In this article we are going to tell you what it is and how to train to be within the aesthetic movement.
Where does the aesthetic concept come from?
Well, in recent years the term aesthetic has become popular, which translated into Spanish means aesthetic/aesthetic. And within the context of fitness or the gym world, we refer to training to achieve an aesthetic and harmonious physique, with a good base of muscle mass and a good definition. This movement emerged in the United States thanks to characters such as Zyzz, Jeff Seid, David Laid among others, where these representatives stood out for having symmetrical, aesthetic and harmonious physiques. This perspective on fitness began to overthrow the bodybuilding of the 80s, which It focused solely on achieving large muscle sizes.
In Mexico and Latin America the movement is gaining strength and growing, where we can identify the main exponents such as Carlos Belfast and Daddy Aioli who within the medium and social networks are having a fairly considerable reach.
What impact does my training have on the aesthetic movement?
On the one hand, we know the wide range of health benefits that strength training and muscle mass give us, which, as we currently know, are both associated with greater longevity (March, 2023). Muscle mass also functions as a endocrine organ that allows us to protect our bones, soft tissue and achieve a lower fat percentage allows us to have a better and higher quality of life. Furthermore, in recent years exercise and physical activity have been implemented as enhancers to restore injuries and mental disorders (Strule, A, 2023).
But on the other hand, at an aesthetic level it allows us to have a better self-concept, perception and better self-esteem that will be reflected in the different spheres and activities of our social life. Additionally, let’s think that this movement can also generate a sense of belonging; building communities within gyms, in which their members seek similar objectives and are reinforcement actors so that people attend the gym more frequently.
How should I train to be aesthetic?
Well, the first thing is to understand that this movement is more focused on muscle balance and prioritizing definition, the above means that reducing the fat percentage is our goal. In this sense, at Kaizen Fitness we suggest the periodization of training in blocks to be able to generate a good level of muscle mass and subsequently generate a caloric deficit that allows you to show off the construction of muscle mass.
Everything will depend on where we start, for example; If you currently have a fat percentage equal to or greater than 20%, the important thing is to focus on body recompositing, to do this you will have to focus on the following:
- Prioritize strength training, accompanied by an energy deficit that can be sustained over time and that generates good adherence.
- Complement if your trainer considers cardiovascular training as a tool (For example elliptical, treadmill, bicycle, etc.)
- Make sure your protein consumption is between 2.5 and 2.8 per kg per day (Norton, 2023). Just as other macronutrients are perfectly balanced, at this point we recommend using a diet where you can find a completely personalized and free diet.
- Once your fat percentage is between 10-12%, now yes, we can start to build a good base of muscle mass, which in the same way the gain of muscle mass in a natural athlete has to be thought of over a long period of time. months or even years, ensuring that the muscle/fat mass gain ratio is 1:1. Remember it is not worth making dirty volumes if what we are going to get is going to be mostly fat.
- Another important factor must be to train in the entire hypertrophy continuum, which can be from 3 to 25 repetitions, always looking for progressive overload (Increase reps, improve technique, increase kilos, improve range of travel, etc.) and always looking for the minimum recoverable volume and the maximum per week or micro cycle, remember more is not better, quantifying is better.
- Last but not least, it is that you move away from that thought about only prioritizing a muscle group, for example it is common that in gyms there are still people who only do chest or biceps doing Weider routines that, like science and various authors, already do. have been shown in various articles (Helms & Schoenfeld, 2015), it is not the best or the only way to train, much less thinking about natural athletes. The above means that if what we are looking for is harmony and symmetry, we must work on our lagging muscles, prioritize them and place them on par with our strong muscle groups and for this point you could perfectly use a full body or push/pull/Legg work scheme. This of course includes your trapezius, forearms and calves, which are often underserved muscles.
Finally, what things should I not forget to start being part of the aesthetic generation?
- Seek muscle balance and definition for periods of time and enjoy each phase.
- Once we have a good base of muscle mass, prioritize strength training with a sustainable calorie deficit.
- Cardio is a strategic tool to consider, add cardio only if necessary and not as a rule.
- Consume enough protein to preserve lean tissue of 2.5-2.8g of protein per kg per day and balance macronutrients.
- Start your bulking phase when you have 10-12% fat, taking care of the ratio (1:1 muscle/fat).
- Avoid focusing on just one muscle group; work behind to find that body harmony.
- Consider the full body or push/pull/leg scheme taking care of the three maxims to build mass; volume, frequency and intensity.
- Don’t neglect less-served muscles like trapezius, forearms, and calves.
