Loose weight but keep strength

S

saywhuut

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hello all... im new here great forum it seems. Well got a quick question. I'm pretty strong right now and want to get even stronger..but my dillema is that i want to loose some weight..i have very low body fat and all..but im just a lil too big for my taste...i want to get smaller but keep my strength and even get stronger..what is the best weight lifting routine to aid in this process while doing cardio of course after/before my workouts.

right now ive just started to do high reps with 3 sets of various exercises. im always switching around and would like a stable routine for a while.


also..the part of me where i feel too big is my chest..how do i get it smaller yet still stay strong and cut looking? thanks for the help!


stephen
 
Well I will prob be the only person to tell you this but look into Circuit workouts... They will help you cut up and lean down alot! Its all about pacing... you need to keep your heart rate high as you move from one exercise to another... try this for 2-4 weeks and youll see a difference... you will be using those muscles and working them pretty hard and also getting a good cardio workout. After 2-4 weeks go back to your routine... it will add variety to your workouts and its fun and quick... give it a try and tell me what you think... I think i have a post on here for a sample circuit workout... give it a looksee!
 
get smaller and keep your strength? Thats a tough one! If you get smaller, it will be because you are losing lean muscle mass (in your chest), which will diminish your strength. I would not recommend that. To maintain strength, try each body part one time a week, 2-3 sets of a heavy weight, 4-6 reps. This will maintain your strength, and should avoid building more mass. But it will be hard to lose size and maintain strength, and off the top of my head, may be impossible!
IMO: low body fat + large chest= nice problem to have!
 
Gymcoch, I don't usually disagree with you however-

You can train for an effective CNS without making to many sarcoplasmic gains. I would say use low(er) volume (2-5 sets), high intensity (85-95% of 1RM), for low reps (1-4).

But like Gymcoch said, if you have a very low bodyfat percentage to begin with you, you don't have a lot to burn but muscle.

You might try and upper body/lower body split twice a week which would give you four weight lifting sessions a week or an upper/lower/full body which would give you three training sessions a week.
 
you can definetly gain strength without size. just "practice" your lifts.

try the 5X5X5 plan. this is from the mouth of pavel. choose five compound lifts (squat, deadlift, tactical chin, bench, and hang clean) and do them 5 days in a row for 5 reps. choose a weight that will let you do between 6 and 10 reps. you will find that you drop size dramatically but strenght will be gained. ( i gained 10 lbs on my bench in 2 weeks)

something I've noticed tho is that, and i don't mean to hijack the subj, but when i was 17yrs old i was 6'2 185lbs and about 8% bf and i was ENORMOUS. Now I'm 19, 6'4 195-198lbs (dont kno my bf but i have visible obliques and serratus anterior) and i'm way smaller than I ever have been. Are the muscle just more compact?
 
gentlemen,
I didn't say that you couldn't gain strength without building size. In fact, my suggestions of 2-3 sets of 4-6 reps is similar to your and the same principle.
What I DID say, which was what the author was looking for, was it would be tough, if not impossible, to LOSE size and keep strength.
This is whatthe poster was asking for.
If you still disagree, I would like to hear your thoughts!
Just to clarify...
:)
Thanks!
Wes
 
mike100 said:
you will find that you drop size dramatically but strenght will be gained.
Click to expand...


looks like his question got answered to me

also, i wasn't saying anything in response to your post. but after reading it again i would like to point out that it isn't the size of the muscle that determines the strength. while he did say that he is pretty much down to all lean mass you can still lose lean mass and gain strenght. the body's ability to tense the muscles is what creates strength and I dont know anyone personally who can tense any muscle 100%. If this were true how come Dorian Yates doesnt hold the record for Deadlifting?

i think i got some reading material on the subject...(i actually just typed what i was thinking...cool)

it is neuroligical efficiency "It is estimated that an average person can contract only 20-30% of his muscles when trying his hardest. Even a top lifter uses no more than 50% of his impressive muscle!" Pavel T. Power to the People pg. 10.

A nice little side effect of this type of training is a more compact and firm muscle!

I always found this to be very interesting...think of the potential strength we have if we could only tense our bodies like they should be!
 
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You're correct that strength is predominately accomplished by neural adaptations. However, the GTO (golgi tendon organ) is often a limiting factor in how much strength we can use (there's been a couple posts on here in this forum).

On a lowered calorie diet, we really have to give our muscles a reason to increase in strength because the human body has an infinity towards homeostasis (besides partial pressures and etc but that's another animal all together). So, if we work our trainee at a very high intensity (near maximal/maximal level) then strength (generally speaking) will increase. If he doesn't want to add mass then keep the volume very low. The reduced calories will also keep from supplying the nutrients needed for hypertrophy but the training principles will increase his strength.

He would definately benefit from olympic lifting to increase strength.
 
Right on! I love this board.

But enlighten me on the golgi tendon organ. All I know about it is that it keeps us from doing full splits because it makes our muscle tense up when we try to assume a flexible position because it fears we are not strong enough to go any further into the position.
 
Mike, so you feel that if he were on a strength program, he would lose some of the muscle size that he has? That is to say that the fibers recruited from doing a higher repetition set, (that have increased in cross sectional area) that are now NOT contracted due to a lower rep set (won't get recruited)will cause atrophy of the fibers?

hmmmmmm...could be. I'll look into it more. Let me know if you have any research on that!
Wes
 
Not atrophy.

Like I said with tension, it's about the body's ability to tense up that makes it strong.

A large muscle can be strong, but a smaller muscle can be just as strong, stronger or weaker all depending on its ability to tense up. Now, this won't sound so scientific but lets just say Joe has a 17 inch biceps muscle. Bruce Lee has a 12 inch biceps muscle. Bruce can curl 70lbs as a one rep max and so can Joe. This is because Bruce recruits more of his muscle than Joe does.

Now, lets cut their bodies open and look at the muscles themselves...

because Bruce's work outs promote Myofibrillar hypertrophy which are parts of the muscle which promote tension while Joe's workouts promote Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy which is more about increasing the volume of saroplasm fluid which makes up 25-30% of the muscle volume. Bruce is as strong because he is able to tense his muscle more however he is not bloated up with "pump". Thus he is smaller and just as strong or stronger. Not saying smaller is stronger, not saying larger is stronger.

Basically what I'm saying is that on the 5x5x5 program you pretty much only promote sarcoplasmic hypertrophy and practice the ability to lift a heavier weight therefor you will most likely lose size while gaining or maintaining strenght.

So, to answer the initial question, just do the 5x5x5 plan you will find that you won't grow anymore, you will probably lose weight, lean mass, you won't feel a lactic "burn" and that you will gain only strenght. However, because you are promoting myofibrillar growth, the muscles will become far more compact and firm, which is a plus.
 
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Mike,

The GTO is like a governer in a car...it limits the body. As our strength increases, the GTO relaxes a bit letting us push heavier weights. It's all about tapping into it. An example is the mother that lifts the car off her child-she didn't suddenly grow new muscles or gain new strength, she just became more efficient with what she had, there was no neuro-signal that interrupted her.

However, I'm not sure if the 5X5X5 method won't induce hypertrophy...it seems the volume and intensity are high enough. I was thinking mainly 6X3 @90% of 1RM.
 
MIke, so by changing the routine, you are saying that size will decrease due to the release of fluid retention?
Makes pefect sense!-thanks!
What is 5x5x5?
5 sets of 5 reps and the third 5 is...?
 
five days a week. this, like i said, follows the rules that strength can be practiced. so if you wanted to improve your golf swing you would go work it a few times a day/couple times a week. you wouldn't want to just drill urself into the ground hitting the ball untill your shoulders hurt then take a week off and do it again. you should give it a try, it will feel so weird to leave a workout not feeling sore what so ever and being done in about 20 minutes. i love how open to new ideas you are, its an awesome quality!

i guess muscular effeciency is what this program is all about.

its so funny cuz i just read an article about the tendon and in it a mother lifting a car overhead was used.

take care
 
you've got to be open mnded in this field, as things are constantly changing and contradicting each other.
What works for one won't neccessarily work for another.
That's what puts the "personal" in personal training.
 
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