Does Bodybuilding Compromise Overall Functional Strength

i_love_muscle

i_love_muscle

2
My experience with BB was not good, nor was it long-lived. After I quit track and field (in the olden days), I though "Hey, I should try bodybuilding!" So I did. After 6 months, I lost so much functional strength I couldn't do basic landscaping, nor was I able to pick up my 45kg dog without struggling.

That was also the first year I was unable to chop wood for the fireplace. I just didn't have the strength to do it. I had to wait until Xmas for my brother to do it for me and when he came over he said "Holy crap, you've lost weight. How much do you weigh? BTW, you look anorexic." (nothing like a brother to bring it all home for you ...)

I weighed 138 pounds and I really did look anorexic. My bro said "Get back in the gym and start powerlifting again. That'll put some meat on your bones."

Anyway, I was so depressed I went back into strength training in order to regain my body's "functionality". I've stuck with it ever since. I don't care if I don't have a perfect physique. It's more important for me to be able to use my body the way it was designed to be used than just "look good".

And I can still chop wood! BTW, it's a pretty good workout ;)

Does bodybuilding compromise overall functional strength, or was I the odd girl out here?
 
Your question's not making much sense to me.

Sounds more like you starved yourself and thus lost mass and strength, which is pretty much how it goes. This will happen regardless of what you do under those conditions. Also, you haven't provided any useful definition of the operative terms. Define "bodybuilding" and "strength training". What was the difference, for you?

Is the traditional "meathead" sort of "bodybuilding" where the focus is aesthetics more than performance (and often only of the upper body) going to cost you in terms of being able to breakdance, run a marathon or go on a 3 day kayaking trip and not die? **** yeah, I'd say. Will it leave you with all sorts of undesirable imbalances due to shady sorts of training that often take stabilizers out of movements and/or unbalance strength in different ranges of movements, I'd say yeah, again. Will it cause you to lose strength? Not a chance, unless you are starving yourself and/or overtraining like a crazy person, or doing something else horribly wrong.

A lot of the "meatheads" are rather more sophisticated, these days, but it still stands to reason that if your focus is on aesthetics rather than performance you'll probably end up seeming more than actually being. I personally am and will always train for pure performance, and have no intention whatsoever of exceeding 200 lbs of lean mass, if that (sadly, I seem to have mutant genetics that cause me to put on mass if I so much as touch anything heavy). From which point I will eat maintenance and just rock my strength, speed, endurance, balance, flexibility and general control until I pass peak human and move on to metahuman. :D But then, we've been through this ox vs panther thing before (mreik dont even i will fight you ;) ), and it comes down to personal preference.

So, yeah, please to explain wtf you are asking instead of babbling incoherently. :p
 
if you lost strength/weight and couldnt even pick up a 45lb dog or chop wood,your workout must have been a retarded one :azzangel:
 
^^^^^ Seconded.

A bodybuilding style of training does not make you weaker or smaller. The strength gained while bodybuilding, if it is "functional" or not, is enough to help a regular person more efficient at daily activity.

Bodybuilders squat, deadlift, and do large multi-jointed movements. I'm just saying.

There is a LOT of this functional stuff going around, but, when it comes to regular people getting into training, a bodybuilding style workout will work just fine.

I know some trainers who start people with a bodybuilding style of training to help them understand where each muscle group is, what it does, and how it is effected by a workout. Some of these clients get progressed to other types of training, others like the bodybuilding style and stay with it.

I am not saying that s the way I would do it, but there are many ways to get an effective workout.
 
[Focus] said:
Your question's not making much sense to me.

Sounds more like you starved yourself and thus lost mass and strength, which is pretty much how it goes. This will happen regardless of what you do under those conditions. Also, you haven't provided any useful definition of the operative terms. Define "bodybuilding" and "strength training". What was the difference, for you?

Is the traditional "meathead" sort of "bodybuilding" where the focus is aesthetics more than performance (and often only of the upper body) going to cost you in terms of being able to breakdance, run a marathon or go on a 3 day kayaking trip and not die? **** yeah, I'd say. Will it leave you with all sorts of undesirable imbalances due to shady sorts of training that often take stabilizers out of movements and/or unbalance strength in different ranges of movements, I'd say yeah, again. Will it cause you to lose strength? Not a chance, unless you are starving yourself and/or overtraining like a crazy person, or doing something else horribly wrong.

A lot of the "meatheads" are rather more sophisticated, these days, but it still stands to reason that if your focus is on aesthetics rather than performance you'll probably end up seeming more than actually being. I personally am and will always train for pure performance, and have no intention whatsoever of exceeding 200 lbs of lean mass, if that (sadly, I seem to have mutant genetics that cause me to put on mass if I so much as touch anything heavy). From which point I will eat maintenance and just rock my strength, speed, endurance, balance, flexibility and general control until I pass peak human and move on to metahuman. :D But then, we've been through this ox vs panther thing before (mreik dont even i will fight you ;) ), and it comes down to personal preference.

So, yeah, please to explain wtf you are asking instead of babbling incoherently. :p
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Strength training to me is powerlifting/weightlifting and dragging sleds with ridiculous amounts of weight in it. And flipping monstrous tires, etc.

Bodybuildling is doing various exercises that target specific body parts at specific angles to sculpt a more symmetrical physique. And I was doing higher reps.

Anyway, I used the same weights as I did before, but without doing the same exercises I had done before, I found that my overall "functional" strength decreased. I could still pick up the same amount of weight ... I just couldn't do the same things with that weight as I could before.

Maybe it was the personal trainer I had at the time. Whatever it was, it really sucked.

if you lost strength/weight and couldnt even pick up a 45lb dog or chop wood,your workout must have been a retarded one
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Not a 45 POUND dog ... she was a 45 KILO dog. The rest of the world actually uses the SI. That's about 100 pounds for you Americans. I've never had a dog that weighed under 90 pounds.
 
i_love_muscle said:
Strength training to me is powerlifting/weightlifting and dragging sleds with ridiculous amounts of weight in it. And flipping monstrous tires, etc.

Bodybuildling is doing various exercises that target specific body parts at specific angles to sculpt a more symmetrical physique. And I was doing higher reps.

Anyway, I used the same weights as I did before, but without doing the same exercises I had done before, I found that my overall "functional" strength decreased. I could still pick up the same amount of weight ... I just couldn't do the same things with that weight as I could before.

Maybe it was the personal trainer I had at the time. Whatever it was, it really sucked.
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Must've, if they were okay with you losing that much strength, and weight. I will be your trainer instead ok bb? I will train you in looooves.

Subject's mostly been addressed, I think. Basically, in fairness to bodybuilding, it sounds like the difference for you wasn't so much the type of training as the effectiveness/soundness of the training (and the nutrition). Generally speaking, though, I still say (by your definitions), strength training > bodybuilding. No contest. Unless you're really intent on looking like Ronnie or Jay and not being able to reach the cupboards, wipe your own ass, or outrun a sloth.

i_love_muscle said:
The rest of the world actually uses the SI.
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ilubb<3
 
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goergen1 said:
^^^^^ Seconded.

A bodybuilding style of training does not make you weaker or smaller. The strength gained while bodybuilding, if it is "functional" or not, is enough to help a regular person more efficient at daily activity.

Bodybuilders squat, deadlift, and do large multi-jointed movements. I'm just saying.

There is a LOT of this functional stuff going around, but, when it comes to regular people getting into training, a bodybuilding style workout will work just fine.

I know some trainers who start people with a bodybuilding style of training to help them understand where each muscle group is, what it does, and how it is effected by a workout. Some of these clients get progressed to other types of training, others like the bodybuilding style and stay with it.

I am not saying that s the way I would do it, but there are many ways to get an effective workout.
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The weird thing is this chick (who was a BBer) that I hired for training knew my athletic background. We didn't start off like that. My workout was pretty good.

I think the problem was my body was used to working as a unit before. With bodybuilding, it wasn't working as a whole. It was working as separate units.

That's the best way I can describe it. Anyway, I did lose strength, and when I started cutting, I lost 15 pounds. Obviously, I'm going to lose some muscle mass, but to lose that much strength was absolutely ridiculous.

I still think strength training is better than BBing for overall strength. I don't know any bodybuilders who can do what the strength athletes I know can do.

Bodybuilding isn't training for strength. It's training for esthetics.
 
I personally feel body building is more of a "****y" thing too do. Bodybuilding is essentially refining and defining the muscles in your body too "attract" women too you or men depending on there sexual preference. I myself began lifting weights for myself but when people begin to notice the changes, it gains more significance as now your body is the talk of the class. I essentially do it for myself, but also for the ladies. Cause ya know me being a high schooler and all i need too fill out a Armani t shirt.
I think strength training is essentially overall balance as most of the time it doesnt involve a specific muscle group. Strength training is clearly not as pleasurable too yourself or others. But, strength training [imo] will ultimately make your body as a whole, stronger.
 
The weird thing is this chick (who was a BBer) that I hired for training knew my athletic background. We didn't start off like that. My workout was pretty good.
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obviously not if you lost strength and muscle:cool:
I think the problem was my body was used to working as a unit before. With bodybuilding, it wasn't working as a whole. It was working as separate units
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BBing routines should contain mostly compounds,if your didnt it was retarded like i said,if it did have compounds how could it be working as sepperate inits???
That's the best way I can describe it. Anyway, I did lose strength, and when I started cutting, I lost 15 pounds. Obviously, I'm going to lose some muscle mass, but to lose that much strength was absolutely ridiculous.
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if you lost muscle mass your diet was retarded as well.
I still think strength training is better than BBing for overall strength. I don't know any bodybuilders who can do what the strength athletes I know can do.
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duh thats why its called strength training
glenn ross britains strongest man was a BBr so were many of the others.

Bodybuilding isn't training for strength. It's training for esthetics.
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of course it is,but to gain muscle you need to increase the weight on the bar therfore you should get stronger,unlerss your doing a retarded routine.

post up the routine you were doing so we can see why it made you lose strength/muscle.

also im english not american.and my dog weighs 10st i pick him up just fine:rofl:
 
St. Bernards and Mastiffs can weigh up to 220 lbs Great Danes around 150 (and those are for healthy dogs, not overweight)
 
Typhon said:
He's far from being Britain's strongest man, he's full of injuries and from what I can remember has difficulty OH lifting

yes just an eg but he was britains strongest last yr


10 stone? WTF? What breed of dog is that?
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an american bulldog,he likes his porrodge :p
 
I've been reading Arnold Schwarzenegger's book, Education of a Bodybuilder, and yes, while I know Arnold is a bit different than your average person, he still preached that bodybuilders can indeed have completely functional strength. He entered a contest in Germany, which basically comprised of deadlifting a heavy ass stone (560 lbs or something). You got scored based on how high you could lift it, and he shattered the record. Throughout the book, he occasionally talks about how bodybuilding is an art, sculpting the body and all that, but in the end, you are still incredibly powerful and functional strength is not compromised at all.
 
Ronnayo said:
Cause ya know me being a high schooler and all i need too fill out a Armani t shirt.
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What kind of part-time job do you have that as a highschool student you get to buy Armani clothes? :p

Besides last I checked they fit pretty tight... like metro tight. Heehee.
 
buzz said:
yes just an eg but he was britains strongest last yr
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Haha, I just had to look that up, he last won back in 2001!

I think you're showing your age there :D

But yeah, there are no rules saying BBers can't become strongmen; you can't get big muscles without developing a lot of strength
 
I love being able to see posts people have posted only to delete it because they figured it was a bad idea in heinsight :D

anyways, back on topic:
Yeah, lots of BBers are really strong. And if I'm not mistaken, the ones who win titles like Mr. olympia are often the ones who are among the strongest.
 
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