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#1
03-27-2003, 02:55 AM
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What happens when you have the amount of muscle you want?
Can you still make gains in strength without increasing your muscle mass? For instance, say I'm happy with the amount of muscle I have on my body (when ever I reach my goals: a long, long time yet in a galaxy far, far away) but I'm not able to squat what I want or bench what I want. Do you plateau unless you bulk up and build more muscle, or is muscle size independent of strength gains if you are merely eating to maintain? I know muscles are made in the kitchen, I guess I'm just wondering how far that extends, since I know people have mentioned powerlifters that are tiny that can lift surprising amounts of weight!
I think it'd be funny to be small (but ripped), and squat and bench and sling dumbbells around with guys twice my size (the weak ones at least). Muhahahhaha... [img]/forum/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] Can I make my evil plot a reality?! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] |
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#2
03-27-2003, 06:18 AM
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Re: What happens when you have the amount of muscle you want?
That's something I really hadn't thought about since I'm more concerned with my body composition and aesthetics than I am with how much I can bench or squat. To the best of my knowledge, though, you should still be able to make good strength gains if you want to, you just have to change your approach to training a bit. Work with a weight that brings you to failure at about 6 reps (some places I've seen say 4-6, some say 6-8 so I'm going with 6 as an average) instead of 8-12 and increase your rest periods to more like 3-5 minutes between sets instead of 30-90 seconds like you do when you're training for hypertrophy.
I'm sure there have to be some good links to articles on the site, but like I said, I've always focused on gaining muscle so I'm not as familiar with what's been written about that. |
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#3
03-27-2003, 07:40 PM
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Re: What happens when you have the amount of muscle you want?
[img]/forum/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] **** my Ego! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]
Yep this is purely an ego thing. I guess I'm just very competitive with myself and I've always wanted to be able to sling the big weights around. I think its fun to be able to lift heavy stuff. A cute offshoot of that is being able to lift more weight than the big guy beside me. Muhahahhaha... As for as looks go, I just want a visible bicep and a near-flat tummy (I'm almost certain I will never have a perfectly flat one) I want the line down the middle, but don't think I really want a visible six pack. That's about all my goals are in the aethestics department. I mean, yeah it'd be nice to be small, but I'm okay with being average or even larger than average as long as my tummy is freaking near-flat! Ahhhhh....I have issue with my tummy! I'm sure I'll start screwing around with different muscles later though--the "I think I want my calf to show more" or "my tricep is a bit out of proportion" kind of thing. I'll bum around the site and see about this topic though, thanx for the advice hon! |
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#4
03-29-2003, 03:41 AM
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Re: What happens when you have the amount of muscle you want?
Right now I'm happy with the body I got and I'm no longer looking for more muscle mass.
I'm still working out hard though and still lifting heavy as well (as you can see in my journal...). The only thing that has changed is that I do more repetitions for small muscle groups (like arms) and then I don't work out my legs as often as I used to......... The diet will also determinate if you'll put on more muscle mass or not.
__________________
Les victoires éternelles sont celles du coeur. STAY STRONG!!! xxx Nina xxxxx www.nme-pro.com |
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#5
03-30-2003, 10:32 AM
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Re: What happens when you have the amount of muscle you want?
Ahhhh...good to know!
Thanx! |
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