Body Sculpting: Shattering the Myth

The idea that lifting weights will make you big is a falsehood that must be smashed. Most people today would like to use exercise and diet to change and sculpt their bodies and there is much disagreement about the best way to accomplish effective body sculpting. The biggest myth that I would like to debunk is that lifting weights will give you a big, bulky body and make you gain weight. The truth is that muscle building and fat loss are two sides of the same coin. When you increase your muscle mass, you increase your metabolism and body’s natural ability to burn fat and the fat melts away effortlessly.

One hundred years ago there was a renaissance of Physical Culture spearheaded by the famous father of modern bodybuilding-Eugene Sandow. The 180-pound Sandow was just as popular for his showmanship and Strong Man Vaudeville Performances as his statuesque physique.

Eugene Sandow 1867-1925

Bobby Pandour 1876-1920

As you can see from these roughly 100-year-old photos, weightlifting/resistance training enabled these amazing, forgotten strongmen to sculpt toned, defined bodies that were not big and bulky. Sandow was a big advocate of using small dumbbells and even designed his own special spring grip brand. So please don’t misunderstand what I mean by “increase muscle mass”. I am talking about getting a slim, toned, defined physique like these old masters from The Golden Age of Physical Culture, not a big, bulky physique like a steroid using bodybuilder. Many people hold onto the false idea that if they lift too many weights they will wake up the next day and have big muscles like a body builder. This is not how it works. It takes 8-12 years of consistent, heavy weight training (or anabolic steroids) to build large muscles like that. To get the toned, defined, sculpted, Hollywood look that most people want takes 3-6 month bouts of consistent, hard training with weights, bodyweight exercises and some cardio but not as much cardio as most people think.

When Hollywood stars need to get their bodies in shape for a movie role like Brad Pitt in Troy, Daniel Craig in James Bond, Hugh Jackman in Wolverine, Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider or Halle Berry in anything they go to a personal trainer and work hard for 3 months. Most of the training performed to sculpt their bodies is strength/resistance training with weights or body weight at a fast pace to burn fat and tone and define the muscles. They do not get big and bulky from this training. They get super sculpted six-pack abs and sexy toned arms and legs.

The problem lies in people’s interpretation of words like HEAVY, LIGHT, and HIGH REP. How heavy weights are or how much resistance someone uses should not be the focus. The focus needs to be on the right amount of weight or resistance to produce overload and challenge the muscles sufficiently. An excellent method to use if you suspect you might not be challenging yourself sufficiently is to find your one rep maximum first for each exercise. Then set your rep range at 50-75% of that one rep maximum to make sure you are not using to little resistance. Body weight exercises like lunges; squats, pushups and crunches are a superb way to get started on sculpting and toning your body. Then more resistance can be added if necessary as your body adapts and grows stronger. Although a rep range of 15-20 is recommended for sculpting by most experts today I feel that 10-15 reps with more overall sets is far more effective. The goal should be to focus on challenging the muscles not on how many reps are performed. The tendency with a higher rep range is to cut short on the intensity that is needed to release fat burning hormones and cause the body to burn fat/build muscle. Here is a workout that if performed with very little rest between sets will yield tremendous results.

3-Day Definition Workout -
Adapted From The Bodybuilding.com Workout Database.

Perform 3 sets of each exercise resting only 30-60 seconds between sets and be sure to take at least one day of rest between workouts.

Workout #1

EXERCISE

Squats – 10-8-6 Reps
Hack Squats – 10-8-6 Reps
Leg Press- 10-8 Reps
Standing Calf Raises – 12-10-8 Reps
Pull-ups – 8-6-4 Reps
Seated Rows – 8-6-4 Reps
Dumbbell Rows – 10-8 Reps
Deadlifts – 12-10-8 Reps

Workout #2

EXERCISE

Flat Barbell Bench Press – 10-8-6 Reps
Incline DB Press – 10-8-6 Reps
Cable Crossovers – 10-8 Reps
Incline DB Flyes – 10-8 Reps
Shoulder Press – 10-8-6 Reps
Side Laterals – 10-8 Reps
Bent Over Raises – 10-8 Reps
Barbell Shrugs – 12-10-8 Reps

Workout #3

EXERCISE

Dips (Emphasize Triceps) – 8-6-4 Reps
Skull crushers – 12-10-8 Reps
Close Grip BP – 10-8 Reps
Standing EZ Bar Curls – 12-10-8 Reps
Preacher DB Curls – 10-8 Reps
Alt. Seated Hammer Curls – 20-16 Reps

A Personal Trainer is the best way to jumpstart a new routine or else just get the motivation and guidance you need to take it to the next level. Training with a trainer or workout partner and group fitness classes like Boot Camp, Les Mills Body Pump and Body Combat (www.lesmill.com) are all tremendous ways to get yourself in the fitness game quickly and stay there. Make a start today and discover the biggest anti-aging, fat loss secret of all-Body Sculpting. And please don’t buy into the weightlifting hoax, you’re not gonna wake up tomorrow and look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. I promise.