Alright first things first. No matter what you want whether it’s a better body, power, or strength you have to make sure you’re sleeping, eating, and lifting properly. All three must be done. However when it comes down to which one to focus on that is going to change depending on your goals. Hence my conclusion in the title. I am a big fan of lifting and always will be however in my experience when it comes the average person they are much better of focusing on their diet then they are on their lifting program.
And this isn’t even counting the people who run or do some other inane activity to get in shape. For the majority of people their nutrition is going to be much more important than their lifting or workout program is to achieve their goals. Even if their lifting is properly scheduled and done, in the end for the majority of people nutrition is going to come out number one. Now let me get into the explanation of why this is.
Everyone’s Number One Goal
What’s everyone’s (or at least the vast majority of people’s) number one goal when working out? Losing weight and more specifically why do they want to lose weight? What is it that they are hoping to achieve through weight loss? To be more attractive or put another way to have a better body composition. This is the number one goal of the average person even if they don’t know how to put it in that way. To have a better body composition and therefore be more attractive.
If your number one goal is too look good then your diet is going to matter more than your workout program simple as that. Bodies are built in the kitchen. People who go and start new workout programs sometimes really pushing themselves and working hard will still end up with little to show for it (body composition wise) if their diet doesn’t change much. Likewise someone could make the right changes to their diet and have a lackluster workout program (even run) and end up with a much improved body composition. When it comes to body composition and body composition alone, nutrition is king.
Most Workouts Work
I’ve seen people get big on 5×5, Westside, classic bodypart split, old school full body workouts, and many other routines but they all shared one thing in common. They dialed their diets in too look good. Don’t get me wrong some styles are going to result in a little bit more muscle than others but honestly if you’re doing a routine of any kind and have your diet dialed in you’re going to look better. It doesn’t work the other way around. For body composition a good nutritional program can make up for a poor workout routine. But a good workout routine cannot make up for a poor nutritional program.
Most workouts work as far as providing the stimulus to build some new muscle. Like I’ve said I’ve seen men get big on a variety of different programs (some very poorly planned) and I’ve seen women get hot on a variety of programs (again some very poorly planned). The factor that united all of them was not the set/rep scheme or frequency of workout but their diet. I’ve seen people do diet alone and get better results than people who workout everyday as far as body composition goes. For body composition diet is king. Therefore since most people want better body composition diet should be their number one focus.
When Is Lifting The Priority?
Ah here we go. So if for most people nutrition is going to be where they should put their focus (because their goal is to look hotter). However if you are an athlete who’s central nervous system plays a part in their performance (hint that’s every athlete ever) then that is when your training is going to take precedence over your diet. Strength and power are developed in the weight room, not in the kitchen. Most people don’t understand this and are prevented from reaching their goals because of it.
If you’re training to perform at a sport or for combat or anything of that nature, that is when training becomes more important than diet. Now with that being said remember diet, training, and recovery all play a part at all times. What we are looking at in this article is where should the focus of your activity be. If it’s body composition then your main focus should be nutrition, if it’s strength and power then your main focus should be training. I’m not too familiar with endurance training but I think it’s safe to say that that falls under training as number one as well.
Summary
Before the comments are spammed with how both are important I’m aware of that. No matter what your goal is make sure your training, diet, and recovery are all on point. Don’t neglect any of them. But always keep in mind which should take precedence depending on what you main overall goal is. Again all are important. but depending on your goal some are going to be more important than others. Hope this helped.
Also for some great foods to get you started on your diet check out “3 Foods Men Need To Eat More Of“.
If you have any questions you would like to see answered in a future post send them to me at charlessledge001 (at) gmail (dot) com. If you found value in this post then I would encourage you to share this site with someone who may need it as well as check out my books here. I appreciate it. You can follow me on Twitter here.
-Charles Sledge
Great article. Needs a direct link to your other post “3 Foods Men Need to Eat More Of”. I did steak and eggs for a couple of weeks and felt great, but stopped due to finances. Once I can get back on it, though, I will. It’s quick, it’s easy and it will help you shed pounds. I dropped about 5 while I was doing it, though I was working out more consistently too.
Nice, love me some steak & eggs though they can be a strain on the bank for sure. That’s a great idea I’ll go ahead and thrown that in.