Post: #1

My sports history:

-Tennis (childhood)
-Soccer (middle school)
-Fencing (high school / university)
-Muay Thai (graduate school / post-grad)

Of these various activities, muay thai has easily been the best in terms of giving me a lean and strong physique with great stamina and PRACTICAL strength.

Tennis was great for coordination and soccer was good for stamina.

Fencing was great for reflexes, leg strength, and quick strategic planning.

I'm not a swimmer but I wouldn't mind having a swimming physique.

Sprinters have great bodies - they are jacked as hell and apparently don't spend much time pumping iron.

Any thoughts on which sports will give a man an ideal physique?

I understand that "ideal physique" is a very subjective matter.

Post: #2

(11-05-2011 08:35 AM)youngmobileglobal Wrote:  My sports history:

-Tennis (childhood)
-Soccer (middle school)
-Fencing (high school / university)
-Muay Thai (graduate school / post-grad)

Of these various activities, muay thai has easily been the best in terms of giving me a lean and strong physique with great stamina and PRACTICAL strength.

Tennis was great for coordination and soccer was good for stamina.

Fencing was great for reflexes, leg strength, and quick strategic planning.

I'm not a swimmer but I wouldn't mind having a swimming physique.

Sprinters have great bodies - they are jacked as hell and apparently don't spend much time pumping iron.

Any thoughts on which sports will give a man an ideal physique?

I understand that "ideal physique" is a very subjective matter.

Post: #3

(11-05-2011 08:35 AM)youngmobileglobal Wrote:  Any thoughts on which sports will give a man an ideal physique?

How do you define "ideal physique"?

Post: #4

Yeah jaymillz sorry - like I said, this is a very subjective definition.

I would like to look like Brad Pitt in Fight Club - that is my definition of an ideal physique, but my genetics seem to want me to be built more like a rugby player.

The only thing that's ever gotten me close to the Brad Pitt Fight Club physique is this program:

http://www.hollywoodphysique.com

The problem there was that my athletic performance deteriorated and my stamina decreased in MMA. I then took a look at GSP and Anderson Silva and decided to switch to the Dolce Diet plus muay thai, which is currently my training regimen. So far, so good.

Post: #5

I would say a 'hard' martial art (muay thai/boxing, etc.) in combination with lots of running.

Muay thai was a really solid workout for me, but I only noticed a huge improvement in my stamina and overall fitness after I started running every day too.

But if I'm just playing around, baseball is one of my favorite sports. I love to hit the batting cages after a long day.

Post: #6

I remember watching the Olympics once, I couldn't believe the shape the male gymnasts were in. They looked like they stepped out of 300. The level of strength they have is unreal as well.

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Post: #7

(11-05-2011 08:59 AM)youngmobileglobal Wrote:  Yeah jaymillz sorry - like I said, this is a very subjective definition.

I would like to look like Brad Pitt in Fight Club - that is my definition of an ideal physique, but my genetics seem to want me to be built more like a rugby player.

The only thing that's ever gotten me close to the Brad Pitt Fight Club physique is this program:

http://www.hollywoodphysique.com

The problem there was that my athletic performance deteriorated and my stamina decreased in MMA. I then took a look at GSP and Anderson Silva and decided to switch to the Dolce Diet plus muay thai, which is currently my training regimen. So far, so good.

OK, the reason I asked is because, for instance, I didn't know if you are focussing on "mirror muscles" or "functional muscles."

Post: #8

gonzoman, can you comment on wing chun?

I was feeling like a bad man in Philly because I'd been doing muay thai for three months.

Then my friend, who is about 5'4 and 130 pounds, did some kind of wing chun shove on me and I went flying like 8 feet backwards.

I'm 5'9, 185 pounds.

Post: #9

My sports history:

- Soccer
- Muay Thai
- Squash
- Rugby


I think for a jacked, strong and lean physique then look no further than Rugby or NFL. Clearly there are several differences in playing positions etc. There are more variations in physique in NFL than in Rugby.

The combination of a heavy weights regimen, good diet and conditioning means Rugby players have excellent physiques and for me a good blend of muscle and leanness.

Boxing has its merits, however boxing is more focusing on being the best you can possibly be with your current physique. Which is fine if you're fine with your current state.

Soccer is good for developing your calves and posterior chain - i.e. glutes and hamstrings but that's about it. Most footballers run many miles in a game, therefore many of them are quite thin and not really very muscular.

Post: #10

If you want to build a good "physique",

How can any sport be better then bodybuilding? The whole purpose of that sport is to build your physique. If its even a sport. If not bodybuilding, I think mma guys have the best bodies. The combination of grappling, weightlifting, explosive training, stretching, and martial/art boxing is tough to beat.

Gymnastics is a great one also.

Also, diet is half the battle.

Post: #11

Looks at the physiques people who practice...

I'd have to go with climbing and surfing.

Hemmingway said that "the only true sports are climbing and bullfighting, the rest are just games".

I guess he was talking about the exposure to the very real chance of death.

The most important thing to strengthen is your mind. The body will follow.

Post: #12

BJJ helped to get me from skinny to ok, but now I won't make any further progress without strength training I think.

For losing weight martial arts are great though.

Post: #13

Various people have made the right points which seem to have worked for me: muay thai, heavy weightlifting, and careful dieting seems to be my personal formula for increasing my levels of fitness and visual appeal.

I did Bikram Yoga for a while which, while not really making me look like George St. Pierre, had visible effects on my fat levels and definitely made me healthier - as well as healing some chronic injuries.

Most yoga dudes I know are scrawny hippies though.

Post: #14

You're not going to improve your physique just by playing a sport.

You have to get under a bar and lift heavy like any athlete.

Post: #15

(11-05-2011 09:45 AM)youngmobileglobal Wrote:  gonzoman, can you comment on wing chun?

I was feeling like a bad man in Philly because I'd been doing muay thai for three months.

Then my friend, who is about 5'4 and 130 pounds, did some kind of wing chun shove on me and I went flying like 8 feet backwards.

I'm 5'9, 185 pounds.

Post: #16

I would say boxing would get you into that shape, YMG. You use your arms, your back, the only thing that doesn't get worked is your chest.

I did boxing but no sparring and my physique got durrrrty.

Post: #17

Not sure how authentic this is but this is supposedly how Brad Pitt trained for Fight Club.

http://www.bradpittworkout.com/category/fight-club/

Post: #18

Boxing and Football

Post: #19

Rowing and (mens) gymnastics. Great upperbody strength, low body fat without ridiculous gym junkie muscles. Functional fitness.
Swimming comes in a close third, though it depends on the stroke as to what body. Compare the physique of a butterflyer with a backstroker.

Post: #20

Wing Chun as a fighting/self defense art is crap, sorry gonzoman
Great advertising though.

I keep struggling with gaining weight because of traveling. I get more sick than usual and there are always times when I can't get proper nutrition/training. How do you guys deal with this?

Post: #21

I would say gymnastics and 100-400m track athletes.Will take ALOT of work to get your physique up to the level of the Olympians though.And most probably ped's will be needed even if the average person trains for 3 hours a day.

Post: #22

(11-06-2011 04:53 AM)Magnum Wrote:  I would say gymnastics and 100-400m track athletes.Will take ALOT of work to get your physique up to the level of the Olympians though.And most probably ped's will be needed even if the average person trains for 3 hours a day.

For some reason no one here has mentioned Wrestling. In my opinion competitive wrestling at high school and college level is the most demanding sport of all, especially in the lighter weights. As a black belt in Taekwando by age 13 I thought I was badass when I entered HS (being able to do 18 pull-ups, 75 push ups and run a sub 5:30 minute mile) until I tried out for the wrestling team. Almost every single guy (except for the heavyweights) on the team was shredded as heck and even guys who outweighted me by 40 pounds on the team (I was 112 weight division) could replicate my feats and lasted longer during workouts. Martial arts training was a joke compared to all the lifting and running that wrestlers do day in/day out and then cut weight on top.

Post: #23

Why don't you do crossfit? It combines heavy olympic weight lifting, cardio and gymnastics. And they're big on a paleo diet. You get strong quick and it's all practical strength. It doesn't get boring since they always change it up. Military, police, firefighters,etc love it. I would do it if my working hours worked with it, nothing got me stronger quicker and kicked the shit out of me.

Post: #24

Second on crossfit. I don't do anything near the intensity of the workouts (I scale severely) and it's made a huge difference nonetheless. Very interesting workouts, lots of variety, good mix of skills.

Post: #25

Yes, crossfit people - please discuss crossfit - I hear crossfit evangelists comment on it in passing all the time - and they have the bodies to prove it.