Last updated 09:56, Thursday, 15 May 2008

Big or toned: what’s your choice?

I RECENTLY stumbled on a website that had some very interesting conclusions to the argument: which is better, having muscle bulk or looking toned?

It looked at the physique of the actor Will Smith over the years, not really your stereotypical bodybuilder but someone who has played parts in films where muscle bulk needs to be at its prominence.

Take the film Ali, where he played one of the greatest boxers who has ever lived. That placed pressure on Smith to bulk up, whereas for his role in I Am Legend he leaned down and probably had a body fat less than 10 per cent – extraordinary considering he probably had to lose seven or eight per cent body fat to get the look.

The other articles on this website are dedicated to people’s opinion rather than fact but some of the topics bring up good points. So which is better? Is it that toned, defined look or the muscular look?

Back in the 1980s you had Stallone, Arnie and many other people devoting their look to muscle bulk. Look at Stallone in Rocky III and Rocky IV: the muscle gained proved again what hard work Stallone put into his movies. Bodybuilding was at its peak in the 1980s, and gyms were opening across Britain dedicated to lifting heavy weights. Running, cross training or the ever growing Crossfit were not even touched by the general public.

People wanted to be big and would do anything to get big. Steroids were the making of an industry that wanted to be bigger and better than anyone else. Even now steroids are the biggest problem associated with world-class bodybuilding. It’s a shame because most of the natural athletes out there work hard only to be then categorized as steroid users.

In the 1990s certain aspects of the term bodybuilding went sour, and people weren’t interested any more as the electronic age slowly crept in. People were getting bored of the big men. Ronnie Coleman was dominating bodybuilding but it never really got the worldwide coverage it deserved.

In the late 1990s a trend started to appear that would stick with us until now, and that was the appearance of the toned body. People wanted that six pack: nobody wanted big arms any more – it was definition and appearance that people considered important.

These days everyone still wants the six pack and the image has certainly got to the lean look. Let’s take rugby, for example: it became professional and every rugby union player spends the majority of their time becoming fitter. It is all about the look now: men want to feel comfortable not having a t-shirt that is two sizes too small for them.

Take Men’s Health and all the other fitness magazines. They promote one thing: lean physiques. The Men’s Health cover model competition has taken the UK by storm. These guys have put body and soul into winning this competition.

So what’s better? Well I’m not going to answer that because in my opinion that’s for everyone else to discuss. What I will answer is which is the easiest to maintain and how difficult it is to obtain.

I’ve been quite lucky in my 14 years of training as I have experimented a little with my body in that time. I’ve managed to have the toned look as well as the muscle bulk. I have to admit, though, on both counts I thought the toned look was both hard to obtain and maintain. I give all of these Men’s Health lads a pat on the back because they generally keep a very strict diet, eat all the correct supplements and train in some cases twice a day. Yes, that’s all it takes to become a cover model. Dedication to having a toned physique starts in the kitchen, not the gym.

I was 16 stone and managed to lose fewer than two stone to get to less than 10 per cent body fat a number of years ago. I found it difficult at the start to maintain a strict form of eating, and it took two months to get into the habit of eating particular foods at certain times. After that I found it very easy to maintain that nutritional balance. I could then fully concentrate on losing the weight to gain my goal.

I was no cover model at the end of it, but unless you completely change your eating habits you will not lose weight and you will not get that toned look.

If you go the other way and your goal is to gain muscle bulk then it is certainly easier. If you wish to gain the look of a bodybuilder it is obviously harder, but for the general public gaining muscle is straightforward. Increase your calorie intake and lift heavier weights.

In some instances it’s easier to eat what you want and gradually lift the heavier weights, and when you get to a level where you can lift what you like, start reducing your fat content and increase your protein stores.

When you stay lean, maintaining the physique is harder because you will go through a need to eat what you like. This doesn’t matter when you are looking for muscle bulk because sometimes your body needs that extra calorie intake.

And as for what the women prefer, well you never see a musclebound David Beckham or Brad Pitt. At the end of the day, as long as you are comfortable being the way you are then that’s all that matters.