Model: Ana Tigre
Location: Bodysport Fitness Centre, Las Vegas
There was a time when getting in shape meant either running outdoors, or lifting weights in a gym, or lining up to use a treadmill. There wasn’t anything else, or better said, there were very few gyms that offered other training options. Other options existed and had for years, but no one was telling us about them and few facilities were offering anything beyond treadmills and bodybuilding.
Flipping tires, pounding tires with a sledge hammer, working with kettlebells, weighted sleds, and battling ropes have been around for decades. So have plyometrics, agility training, sand training, high pulls, assistance bands and chains, box jumps and clean and jerks. We just didn’t hear much about it, because our primary source of information came from Bodybuilding magazines and Bodybuilding magazines write about Bodybuilding training and contests. In turn, Bodybuilding supplement and equipment companies keep those magazines alive with their advertising dollars.
Then came the internet.
Now we get to see everything the world has to offer rather than a throttled-down version limited to Bodybuilding training. There is a big beautiful world out there that we can access anytime where new ways of training that can get us in shape faster, help us get stronger, healthier and more muscular, can be found. The result is that we can have more fun and challenging training options to play with that help to fuel consistent progress.
I’m not saying Bodybuilding doesn’t work or doesn’t have a place, it certainly does, but it’s not the ONLY way to train for size, strength, endurance, and so on. Bodybuilding is a sport, and training like a Bodybuilder is still the preferred way to compete as a Bodybuilder. It’s not, however, the only way to improve your physical appearance, health, strength, speed, agility, and fitness level. Do it if you love it but it’s not your only option.
Like Bodybuilding, Crossfit is also a sport and training for Crossfit events is only one way of training. It’s not necessarily the best and certainly not the only way to attain optimal fitness, health, strength, endurance and muscle quality and quantity. Do it if you love it but it’s not the only option. Same can be said for most sports that include sport specific training in order to compete.
The point is that you have a multitude of ways you can train, countless apparatus you can use, places you can train in or at. You can train indoors, outdoors, on a beach on a hill, or in a gym if you wish. You can use equipment or use none at all. You can also mix it up and add what you think you need most into your regimen. For instance, I train like a Bodybuilder 4 days a week to add some size to areas of my body I want to improve, and because I love Bodybuilding training. I also train functional circuits three times a week for overall strength, balance, agility, and conditioning or to improve my overall athletic performance. I also train Boxing or Muay Thai three times a week because I love those sports. I eat like a horse, sleep like a baby, grow like a weed, and can’t wait to train again because it’s always so much fun and I always feel great afterwards.
It’s a big beautiful fitness world out there and we have so many options now there is no reason to be stuck doing something you are bored with or isn’t getting you results. Explore new things, new places, new ways of doing things. Never stop moving, progressing, pushing yourself and find that thing or place that motivates you to be your very best. If you are moving forward you are gaining ground.
Your options are endless.
