Muscle Gain Weight

Just a question.

When training for hypertrophy, you increase in muscle volume, and hence mass, right?

When training for strength (whats the technical term? I can't remember), you increase in muscle density, but not volume, right? Now what effect does it have on the overall muscle mass? Because it's more dense will it has more mass (ie. heavier) ?

Just checking, as I'm wondering, is it normal to gain strength, without gaining any weight whatsoever, assuming you are not losing fat simultaneously?


My weight gain seemed to have stopped at 67kgs, and lately it's been 66kgms, but I'm don't have any less fat around the midsection (and I don't have it anywhere else, believe me).

I haven't gained weight (if you don't consider the fact that it increases after eating) for about 2 months now, but my bench is most certainly increasing. Not that I want to gain weight, just seems damned odd.

And I don't mean that my bench has increased by something like 50lbs without any muscle growth, I think that would make me superman :p
Probably around 15-20lbs, in the time I haven't gained any weight.
And on top of all that, it's not just benching, I do a FBW. And yes, my other muscles are also getting stronger. And also, not by a huge amount, but nevertheless my weight has only gone down...by 1kg (lol).

So is this normal, or what?
 
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Just a question.

When training for hypertrophy, you increase in muscle volume, and hence mass, right?
yes

When training for strength (whats the technical term? I can't remember), you increase in muscle density, but not volume, right? Now what effect does it have on the overall muscle mass? Because it's more dense will it has more mass (ie. heavier) ?
There isnt really a technical term, strength pretty much sums it up. Usually when you train for strength theres at least some hypertrophy occuring. Having said that, strength is accompanied by improved nueral network so a more denser muscle isnt always the case.

Just checking, as I'm wondering, is it normal to gain strength, without gaining any weight whatsoever, assuming you are not losing fat simultaneously?
Yes its normal, when people first start weight programmes the first two weeks is asscociated with neural connections and then hypertrophy, if that is what their aim is.


My weight gain seemed to have stopped at 67kgs, and lately it's been 66kgms, but I'm don't have any less fat around the midsection (and I don't have it anywhere else, believe me).
Its only 1kg:)
 
Having said that, strength is accompanied by improved nueral network so a more denser muscle isnt always the case.

I say, what's that?

btw. So does denser muscle = more weight?

Yes its normal, when people first start weight programmes the first two weeks is asscociated with neural connections and then hypertrophy, if that is what their aim is.

I've been doing this stuff for half a year now =/
(Used to be around 60 kgms / 132lbs)
 
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There isnt really a technical term, strength pretty much sums it up. Usually when you train for strength theres at least some hypertrophy occuring.

Myofibrillar Hypertrophy maybe?

I think if you're getting stronger but not gaining much weight it's probably just a mix of dropping fat and your CNS getting more efficient at coping with the weight load
 
if the muscle gets more dense, then it get heavier, but i dont know about the training for strenght and getting more dense muscle without gaining any size.

You can gain strenght without gaining size, thats not a problem, ive gained strenght while loosing size while cutting, its all about the CNS adapting. Improved neural network i think reffers to the fact that you nervous system can fire more monitor units and thus use more of a muscle in a given lift.

A person who just starts out training with weights can get away with more intense programs than a person who has been training for 10 years, why? Because when the person who has been training for 10 years does a 1rm he uses way more of the muscle because he can recruit more monitor units than the guy who just started lifting, because his training has caused his nervous system to be more efficient. Read up on Waterbury on t nation, he talks alot about this stuff, really interresting.
 
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