The fitness industry is full to the brim with so many workout types, different nutrition plans and diets, and the next best way to burn belly fat. With various options available, it is easy to get confused and overwhelmed. Before starting, you have to figure out what your goals are because it is much easier to hit a target if you are aware of what you are aiming for. Most people who workout has their reasons for engaging in this type of activity, they might want to get healthier, lose weight, look better, or build a lot of muscle. Your chose training plan will help you in reaching your goals.
A workout is a particular kind of training with a special set of exercises. It is a bunch of movements that they are doing for multiple activities to achieve a certain goal. Bodybuilders and CrossFitters have their own specialized methods and target areas in achieving one’s fitness targets. Before starting a workout program, it is better to be knowledgeable about a specific exercise that will help you in achieving your health and fitness objectives. Some people sometimes get confused about the difference between bodybuilding and CrossFitting. As your reading progresses, you will be understand the differences of each, from its benefits, expectations up to their own diet plans.
What is Bodybuilding?
It is the method of using progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one’s musculature for aesthetic purposes. A person who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. While CrossFit, on the other hand, is a lifestyle characterized by safe, effective exercise and sound nutrition. It can be used to accomplish any goal to improve health and lose weight for better performance. This fitness program is a combination of a variety of functional movements into a timed or scored workout.
Bodybuilding’s focus is the growth and development of the muscles, its aim is to reduce body fat as much as possible and then add muscle mass, it focuses on the development of each body part. Each part is working individually, from shoulders to calves. Its process is a long procedure, you have to be patient and dedicated in this type of regimen.
CrossFit
It is a strength and conditioning program that is not a specialized sport and doesn’t focus on a single particular aspect like size or aesthetic, unlike bodybuilding. It aims to make you as fit as possible and has a specific set of workouts for each session.
Individuals like athletes are required to have rigorous training and are expected to lift weights, run, jump, and row along with other athletic activities which makes CrossFit beneficial for them. In bodybuilding, the workout focuses on one part a day with 5-6 exercises and 3 sets per exercise with 10 repetitions minimum per set. The intensity is higher with CrossFit making the chances of injury higher than bodybuilding.
If your aim is to gain weight or muscle mass, bodybuilding is the workout for you. But if fitness is your only goal and you want to be like an athlete that can run, lift and do almost every physical activity, CrossFit is the answer to your calling.
Benefits
For newbies on bodybuilding, bodybuilders can get the following on this workout program:
- Strength – big muscles usually increase strength, but not necessarily as a functional strength
- Better body composition – more lean mass, less body fat
- Increase in bone density and all the wonderful adaptive benefits of lifting heavy objects
- Better insulin sensitivity – bigger muscles mean bigger glycogen sinks, and strength training increases insulin sensitivity
For those who interested in CrossFitting, these are the benefits in doing this type of workout:
- Increased bone density
- Better cardiovascular health
- Better functional movement patterns
- Improvements in both strength, anaerobic, and aerobic capacity
- Better insulin sensitivity
Diet Plan
CrossFit Diet
Moderately low in carbs and emphasizes consuming macronutrients from whole plant foods, lean proteins, and healthy fats.
Bodybuilding Diet
This has a much stricter diet plan than CrossFit. A bodybuilder has to eat 1.2 to 1.7 grams of protein per kilogram bodyweight each day. Lean protein is best for bodybuilders since it contains less saturated fat.
These protein sources are also good for a healthy bodybuilding diet:
- Chicken breast
- Ground beef
- Ground Turkey
- Yellowfin tuna
- Halibut
- Salmon
- Canned tuna
- Cottage cheese
- Greek yogurt
- Sardines
- Navy beans
- Mixed nuts
- Lentils
- Peanut butter
Expectations
- Bodybuilders want to look strong and impressive, they are judged based on how they look instead of what they can lift.
- CrossFitters want to be strong and impressive, they are judged based on what they can do.
- Top bodybuilders are usually quite strong while top CrossFitters tend to be fairly aesthetic.
The Verdict
For beginners, bodybuilding is a good starting point. You need to have muscle strength and size for a tough and complex workout like CrossFit. Since CrossFit involves complex lifts which might be too much for a beginner, you can first master these lifts through bodybuilding and you can eventually move to CrossFit for total fitness. Whatever type of work out you choose, your ultimate goal is to be healthy and fit. And at the end of the day, whatever you choose between bodybuilding and CrossFit, it should give you the most number of benefits in achieving your goals.
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