More strength same mass!!!

[Mik]

This is basically my current goal...i wish to gain strength for my boxing while staying in my weight division, so I want to put on minimal mass...

 

My current walking around weight is 75 kilos (also my weight limit) and I have just under 10% bodyfat, however, I cant let my walking around weight get any higher then about 78 kilos so i dont wish to gain too much mass.

 

Right now I'm planning to work out with fairly low reps and high weights, such as 5x5 system with a three possibly four day split, in addition to running and boxing, but i'd be really grateful for any sample programs or even just principles anyone could share.

 

Also nutritional tips would be great too, right now a typical day consists of something like:

 

Breakfast: Large bowl of porridge

Lunch: 2-4 yams and whole tin of beans

Dinner: Tofu stir fry, or pittas with humus salad and 'chicken.'

 

Throughout the day i pretty much graze on fruit and veg when i feel like it which is often and eat over 100g of nuts and seeds, and plenty of dried fruits, dates etc. I also normally have a protein smoothie.

 

However any tips on changing it or new ideas i'd relly love to hear! Thanks

[Im Your Man]

Hi,

I think most people in your position will just add mass and then about 1 or 2 months before the competition they will lose that extra 20 pounds of muscles and fat. For instance, that's what Mac Danzing is doing, MMA fighter, vegan, he wrote about his diet on his MySpace blog. Although he's the world champion (or has been many times), that's probably not the best choice to make and it's good you're looking for an alternative.

 

If you want to do conventional bodybuilding exercices (4 sets, 8-12 reps), you will gain lean mass, because that's the best system to generate hypertrophy. So if you're doing this, you need to eat the less protein you can to make sure you won't make new muscles. But that's not very healthy, you will never recover like you should, but some people do this, like some cyclists who want to be as light as possible.

 

The best way is to do exercises that improve strenght but doesn't involve growing new muscles. So do everything except the 8-12 reps.

Do low reps, like 1, 2, or 3 max reps, the heavier you can. You can do rest-pause: take your 6 rep-max, use that weight to lift 2 reps, rest for 6 seconds, do 3 reps, rest 8 seconds, do 4 reps, rest 10 seconds, etc, until 6 reps.

Or on the contrary do long reps, like 15 to 25. Or even 50 reps or 100 reps. It's extreme endurance, very painful, but it usually don't make big muscles and it is perfect for your sport because you need endurance.

Bruce Lee was doing Circuit Training, mostly with cables. Do as many reps you can, the faster you can, with the heaviest load you can, but for 1 minute, so that's about 50 reps or more. You don't need any rest between each one, because you hit a different group of muscle at each exercise. You can do a 20 minute circuit, or a few mini-sessions through out the day, like 6 to 9 minutes each.

Or you can do it like a real match of boxing : workout for 3 minutes, rest for 1 minute, for 12 rounds.

Do cardio like running, cycling. Lightweights, bodyweight training, shadow boxing w/ small weights in hands, etc...

Isometric exercises improve strenght without adding mass.

 

Improve your explosivity and endurance with shadow boxing, speed rope,

Follow the examples of the greatests like Mohamed Ali.

[xjohanx]

I just wanted to say that when I gained most of my mass I did a 4-6 reps for abut 5 sets program. But the key to not gaining muscle is simply not to eat too much. You shouldn't eat more than the body uses, otherwise you're going to build.

What's your weight class and how much do you weigh? You cut water and so on before a fight, right?

[Mik]

I just wanted to say that when I gained most of my mass I did a 4-6 reps for abut 5 sets program. But the key to not gaining muscle is simply not to eat too much. You shouldn't eat more than the body uses, otherwise you're going to build.

What's your weight class and how much do you weigh? You cut water and so on before a fight, right?

Hi

 

I'm 75 kilos walking around whhich is also the weight class limit (middleweight). I can sweat away no more then 7lbs comfortably in a couple of days; also as its ametuer contests i only get a couple of hours to rehydrate so draining myself bone dry is a bad idea.

[Lena01]

I'm training strength right now and I'm getting stronger but the size has stayed the same. I'm doing 4 sets of 15 reps in 3 different exercises for big muscle groups and 2 different exercises for smaller groups. What works best for you doesn't have to be this but I have certainly got stronger and not really bigger, actually depending on how much sleep I get and how much I control my diet I'm looking smaller.

[DaN]

I can sweat away no more then 7lbs comfortably in a couple of days; also as its ametuer contests i only get a couple of hours to rehydrate so draining myself bone dry is a bad idea

 

Blimey that does sound like a bad idea!

 

I think the above comments are good, & I have little to add.One thing I would say is do more reps with lower weights, rather than fewer reps with big weights.That is how to strength build, instead of size build, as far as I understood.

 

[Bananaman]

its generally accepted, but not by everyone, that low reps and very big weights will build str

while the 8-12 range is best for bodybuilding

Most will agree with me, but for some this is totally wrong :3

[VeganEssentials]

There's one main component that will make the most difference, and that is FOOD.

 

If you don't eat enough to gain additional muscle or fat, then you won't gain weight, period (except for water weight fluctuations, of course). You CAN gain strength without much change in size, but that usually involves eating just a hair over your maintenance calorie level to where you can adequately repair muscle post workout, but without cramming yourself full enough to add any fat or put on substantial muscle mass. If you don't already know your maintenance calorie level, that's the first place to start, and I'd suggest just adding something like 200-300 calories extra per day over that to give a slight overfeeding without being enough to add weight rapidly. If you don't see any change in size OR strength over the course of a few weeks, then increase calories slightly and see if that makes a difference.

 

I gain size on sets of heavy singles as well as 20 rep sets. For me, it's all in the food as much as how I train, so start with caloric intake and change the lifting from there as you deem best.

[DaN]

There's one main component that will make the most difference, and that is FOOD.

 

If you don't eat enough to gain additional muscle or fat, then you won't gain weight, period (except for water weight fluctuations, of course). You CAN gain strength without much change in size, but that usually involves eating just a hair over your maintenance calorie level to where you can adequately repair muscle post workout, but without cramming yourself full enough to add any fat or put on substantial muscle mass. If you don't already know your maintenance calorie level, that's the first place to start, and I'd suggest just adding something like 200-300 calories extra per day over that to give a slight overfeeding without being enough to add weight rapidly. If you don't see any change in size OR strength over the course of a few weeks, then increase calories slightly and see if that makes a difference.

 

I gain size on sets of heavy singles as well as 20 rep sets. For me, it's all in the food as much as how I train, so start with caloric intake and change the lifting from there as you deem best.

 

+1

[CheshireCat]

Gaining mass is alot about eating.

 

If you want to gain strength then keep reps low, as strength gains are alot to do with the CNS than anything else.