5 Reasons Why You Should Train Like an Athlete
Train Like an Athlete and Eat Like a Nutritionist
Let's be real and talk about the true reason why many men (not all, but many) decide to START exercising in the first place. It’s often not about health and fitness—it’s about insecurity.
And to be fair, insecurity can be a powerful driver or motivator when it comes to changing your behavior.
For example, I only started working out because years ago my ex-girlfriend broke up with me, and it did an absolute number on my self-esteem. You could say that breakup was the catalyst that drove me to start exercising.
Because I knew that by working out and putting muscle on my frame, I would become more physically attractive to other women.
And here’s the absolute irony:
Once she saw me get in shape, she was the one, chasing me to get back together.
Isn’t it funny how sometimes situations can completely flip on their head?
The reason I share this story with you is because you can probably relate—every guy has had their heart broken at some point in their life.
Now, let’s talk more about training like an athlete.
Because If you train like an athlete, you will most likely develop your best body. And when I say your best body, I mean a body that not only looks good but also performs exceptionally well.
#1 Training Like an Athlete Promotes Holistic Development
The very, very first thing you must know about training like an athlete is that it is not bodybuilding. It’s not about packing on as much muscle as humanly possible. Instead, it’s about 3 key things:
Building a body that is strong
Building a body that is agile
Building a body that is resilient
The analogy I like to use is this:
Bodybuilding-style training is kind of like building a Ferrari but only putting a 1.2-litre engine inside.
On the outside, it looks aesthetically pleasing — it looks pretty. But if you put that Ferrari, or that bodybuilder, in a drag race, it gets absolutely smoked.
Why?
Because it has a small engine inside.
In other words, the body has been built to look good but not to perform.
Now, compare this to the guy who’s trained like an athlete. The athlete is nowhere near as big and bulky as the bodybuilder, and probably not as shredded either.
But here’s what the athlete has that the bodybuilder doesn’t: a powerful engine. The athlete has trained for strength, speed, and explosive power.
So, in a drag race between a bodybuilder and an athlete, the bodybuilder gets absolutely smoked…
To train like an athlete, it really just entails doing your big compound lifts in the gym — think squats, deadlifts, overhead presses, and exercises of that nature.
It also means incorporating explosive movements like sprints, box jumps, kettlebell swings, and so on.
Training like an athlete will have you moving like a high-performance sports car.
#2 Training Like an Athlete Builds Functional Strength
The reason why training like an athlete builds functional strength is that it involves exercises you would essentially perform in real life.
For example, take the farmer's walk (see image above). For those who don’t know, the farmer's walk is an exercise where you walk while carrying a weight in each hand.
Well guess what that mimics in the real world?
This mimics —walking with groceries in each hand.
Another example is the squat. If you look closely at the squatting movement, it essentially replicates the action of sitting down and standing back up. The deadlift is yet another example; it mimics the motion of picking something up off the floor.
Can you see how these exercises build functional strength?
#3 Training Like an Athlete Develops Mental Toughness
Without a shadow of a doubt, training like an athlete will develop mental toughness.
Want to know why?
Because this style of training is not easy. It requires you to push yourself and train with intensity. If you do this consistently for days, months, years, or even decades, it will callous your mind and make you mentally stronger.
And of course, this mental toughness can have a positive knock-on effect in other areas of your life.
For example, I have yet to find a job that is completely stress-free, so developing resilience through athletic style training can help you better handle everyday challenges.
#4 Training Like an Athlete Promotes Longevity
Unlike bodybuilding, athletic style training prioritizes stability work and mobility work.
This approach is all about keeping the body in tip-top condition and making it less injury-prone.
For those who don’t know, stability work involves exercises that strengthen the smaller muscles—the ones that support your joints, spine, and posture.
The best way to train these muscles is through single-limb exercises, which means working one arm or one leg at a time.
For example, instead of doing a two-legged deadlift, you would perform a single-leg Romanian deadlift (RDL). When you balance on one leg, your smaller stabilizer muscles have to work overtime to keep you steady.
The same principle applies to the upper body. If you want to improve shoulder stability, rather than pressing with a barbell, you would press with a dumbbell or kettlebell. This requires more control and engages the stabilizer muscles more effectively.
Now, let’s talk about mobility work, which is equally important.
Mobility exercises (see image above) keep your body supple and youthful. If you practice mobility work daily, you’ll likely be the person still going to the gym and moving well at 50, 60, or even 70 years old.
#5 Training Like an Athlete Builds Lean, Hard and Muscular Bodies
So yes, while the primary goal of training like an athlete is to get stronger and move more efficiently, a nice side effect is that it actually builds a very aesthetic physique.
We're talking about a lean and moderately muscular body.
And In my opinion, this type of physique looks better than that of a bodybuilder because it just looks more natural.
If you want a visual representation of this body type, look at the physique of a sprinter (see image above).