Last updated 06:27, Friday, 02 May 2008

WITH ME being a bit of an internet nerd, I recently stumbled upon a site that had some very interesting conclusions into the argument what is better having muscle bulk or looking toned?

It paid particular attention to the physique of 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, playing the role of one of the greatest boxers who ever lived placed pressure on Smith to bulk up and he managed to do it and gain a true likeness of Ali in the same stride.

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 to eight per cent body fat to get the look.

The other articles on this site are dedicated to people’s opinion rather than fact but some of the topics bring up good points.

So what is better - Is it that toned defined look or the muscular look made famous by Arnie in the 1980s?

Back in the 1980s you had Stallone, Arnie and many other people devoting their look to muscle bulk.

Look at Stallone from Rocky 3 to Rocky 4, the muscle gained proved again what hard work Stallone put into his movies.

Bodybuilding was at its peak in the 1980s, gyms were opening across Britain dedicated to lifting heavy weights.

Running, cross training or the ever growing Crossfit were not even touched by 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 the natural athletes out there work hard to be then categorised as steroid users.

In the 1990s, certain aspects of the term bodybuilding went sour, people weren’t interested any more as the electronic age slowly crept in.

Stallone and Arnie weren’t making the same movies and 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 anymore 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.

No-one desires that big look anymore. 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.

Let’s take men’s fitness magazines.

They promote one thing and that’s lean physiques. The Men’s Health cover model competition has taken the UK by storm. These guys have put body and soul into becoming the winner of this now prestige’s competition.

So what’s better? Well I’m not going to answer that question because in my opinion that’s for everyone else to discuss. What I will answer is what 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 accounts 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, they 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 have a toned physique starts in the kitchen not the gym. I was 16 stone and managed to lose less 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, it possibly 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. Now 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 then it is obviously harder but gaining muscle is straight forward. 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 you 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 you body needs that extra calorie intake.

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