I don’t intend to write many body composition articles but here is one – Gaining lean mass and shedding bodyfat always seems to be a topic of interest for athletes and coaches. In fact, body composition can actually be a useful element of functional training as well. If the athlete has extra bodyfat and is involved in dynamic activities, this excess weight may be zapping crucial inches in vertical leaping and/or seconds in sprinting. However, IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOT MIX BODYBUILDING WITH FUNCTIONAL TRAINING!

For athletes, muscle hypertrophy should be considered for functional purposes – not visual appearance. In many instances, large, bulky muscles are indicative of possible non-functional hypertrophy. This type of hypertrophy involves the growth and increase in non-functional tissue and substances. For instance, if a cross-section of such a muscle was viewed, many other extraneous, non-contractile substances may be seen comprising a large area. We are interested in the functional cross-sectional area – namely muscle. The collagen content, cytoplasm and/or water content within the muscle cells and fascia may have increased with the muscle’s girth, but not contribute to athletic performance.

In fact, performance may be impaired by reduction in flexibility and excess bodyweight. It is crucial to realize how the functional versus non-functional hypertrophy is induced by one’s training strategy. From a practical standpoint, bodybuilding routines have been known to employ higher volume of reps and sets to target a given bodypart, essentially producing the longest tension times possible. From an engineering standpoint, it is clear why non-functional hypertrophy may be a consequence of this style of training.

To begin, the body is always re-designing itself to best accommodate the stress placed upon it. When it is required to perform multiple sets of high reps, certain changes are warranted. The higher volume means the energy demands are also higher. The high threshold fibers such as the fast twitch may be involved initially, but sets with high tension times will require activation of additional lower threshold fibers. Additionally, the load will have to be submaximal as the tension time is relatively high, making the fast twitch fibers of less importance.

Instead, the medium and lower threshold fibers that may be of importance to complete the set rely on a specific energy source. This is discussed in the article “” in more detail as well. These fibers rely more on glycolosis to break down carbohydrates into usable energy. In order for these carbohydrates to be more accessible and usable for decomposition, they may be stored within the muscle’s cytoplasm. However, the body must maintain concentration gradients across cell membranes and fluids to prevent the diffusion of other species and pressures gradients appearing across membranes. These biological phenomenons are related to Fick’s Law of Diffusion in the broadest sense and the governing laws of fluid mechanics beyond the scope of this article.

Thus, high volume, bodybuilding training incorporating higher tension times and some aerobic elements may lead to non-functional hypertrophy. Once again, this perfectly logical engineering response can be detrimental for the intended activity. The body is only restructuring its physiology to accommodate the increase in certain species including carbohydrates, aerobic enzymes, etc to perform the trained activity. However, the increase in bodyweight due to fluid is undesirable for athletes. Instead, lean mass gain consists of contractile elements including muscle fibers for increased force generation capabilities. Since we are speaking of body composition in the functional sense, strength training allows for maximal functional hypertrophy.

Fat loss may also be of interest to some athletes. Outside of dietary changes, in order to maximize fat loss one must take into consideration the sequence of exercises and activities within a workout. Fat loss is accomplished due to an energy deficit – fat constitutes a form of stored energy. In fact, fat represents a very brilliantly engineered material when considering its functionality, and chemical and mechanical properties. However, fat may be used for energy under only special circumstances.

Based on the chemical properties of fat, it requires chemical breakdown and conversion via catalysts to become usable energy to fuel muscle contractions. Thus, it cannot be used to fuel rapid, powerful contractions that involve fast twitch fibers due to fat’s longer cycle to be converted into energy. Fat is actually lower on the continuum for readily usable forms of energy – stored creatine phosphate is highest, followed by blood sugar, then fats. Thus, blood sugar must also first be low for the body to begin using fat for energy.

This implies that strength training may be very useful for burning fat – Not directly, but indirectly. Specifically, burning the blood sugars for energy during strength training creates an environment for the body to use fat. However, as mentioned before, fat cannot be used for powerful contractions and fast twitch fibers. This is where lower power, aerobic activity can most efficiently be used to burn fat. When aerobic activity is done first followed by strength training, the opposite scenario takes place. The aerobic activity burns blood sugars – not fats. Then the body is unable to derive enough energy to fuel the strength training portion of the workout, leading to an overall inefficient workout if the goal is to burn fat and gain muscle.

In essence, fat loss and muscle gain can serve relevant purposes for functional training for special cases of athletes. In addition, there is a very strong engineering parallel to how these goals are accomplished and the factors involved. If one takes into consideration these fine details, body composition training can be made as efficient as possible as well.