View Your Body As A Sculpture

Let’s be honest, we all would like to look in the mirror and be pleased with what we see.  We stare at body parts and would like for them to look bigger, smaller, more muscle or tone, slimmer waist, etc.  In order for that to happen discipline and consistency will be required.  There must be a plan of action for you to see the results you desire and avoiding resistance/strength training is not the answer.

Are you a cardio king or queen?  The majority of your fitness activities involve cardio vascular activities such as running, zumba or the elliptical machine.   Cardio is a great way to burn fat, calories and build endurance.  Cardio exercises keep our heart and respiratory system in good working condition.  What resistance and strength training allow you to do is be very intentional about which body parts you would like to focus on.  It allows you to treat your body like sculpture.  A sculptor shapes and molds with precision.  That is how you have to view your training sessions.

The process is trial and error, especially the first time you attempt to increase your strength training to build the physique you desire.  Certain body parts may respond faster or slower than others.  You will constantly need to evaluate your program and make adjustments.  For example, your quadriceps might respond faster than your hamstrings.  Instead of doing legs one day/week it might require two days and increased volume of exercises that focus on your hamstrings such as dead lifts and reverse lunges.

Let’s say that you’re eating the proper diet to reach your goals.   Remember, you can not out train a bad diet.  Now you are evaluating your physique and would like to see changes in certain areas.  For example, if you would like more definition in your back, or  glutes to have more shape resistance training will be needed over an extended period of time to build the muscle.  Women don’t worry, you will not develop a bulky or heavy physique.  Women don’t produce anywhere near as much testosterone as men do which makes it essentially impossible to attain.  

Be careful comparing yourself to someone who has been utilizing strength training for many years or genetically their body responds faster than yours.  They have put their bodies through routines for months and years causing the muscles to become accustomed to strenuous activity as the body ages. The body becomes more refined and the muscles contract harder because they have the experience to back them.  Maturing muscles come with time, training, dedication, consistency and patience. You must learn exercises that target certain body parts and their purpose and what ultimately you to accomplish from doing them.  Foundational movements such as push-ups, pull-ups, squats, deadlifts, and shoulder presses are stable of building a physique.  Isolation exercises such as bicep curls, shoulder flies, and triceps extension variations fine tune the physique.

You want a well-balanced and proportioned body.  That means that some body parts may need more attention than others, but it should not come at the cost of neglecting the body parts that are your strong suits.  Your body will respond to what you pay attention to.   For example, a sculptor uses clay and carving tools.  View your body as the clay and weights, resistance bands, and body weight exercises as the carving tools to shape the body you desire.

Jamaal Piper

Health and Wellness Consultant/Personal Trainer

www.piperpersonaltraining.com