Workout question - How not to get big?

[Grayland]

Originally Posted by why

Aim for 1g per pound for a fairly lean individual who works out regularly. Females need a little less.

Size should always be controlled through diet and not through training in my opinion. Varying training will produce different results, so if you want to avoid getting big, just don't eat enough to let yourself get big. That way you can still play with exercise (ie. if you want to run faster or get stronger, you can still do it without messing up your training).

Good stuff, Why!

 

[rar indeed]

Originally Posted by lifersfc

I am really lean and compact, but I lift 5RM bench, squats, deadlifts, and rows all the time. Size is mainly about diet.

wise words

 

[beasty]

Originally Posted by kontra

Before I begin I'll just say that I did browse this forum - and I did not find answers for my questions.
So - the question is:
Im pretty short - about 5' 7" weight is 145lbs. Im working out about 4 times a week for the longest time now. At least 4 years. - Im sort of athletic looking as it is. I got wide shoulders and chest I got some muscle and it is growing - slowly but it does. The thing is I dont want to become buff over time. I feel like Im getting there. I want to stay the way I am and shape it up. Sculpt it. Loose body fat. I run 5k every workout - and then do strength training. I try to focus on more repetitions instead of increasing the weights. Also (and its probably stupid of me) I never-ever eat any supplements. I'm afraid that If Ill start eating protein Im going to get faster and bigger muscle growth. And I dont need that. Is it wrong?
Do I still need to have a certain protein intake before the workout even though I want to loose weight? What would be your suggestions for the workout.

First off, let me say at your height, 145 lbs is not considered "˜OK'.
You can afford to put on at least another 15 lbs of muscle.
Just look at Lee Priest who I believe is your height or 5'6 and during competition, his weight is in excess of 200 lbs and during off season its mid 200lbs.
No one can say he is over muscled but aesthetically pleasing is the correct word.

As for your problem, you would need to maintain your protein intake to maintain your muscle mass. In the region of 1 gram of protein to 1 lb of bodyweight. As for your workout, you shouldn't do excessive cardio work.

Just do overall body workout with reps in the range of 10 to 15 will do. Intensity is the word.

 

[beasty]

Originally Posted by why

Aim for 1g per pound for a fairly lean individual who works out regularly. Females need a little less.

Size should always be controlled through diet and not through training in my opinion. Varying training will produce different results, so if you want to avoid getting big, just don't eat enough to let yourself get big. That way you can still play with exercise (ie. if you want to run faster or get stronger, you can still do it without messing up your training).

Actually I am doing the same thing you mentioned.

I increase my protein intake in line with a higher intensity of workout. However it goes to my waist too. And when I slim my waist down, there goes the size in other parts of my body. Now, I only increase protein intake on the same day I am training with high intensity and not on a daily basis.

Of course taking excessive protein or meat products can make one physically sick but that's another topic.

 

[beasty]

Originally Posted by kontra

Before I begin I'll just say that I did browse this forum - and I did not find answers for my questions.
So - the question is:
Im pretty short - about 5' 7" weight is 145lbs. Im working out about 4 times a week for the longest time now. At least 4 years. - Im sort of athletic looking as it is. I got wide shoulders and chest I got some muscle and it is growing - slowly but it does. The thing is I dont want to become buff over time. I feel like Im getting there. I want to stay the way I am and shape it up. Sculpt it. Loose body fat. I run 5k every workout - and then do strength training. I try to focus on more repetitions instead of increasing the weights. Also (and its probably stupid of me) I never-ever eat any supplements. I'm afraid that If Ill start eating protein Im going to get faster and bigger muscle growth. And I dont need that. Is it wrong?
Do I still need to have a certain protein intake before the workout even though I want to loose weight? What would be your suggestions for the workout.

Anyway, your post is a contradiction in terms.

Asking how not to get big while going to a gym is like Michael Phelps asking how not to win an Olympic gold while racing to the finish line. Being big is a natural consequence of going to a gym. Not unlike a pack of wolves ripping at a piece of meat or someone marrying Carla Bruni and wanting to ******** every night.

 

[lifersfc]

Originally Posted by beasty

Anyway, your post is a contradiction in terms.

Asking how not to get big while going to a gym is like Michael Phelps asking how not to win an Olympic gold while racing to the finish line. Being big is a natural consequence of going to a gym. Not unlike a pack of wolves ripping at a piece of meat or someone marrying Carla Bruni and wanting to ******** every night.
This is just wrong. I can lift at 100% intensity and low reps (think 2-3x times bodyweight for the main componds) and still stay 'small.' Body composition is 90% about diet. If you don't provide yourself the calories to grow, you won't grow, but you will get lean and ripped.

 

[beasty]

Originally Posted by lifersfc

This is just wrong. I can lift at 100% intensity and low reps (think 2-3x times bodyweight for the main componds) and still stay 'small.' Body composition is 90% about diet. If you don't provide yourself the calories to grow, you won't grow, but you will get lean and ripped.

You have missed the point totally.

Going to the gym and not getting big is like going to a whorehouse without a condom and not getting some disease. It is not natural and not right unless by going to the gym, you mean going to the gym to ogle at the same and opposite sex, putting your towel on the bench press machine while toying with your blackberry, discussing the latest Sex in the City Movie while "˜resting'.

While I agree with the wrong technique and mindset, you wont get big but it is natural and normal and right that anyone who goes to the gym will get big.

 

[why]

Beasty, you're an idiot. Please stop communicating with the outside world.

 

[Grayland]

Originally Posted by beasty

You have missed the point totally.

Going to the gym and not getting big is like going to a whorehouse without a condom and not getting some disease. It is not natural and not right unless by going to the gym, you mean going to the gym to ogle at the same and opposite sex, putting your towel on the bench press machine while toying with your blackberry, discussing the latest Sex in the City Movie while "˜resting'.

While I agree with the wrong technique and mindset, you wont get big but it is natural and normal and right that anyone who goes to the gym will get big.

While diet is the most important factor in "getting big", it is still very difficult for the majority of men to put on great quantities of muscle. Many can get bigger, but only a few actually can get big. I don't think many need to worry about getting too big; it's a very gradual process. It's not like you're going to wake up one day and say, "Damn, I got too big, I should've slowed down the last few months."

 

[kontra]

Just want to say that I'm getting the most useful thoughts from you guys.
Also want to note that about 5-6 years ago I lost about 20 pounds without going to the gym and then when I started going - I did it just to swim, then I started running and so on. It became part of the lifestyle. I lost 20 pounds more in the first 5-6 month. That's how it all started. So I did not start going to the gym to get bigger - I actually got smaller.
At this point Im just being a little paranoid. I bugs me when when I find myself sometimes unable to button the chest buttons in some shirts.
And I thing Its so true - Its all about the diet.

 

[jimbo123]

Originally Posted by Grayland

While diet is the most important factor in "getting big", it is still very difficult for the majority of men to put on great quantities of muscle. Many can get bigger, but only a few actually can get big. I don't think many need to worry about getting too big; it's a very gradual process. It's not like you're going to wake up one day and say, "Damn, I got too big, I should've slowed down the last few months."
I couldn't have worded it any better. Even if you did get overly massive I'm sure it wouldn't be that difficult to lose some of that muscle, look at how much weight Christian Bale lost in The Machinist.

 

[Tarmac]

Originally Posted by beasty

First off, let me say at your height, 145 lbs is not considered "˜OK'.
You can afford to put on at least another 15 lbs of muscle.
Just look at Lee Priest who I believe is your height or 5'6 and during competition, his weight is in excess of 200 lbs and during off season its mid 200lbs.

What? Moronic. Anyone who is 5 ft 7 and 200 lbs of muscle should be a pro athlete. Sounds like you have insecurities about your "size"

I can't believe i did a search for this but Beasty is suggesting you use this guy as a model for your fitness:

 

[beasty]

Originally Posted by Tarmac

What? Moronic. Anyone who is 5 ft 7 and 200 lbs of muscle should be a pro athlete. Sounds like you have insecurities about your "size"

I can't believe i did a search for this but Beasty is suggesting you use this guy as a model for your fitness:

So what is your point?
Top IFBB professional. Top personal trainer.
A model for all to emulate.

 

[lifersfc]

Originally Posted by beasty

You have missed the point totally. Going to the gym and not getting big is like going to a whorehouse without a condom and not getting some disease. It is not natural and not right unless by going to the gym, you mean going to the gym to ogle at the same and opposite sex, putting your towel on the bench press machine while toying with your blackberry, discussing the latest Sex in the City Movie while ‘resting’. While I agree with the wrong technique and mindset, you wont get big but it is natural and normal and right that anyone who goes to the gym will get big.
No you have missed the point. Who the **** wants to look like Lee Priest? Clothes wouldn't fit, girls would be scared away, and everyone would assume you had deep insecurities which drove you to become a freak of nature. I believe I have close to the ideal physique at 6' and 185 lbs and 8%, which is relatively small by bodybuilder standards. Anything more and I start to look like a caveman (and I have been ripped at 200 lbs.). You do know there is a thing called maintenance training. Not everyone wants to get perpetually bigger.

 

[lifersfc]

Originally Posted by Grayland

While diet is the most important factor in "getting big", it is still very difficult for the majority of men to put on great quantities of muscle. Many can get bigger, but only a few actually can get big. I don't think many need to worry about getting too big; it's a very gradual process. It's not like you're going to wake up one day and say, "Damn, I got too big, I should've slowed down the last few months."
I think you are half right. But I believe everyone is capable of getting big. Few people are disciplined enough in the gym (and particularly the kitchen) to get big. But yes, the constant effort it takes to get big makes it so that you do not one day wake up and think "Wow, I am too big." Even if you did, it is easy to drop weightly quickly when you require maintenance calories of 4,000+.