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Strength Without Bulk

post #1 of 37
6/9/09 at 1:30am
Thread Starter 
I've searched the forum and googled, but what I found was a bit surprising.

It seems as though the best way to get the most strength to weight is by doing max weight with low reps. I was always taught that 12 reps was a good way to go for no mass and high toning. My brief experience on the football team (where weight is your friend) recommended we do high weight at 4-6 reps. Of course, this leaves me a little confused. Why are endurance athletes so thin then if they are repeatedly doing exercises at a far below maximum intensity?

I suppose it does make some sense, as I remember being surprised how light a lot of fighters are for how strong they appear to be... but I am again confused as fighting requires incredible stamina.

It does make sense to eat only at a maintenance level, though wouldn't this make recovery more difficult? What is the best way to determine the number of calories I need?

By the way, I want to look really good, but would also like to be at the top of my game for sports (road cycling and climbing right now: I know, they're kind of opposite).

Thanks for any help.
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post #2 of 37
6/9/09 at 1:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by camhard View Post
Why are endurance athletes so thin then if they are repeatedly doing exercises at a far below maximum intensity?

I suppose it does make some sense, as I remember being surprised how light a lot of fighters are for how strong they appear to be... but I am again confused as fighting requires incredible stamina.

It does make sense to eat only at a maintenance level, though wouldn't this make recovery more difficult? What is the best way to determine the number of calories I need?

I don't really understand the first question. Endurance athletes, such as marathon runners, training requires them to run for long periods of times which burns a lot of calories. It also helps the to be as light as possible, so they are carrying less weight over a long distance

I don't understand where this idea that strength and stamina are two separate thing that can't be had at the same time is coming from.

intense weight training (heavy as you can manage for 8-10 reps) + cardio and other activities such as sprints and interval training= strength and stamina.


And just experiment with eating different amount of calories fr a week at a time. maybe eat 3000 calories for a week and keep your same routine exercise wise, see if you gain or lose weight. if you stay the same weight, this could be close to your maintenance calories.
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post #3 of 37
6/9/09 at 3:12am
Climbing requires a high strength/weight ratio so it should go hand in hand with cycling. Although the extra weight in the legs from the cycling will be mostly unnecessary for climbing.
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post #4 of 37
6/9/09 at 10:16am
strength and hypertrophy often have little relation.
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post #5 of 37
6/9/09 at 12:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by thekunk07 View Post
strength and hypertrophy often have little relation.

Is the opposite also true?
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post #6 of 37
6/9/09 at 12:51pm
yeah for sure.
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post #7 of 37
6/9/09 at 1:02pm
This blog is pretty much built around the idea of strength/fitness over bodybuilding and mass http://fitnessblackbook.com/ You may find a lot of information you're looking for there.
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post #8 of 37
6/9/09 at 1:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Taxler View Post
Is the opposite also true?

There isn't an inverse. Hypertrophy and strength having little relation is the same as strength and hypertrohpy having little relation; the terms are commutative.
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post #9 of 37
6/9/09 at 1:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by thekunk07 View Post
strength and hypertrophy often have little relation.
I've found that to be personally true.
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post #10 of 37
6/9/09 at 2:29pm
Working out for "tone" is a myth. Doing heavier sets of fewer reps will not make you bigger. Food makes you bigger. Your genes determine how much bigger food makes you, holding other factors equal. If you don't want to get big, don't eat more than necessary; however, eating too little can limit your strength gaisn. Of course, if you are part endo and prone to weight gain, you might find that some gain in size is a byproduct of eating enough to maximize your strength gains, in which case you will need to be more judicious about your nutrition.

But its not as if lifting for fewer reps makes you bigger. That's just a bizarre lie propogated by people afraid to leave their comfort zone because they fear failure and physical pain.
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post #11 of 37
6/9/09 at 4:46pm
Thread Starter 
Great, thanks. Are there any relatively accurate online calorie estimators? Of course everyone handles food slightly differently, but something to give me a rough idea would be useful.

Thanks again.
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post #12 of 37
6/9/09 at 4:46pm
calorie king, fit day
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post #13 of 37
6/10/09 at 12:37am
A guy I work with is a bodybuilder yet he runs and finishes marathons. He is 285 normally and runs marathons. The guys who run marathons to win them are weak everywhere but their legs but you can get muscle and still have endurance
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post #14 of 37
6/10/09 at 1:36am
hm i think as a climber though there is advantage to not letting your body get too big besides just going for strength and endurance.
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post #15 of 37
6/10/09 at 3:31am
look at gymnastic people for example, not alot of them are very big but they strong as fuck
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