professional bodybuilding, men's physique, classic physique, natural bodybuilding, and female bodybuilding, that have different rules and expectations. Professional bodybuilding is for those who have won enough qualifying amateur bodybuilding competitions to earn a "pro card," from a professional bodybuilding organization. Professional bodybuilders compete at the highest level and earn monetary compensation and sponsorships, as seen in other professional sports. Men's physique is a competition category similar to open professional bodybuilding, with the main differences being that men's physique competitors pose in board shorts instead of the traditional posing suits, and most competitors are not above 200 pounds and have a more attainable and aesthetic physique. While open professional bodybuilders are significantly bigger and more muscular, men's physique has found its niche as being a competition for bodybuilders who are not "too bulky" or "too unhealthy." Classic physique is a competition category in between open professional bodybuilding and men's physique, with the main differences being that classic physique bodybuilders are not as large as open bodybuilders and not as small as men's physique bodybuilders, and classic physique competitors pose in boxer briefs instead of board shorts or traditional posing suits. In addition to each category of professional bodybuilding, there are typically subcategories separating male and female competitors, competitors of different weight classes, and competitors that use performance enhancing drugs from those that are "natural." Casual bodybuilding consist of bodybuilders who share a similar goal as professional bodybuilders (attainting an aesthetic muscular physique), while also sharing similar techniques to reach this goal, with the main difference being that they do not do it professionally. While a casual bodybuilder may compete in bodybuilding competitions, they do not own a pro card or earn any monetary compensation from competition. However, some casual bodybuilders may earn monetary compensation or sponsorships from YouTube/social media, company partners, and (noncompetitive) bodybuilding events.
The process of bodybuilding requires consistent progressive resistance training, adequate recovery, and proper nutrition to build a muscular physique. Progressive resistance training is a method bodybuilders use to increase muscle hypertrophy and build muscle mass. Muscle hypertrophy can be divided between two types of hypertrophy: sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar. Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy mainly increases the size of muscle fibers and is stimulated by high repetition resistance training. Myofibrillar hypertrophy mainly increases muscle fiber strength and is stimulated by heavy weight resistance training. While both sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar hypertrophy increase muscle fiber size and strength, they each have more of an emphasis on one of these aspects, and bodybuilders tend to favor sarcoplasmic over myofibrillar hypertrophy for aesthetics. When we stimulate our muscles during intense resistance training, we create physical stress that causes micro-tears to the muscles being trained. These micro-tears contribute to both the fatigue and soreness felt after a resistance training session known as delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Our body's natural ability to repair damaged muscle fibers leads to growth, as muscle fibers are restored bigger and stronger to adapt to the intense stimulus. This reveals the importance of progressive overload and how bodybuilders need to increase the intensity of their resistance training sessions over time, so they can add enough physical stress to cause micro-tears to the muscles being trained, forcing them to be restored bigger and stronger, to adapt to the intensity in a cycle of growth.
It is important to note that this cycle of growth is non-linear, and that there are other important factors that bodybuilders tend to implement alongside progressive resistance training, to make their growth as consistent as possible. Proper recovery after resistance training is just as, or even more important to building a muscular physique, than the training itself. While this may seem counter-intuitive, muscle growth occurs while we are resting. Intense resistance training stimulates our muscles and creates physical stress, that causes micro-tears to the muscles being trained. However, when we get an adequate amount of rest and sleep 6-8 hours a night, our muscles get the opportunity to repair these damaged muscle fibers bigger and stronger, leading to growth. Additionally, many bodybuilders use other recovery methods like daytime naps, post-workout yoga/stretching, massages, compression garments, contrast water therapy, cryotherapy, and sauna to improve their recovery, so their muscles are fully restored before their next training session.
Another important factor that bodybuilders tend to implement alongside progressive resistance training is proper nutrition. Proper nutrition provides fuel during the pre-workout phase and contributes to recovery during the post-workout phase. A bodybuilder needs more calories than a person who does not resistance train, since their muscles demand more energy and protein to repair and grow damaged muscle fibers. Most bodybuilders follow a specialized nutrition plan that allocates portions of their total daily calories to each macronutrient (protein, fat, and carbohydrates) and to each micronutrient (vitamins and minerals). The amount of calories a bodybuilder consumes, and of those calories the allocation of macronutrients and micronutrients they choose to consume, depends on their current status and their goals. Most bodybuilders cycle between phases of bulking, cutting, and maintenance to achieve their target physique.
The bulking phase consists of a period of time when a bodybuilder maintains a net positive energy balance (consumes more calories than maintenance), so their body is mostly in a state of anabolism (tissue gain). During anabolism, muscle protein synthesis (the building of proteins in muscle tissue) exceeds muscle protein breakdown (the breakdown of proteins in muscle tissue), creating a balanced state that leans in the favor of muscle protein synthesis or muscle gain. While the size and the length of the bulk depends on the individual, bodybuilders mostly aim to be in a caloric surplus of 300-500 calories above maintenance while also consuming at least 1.0-1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight, to ensure that they can build as much muscle mass as possible while also reducing the amount of fat they will gain. Once a bulking phase has been completed, a bodybuilder can decide whether to maintain their current size or begin a cutting phase. The cutting phase consists of a period of time when a bodybuilder maintains a net negative energy balance (consumes less calories than maintenance), so their body is mostly in a state of catabolism (tissue breakdown). During catabolism, the body breaks down stored fat for energy since our total daily energy intake is below our total daily energy expenditure. However, in addition to the breakdown of fat tissue for energy, muscle tissue is also broken down for energy through the breakdown of muscle protein. Muscle protein breakdown (the breakdown of proteins in muscle tissue) exceeds muscle protein synthesis (the building of proteins in muscle tissue), creating a balanced state that leans in the favor of muscle protein breakdown or muscle loss. To ensure bodybuilders reap the greatest benefits during a cut, they mostly aim to be in a caloric deficit of 300-500 calories below maintenance while also consuming at least 1.0-1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight, to ensure that they can retain as much muscle mass as possible while also maximizing the amount of fat they will lose.
Supplements can be a useful and convenient way of helping a bodybuilder reach their nutritional goals. While they are not mandatory, supplements can make it easier to fill the gaps in our nutrition and meet our daily needs. The two most common supplements used by bodybuilders, which almost always rank in the top two are creatine and protein supplementation. Creatine is a molecule produced naturally in our body that provides energy for our muscles and other tissues. Research suggests that this dietary supplement can increase muscle creatine content by up to 40% beyond its normal levels, leading to larger increases in exercise performance, muscular strength, and muscle mass over time (Buford T., Kreider R., Stout J., et al., 2007). In addition, creatine has also been shown to increase the water content in our muscle cells, increase the levels of hormones like IGF-1 involved in muscle growth, and decrease the breakdown of proteins in our muscles (Antonio J., Candow D., Forbes S., et al., 2021). Despite the common arguments against the supplement, creatine is the most studied supplement on the market and the top go-to supplement for bodybuilders. Getting an adequate amount of protein is crucial for gaining muscle, but consuming at least 1.0-1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight can be too difficult for some. Protein supplementation can make it easier to consume larger amounts of protein during or in-between meals. However, supplementation should never replace meals as most of our nutrients should come from whole foods (meat, eggs, beans, vegetables, etc.). Protein supplements come from a variety of sources such as whey, casein, egg, soy, pea, and rice, which come in a variety of forms such as drink powders, candy bars, cake mixes, yogurts, ice creams, and much more. While the large variety may seem overwhelming, which protein supplement one consumes mostly comes down to what works well in their diet, based on the nutritional content of the supplement. However, it is important to note that nutrition labels can be deceiving and just because a supplement has more grams of protein than another, does not mean it has more absorbable grams of protein that would help us meet our daily protein needs (Schaafsma, 2000). The supplement industry spends large amounts of money to market their products in ways that are sometimes unethical, so it is important that bodybuilders do their due diligence to research what they are putting into their bodies, to keep themselves safe and to save money.
Supplements are not the same as performance enhancing drugs, which some bodybuilders use to increase their muscle mass to a certain level, in a time frame which they could not have done so naturally. Performance enhancing drugs such as anabolic steroids, prohormones, human growth hormone (HGH), testosterone boosters, and oil injections can significantly increase muscle hypertrophy when combined with resistance training (Schroeder E.T., Vallejo A.F., Zheng L., et al., 2005). However, they each come with a large sum of side effects (increased acne, early onset of male pattern baldness, decline in natural testosterone production, etc.) that can be detrimental to our overall health, especially from long-term use of performance enhancing drugs. Generally, performance enhancing drugs are mostly frowned upon, especially when bodybuilders who use them monetize themselves with products that they claim, "helped them achieve their body naturally." Performance enhancing drugs are on the dark side of bodybuilding and may do more harm than good, therefore, natural bodybuilding is a better way to improve our strength, stabilize our body, and optimize our overall health.
"No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable."
