Becoming very strong while remaining small..Is it possible?

[oselifer]

Do you think this is possible?

If someone trains for years without taking more calories than he needs,and therefore without gainning any weight,would he be able to become stronger and stronger?

And how strong could someone become if he weighs for instance 140pounds?

Will he reach a threshold that could not become any stronger?

[phillipeb]

Do you think this is possible?

If someone trains for years without taking more calories than he needs,and therefore without gainning any weight,would he be able to become stronger and stronger?

And how strong could someone become if he weighs for instance 140pounds?

Will he reach a threshold that could not become any stronger?

 

basically you can only fine tune what you have so much before the need to build more muscle. Its the toning up process. I think that to get noticeable strength gains you might have to up your caloric intake by a bit. I do a bodyweight workout and while i am not getting bigger i am getting stronger. I eat the same as i usually do only with a bit more emphasis on protean.

[VeganDude]

Some people weighing less then that are stronger then anyone on this forum. Look at olympic lifters.

 

Have a look at the men's -56kg clean and jerk:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=8R4sBvWokTE

Is that strong enough?

[Wobbly Lifter]

Some people weighing less then that are stronger then anyone on this forum. Look at olympic lifters.

 

Have a look at the men's -56kg clean and jerk:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=8R4sBvWokTE

Is that strong enough?

 

They are very short and gained a lot of muscle since they began training. That said you can get stronger without getting bigger but it's harder, takes longer, and reaches the limit sooner. I've gained strength and not muscle in the past, but it keeps getting harder. What I try to remember is your only as strong as the weakest link. Fixing imbalances is a good way to increase strength with little to no size increase.

[beforewisdom]

Yes.

 

Strength improvements come from two areas:

 

1. Improved neural & muscle cooridnation and improved muscle physiology

 

2. More muscle

 

The two are connected but not 100%. Bodybuilders are generally larger but weaker than power lifters. The former trains for size and definition, the later for strength.

[Mike]

Ditto on what beforewisdom said. There are a lot of training methods that focus on training the CNS to make your muscles lift more weight. What you can lift right now (depending on your level) is nowhere near what your actual muscles are capable of lifting if your body is trained properly. If gaining strength without size is your goal, you may want to check out some of Pavel's stuff (Power to the People is good). Also, the Westside Barbell method involves training your CNS quite a bit, including a focus on speed.

 

Mike

Edited April 25, 2008 by Mike

[Guest]

If you're willing to overtrain to keep your muscles small its definitely possible. Its not even that uncommon. Take a look at lightweight wrestlers...Olympic level 100meter sprinters, long jumpers(not small but small for how strong they are), and many gymnasts. For most people I think its more about over training rather than calorie restriction.

[Im Your Man]

Do you think this is possible?

If someone trains for years without taking more calories than he needs,and therefore without gainning any weight,would he be able to become stronger and stronger?

And how strong could someone become if he weighs for instance 140pounds?

Will he reach a threshold that could not become any stronger?

 

It's not about "not eating too much to avoid gaining muscles", well yes a little bit, but it's about what kind of training and exercices you do.

If your kind of training is for hypertrofia, like 4 series of 8-12 reps with heavyweights, then you're gonna get bigger, espescially if you eat a lot.

 

If you wanna get stronger without big muscles, all you gotta do is endurance training, also some isometry, and lifting very heavy for 1-2 reps.

Bruce Lee had small muscles but he was very strong and could lift almost anything.

When you work on endurance and explosivity, it increase endurance and explosivity, but also sheer strenght and power. Without increasing too much the size of muscles. But it makes tight muscles.

[Odidnetne]

Do you think this is possible?

If someone trains for years without taking more calories than he needs,and therefore without gainning any weight,would he be able to become stronger and stronger?

And how strong could someone become if he weighs for instance 140pounds?

Will he reach a threshold that could not become any stronger?

 

It's not about "not eating too much to avoid gaining muscles", well yes a little bit, but it's about what kind of training and exercices you do.

If your kind of training is for hypertrofia, like 4 series of 8-12 reps with heavyweights, then you're gonna get bigger, espescially if you eat a lot.

 

If you wanna get stronger without big muscles, all you gotta do is endurance training, also some isometry, and lifting very heavy for 1-2 reps.

Bruce Lee had small muscles but he was very strong and could lift almost anything.

When you work on endurance and explosivity, it increase endurance and explosivity, but also sheer strenght and power. Without increasing too much the size of muscles. But it makes tight muscles.

 

Damn, you beat me to it, I was just going to use Bruce Lee as an example.

[bronco]

It's not about "not eating too much to avoid gaining muscles", well yes a little bit, but it's about what kind of training and exercices you do.

 

If your kind of training is for hypertrofia, like 4 series of 8-12 reps with heavyweights, then you're gonna get bigger, espescially if you eat a lot.

I wouldnt agree, you can do all the hypertrophy training you want, you still wont get bigger if you dont eat enough. It is simply physically impossible to grow bigger without adequate calorie intake .

 

If you wanna get stronger without big muscles, all you gotta do is endurance training, also some isometry, and lifting very heavy for 1-2 reps.

I dont see what help endurance training would give, except maybe for burning off excess calories. Lifting heavy in the low reps range though is solid advice .

 

When you work on endurance and explosivity, it increase endurance and explosivity, but also sheer strenght and power. Without increasing too much the size of muscles. But it makes tight muscles.

Again, training for endurance is not a good way to increase strength, at least with the common definition of strength (1RM type of strength). Training endurance gives endurance, training strength gives strength. Of course there can be a little carryover between the two but not much.

[cubby2112]

I have generally heard 2-5 for a focus on power, 6-12 for a focus on size and 13-? for a focus on endurance.

[Im Your Man]

 

It is simply physically impossible to grow bigger without adequate calorie intake .

 

To lose bodyfat, it's true that the only possible way is to have a calorie deficit. But to build muscles, the opposite is not necessary -- you don't absolutly need excess of calories, but you need enough proteins and amino acids.

There's many examples of people that gained muscles while losing bodyfat and that's what I'm gonna try this summer.

[Zack]

 

It is simply physically impossible to grow bigger without adequate calorie intake .

 

To lose bodyfat, it's true that the only possible way is to have a calorie deficit. But to build muscles, the opposite is not necessary -- you don't absolutly need excess of calories, but you need enough proteins and amino acids.

There's many examples of people that gained muscles while losing bodyfat and that's what I'm gonna try this summer.

 

They gained muscle with the energy of the fat they are losing.