Why do you train? Why do you bodybuild? What gets you up each morning to go to the gym and spend what could be television or internet time sweating with the iron? What is it that keeps you from enjoying the foods you crave, such as ice cream, candy, and cheeseburgers? What is it that forces you to shovel down teaspoon after teaspoon, scoop after scoop of expensive powder which certainly has little taste value? Why do you risk health, freedom, and criminal record buying and using steroids, if you take that route? The answer is simple – you do these things in the name of self-improvement. You do these things because you want to get better. But at what?

For some bodybuilders, the reason they engage in the lifting lifestyle is for performance. They wish to grow bigger and stronger. They wish to be able to move greater amounts of weight for a greater number of repetitions. They want to move some iron, and tear things up in the numbers department. Squat, deadlift, and bench press are kings in this arena! In the long run, if you are training with functional goals in mind, you will want to develop a diet and training protocol tailored to helping to reach these goals the fastest. This means you won’t worry about how you look – only how you lift.

Training for appearance is the second major avenue that athletes will take when engaging in the bodybuilding lifestyle. This sort of diet focuses upon eating foods that will make you leaner and more muscular. This sort of training focuses upon the muscle pump, and stimulating as many muscle fibers as possible for as long as possible. You will have less power and strength in the gym than the other guys, but when you take your shirt off, you will own everyone in the room!

Training for multiple and often unrelated goals is a certain way to fail in your efforts. This doesn’t mean you won’t grow bigger and stronger at the same time, because you certainly will. Rather, you will be unable to exceed at either goal to the best of your potential. Look at professional bodybuilders Stan Efferding, Ben White, and Johnnie O. Jackson, who spent the better part of 2009 bragging about which one of them was the strongest professional bodybuilder. The truth is that none of them have what it takes to win even a pro bodybuilding show, physique-wise. They are all average bodybuilders because they don’t train with bodybuilding goals first in mind. At the same time, because they focus upon bodybuilding (partially), none of them is able to win any powerlifting titles at a national level. They’re stuck in the middle because they are unable to commit to either goal. Don’t fall into this trap. Decide why you lift weights. If you want to be the strongest guy around, train for strength. If you want to have the best physique on the block, train for muscle mass. The sooner you decide and stick with a path, the sooner you will maximize your potential in this sport.

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