Thread: getting fit or getting big

their goal is to be "fitter" some is to get BIG.... just leave it at that, personal preferance

I want to be 6'3'' 230lbs bench 300+lbs, running 10 6 minute miles and Ill be happy

I want to bulk up for my career and also for looks as well. I want to be able to be strong enough to do stuff. I want to get to 220 @ about 15% bf. Just because people are here saying they want to get bigger doesn't necessarily mean they want to be a Bodybuilder.

Right now my goal is to not look starved, and I'm getting there.

Eventually I want to get stronger and bigger, but that's not my goal right now.

Great, now we have a new word: fitter to replace the word toner we've been trying to kill for years.

Originally Posted by stepaukas

i want to word this so no one gets mad, or feels offended. so by no means is this post a negative post on the way people train.people can train however they want..

when reading a lot of posts on this site over a years time, it seems most are after "getting bigger" or "bulking up"

beings how 99.9 % of us on the board here are not a pro, and never will be a pro, as we'll always be punching the clock 8 hours a day, why do most choose to just get bigger?
most posts, its how do i bulk up, or i wanna gain 30 pounds.
if you are normal size, get involved in a sport where you can be good in, and train like a mad man to be good in that sport. if your 5'6 and 150# be a soccer player. 6'6 be a basketball player or great volleyball player.
everybody wants to bulk up here..
you cant make it in the bodybuilding game if you dont take drugs.. and isnt taking drugs defeating the whole healthy lifestyle of an amature athlete, like we all are?
why not get the bigger, bulkier words and throw them out and replace them with fitter. looks like the guys bulking want to bulk only..
why not xfit train. get super strong and fit..
look at the amature xfit guys.. 18:00 for 3 miles.. 60 seconds for a 400 meter run. 50-60- kipping pullups, 400# deads 350# squats, 200 pound clean and jerk, from a 170-180# guy..
these cats are super strong and super fit. i think their mentality is never worry about bulk or bigger, just get quicker stronger faster.
i mentioned this in another post. i had bodybuilding friends who were really good take up xfit to be overall fit, and per their comments, the workouts were as hard or harder than traditional bodybuilding... and they got way way way fitter.
just asking if anyone ever gave this fitter thought over the bigger bulkier thought.

To you fitness is being a jack of all trades, but a master of none.

"Fit" is an ambiguous word. Just because someone is "bulky" doesn't mean they can't be "fit". In fact, to get through hour-and-a-half sessions with heavy squats, deads, overhead presses, pullups, etc, takes a hell of a lot of fitness.

There seems to be a group of people who discriminate against the hypertrophy-minded individuals. They seem to think muscle mass and "fitness" can't mix. That's a crock of shit. You don't have to have a wire build to be fit. Just like how some smaller athletes cross-train and can squat heavy so too do larger, more muscular athletes cross-train can run 20 miles a week at fast tempos, or bike, or rock climb, or play sports.

You make too many generalizations.

WTF? I don't know what to tell you bud.

Originally Posted by stepaukas

i want to word this so no one gets mad, or feels offended. so by no means is this post a negative post on the way people train.people can train however they want..

when reading a lot of posts on this site over a years time, it seems most are after "getting bigger" or "bulking up"

beings how 99.9 % of us on the board here are not a pro, and never will be a pro, as we'll always be punching the clock 8 hours a day, why do most choose to just get bigger?
most posts, its how do i bulk up, or i wanna gain 30 pounds.
if you are normal size, get involved in a sport where you can be good in, and train like a mad man to be good in that sport. if your 5'6 and 150# be a soccer player. 6'6 be a basketball player or great volleyball player.
everybody wants to bulk up here..
you cant make it in the bodybuilding game if you dont take drugs.. and isnt taking drugs defeating the whole healthy lifestyle of an amature athlete, like we all are?
why not get the bigger, bulkier words and throw them out and replace them with fitter. looks like the guys bulking want to bulk only..
why not xfit train. get super strong and fit..
look at the amature xfit guys.. 18:00 for 3 miles.. 60 seconds for a 400 meter run. 50-60- kipping pullups, 400# deads 350# squats, 200 pound clean and jerk, from a 170-180# guy..
these cats are super strong and super fit. i think their mentality is never worry about bulk or bigger, just get quicker stronger faster.
i mentioned this in another post. i had bodybuilding friends who were really good take up xfit to be overall fit, and per their comments, the workouts were as hard or harder than traditional bodybuilding... and they got way way way fitter.
just asking if anyone ever gave this fitter thought over the bigger bulkier thought.

This is sort of a non-sensical post.

Fit is defined as:
1.adapted or suited; appropriate: This water isn't fit for drinking. A long-necked giraffe is fit for browsing treetops.
2. proper or becoming: fit behavior.
3. qualified or competent, as for an office or function: a fit candidate.
4. prepared or ready: crops fit for gathering.
5. in good physical condition; in good health: He's fit for the race

Fitness is activity specific. For instance, a long distance runner is not fit for a swimming competition, the swimmer is not fit for a 100 meter dash, the sprinter is not fit for a powerlifting competetion...etc etc ad nauseum.

To think that hypertrophy cannot be linked with a high level of fitness is absurd.

Brock Lesnar is huge. I assure you he is quite fit



Sprinters tend to carry a great deal of muscle mass



In many sports, additional muscle mass is considered not only beneficial, but also neccessary like in Rugby



or football



Not to mention the asthetic appeal of being a big strong guy, and the ability to carry heavy weights around.

So to answer your question, I guess it depends on what you are trying to get "fit" for. I prefer to be a big guy.

jmorrison you are brilliant.

I think it all boils down to personal preference. I would say the majority of guys who hit the steel, do so for curb appeal, which is great. It's whatever motivate's ya!

i do it because i have muscledysmorphia, but i enjoy how i felt my whole life almost lifting weights. its basically all i know , besides being a nurse. i just love to train. just last yr stated competing and 1 more show and thats it iam going to just train like always. but i really love the sport and dont want nothing out of it. i get high off of training, no ill never be a pro, never. but it was my dream. iam big but iam very healthy even after the fact of using gear for 20yrs. but you just have to know what your doing. but like people said, personnel choice. good luck to everybody who trains and loves the sport.