Gaining power without gaining mass

[SpeedKillz]

Easy. Lift heavy, e.g. near your max, but 5 or less reps per set. Give the muscle groups you work at least 3 days of rest. Take steroids for quick results....

******est thing i ever heard. not the whole sentence, just the steroids thing. i dont think takin steroids while lifting heavy to not gain mass is too smart since the juice will turn u into bulky muscly monster, and unless ur a heavyweight, thats not very desirable

[PunchDrunk]

And hes talking about getting strong,uhh thats kinda hard to lift weights without gaining ne thing.WELL I GUESS FOR SOME PEOPLE IT IS,some ppl just cant gain alot of muscle but they do try alot.

So a lean Tommy Hearns type I think would be good cause Tommy was skinny and cut but strong. I dont go to the gym but I have some sort of thought on how it is.My friend is skinny and extremly strong,weighing only 145 and about the thread starters height too.How many ppl can bench 230lbs 3 times at 145lbs. Not alot.And he does all I said.So that tells me different on what your saying.I'll take some1s advice that lifts or box's over some1 that really doesnt.

I lift, boxed, train fighters, have a formal elite trainers education.

The key to getting strong without gaining is simple. What kind of lifting requires strength? The heavier the weight, the more strength is required to lift it. You DON'T get stronger if you're doing lots of reps. You have to lift heavy, and keep the workload down (ie. low reps, few sets).

The kind of training effect you get from this is called neural adaptation. Your neural system adapts to the heavy lifting in a number of ways. Ex. the impulses sent to your muscle, saying "contract" increase in frequency and intensity, making the muscle contract faster and harder increasing strength and explosiveness. This is why a heavy lift that LOOKS slow can actually increase explosiveness. It's not a matter of how fast the weight moves, but how fast the neural system fires.
The neural system also adapts by making more motor units (a single α-motor neuron and all of the corresponding muscle fibers it innervates) available in the muscle in question. This means that more of the muscle is used, which means you get stronger without gaining any muscle, you just utilize more of what you already have.

So in short, "lots of reps" = bad idea.

[Sweat]

yea look at bruce lee he trained in strength. Lift heavy and keep the reps really low.

WTF?? Thats the complete opposite. You will bulk up if you follow this person's advice.

[PunchDrunk]

WTF?? Thats the complete opposite. You will bulk up if you follow this person's advice.

No. Hypertrophy zone is mid reps, with a big workload. Heavy, low reps, few sets is for strength.

"Complete opposite" Think about it, the complete opposite of getting stronger is what? What will get you stronger, lifting light with lots of reps, or lifting heavy. Try thinking about that a little (which you obviously haven't done, if that's your conclusion).

[Sweat]

No. Hypertrophy zone is mid reps, with a big workload. Heavy, low reps, few sets is for strength.

"Complete opposite" Think about it, the complete opposite of getting stronger is what? What will get you stronger, lifting light with lots of reps, or lifting heavy. Try thinking about that a little (which you obviously haven't done, if that's your conclusion).

The original poster said he does not want to gain mass. He wants to gain power. Then lifting heavy with low reps will get you muscular, obviously gaining weight too. Lighweights with high reps and sets will make you ripped. Will gain you speed.. and what comes with speed?? You got it.. POWER

[PunchDrunk]

The original poster said he does not want to gain mass. He wants to gain power. Then lifting heavy with low reps will get you muscular, obviously gaining weight too. Lighweights with high reps and sets will make you ripped. Will gain you speed.. and what comes with speed?? You got it.. POWER

WRONG. Read the post I made before your first one.

1. Gaining muscle and weight is more dependant on diet. No training program in the world will get you muscular if you don't eat enough.
2. Notice that I said LOW WORKLOAD. If your workload is very high, then yes you CAN gain musle by lifting heavy with low reps but only with the right diet. It is still primarily strength though.
3. Light weights with high reps alone will NOT make you ripped, a proper diet AGAIN is the key to losing fat.
4. Light weights with high reps alone will gain you very little speed. You have to increase your strength, and teach your neural system to fire faster and harder. This, is done by lifting heavy.

What you're saying is one of the oldest training myths/misunderstandings caused by people confusing bodybuilding with strength training. I advise you to go read a few books on the subject, go see powerlifters, Olympic weightlifters in lower weights (where they can't afford to put on weight either), or better yet get in some real world experience (this should probably take a few years, and works best if you actually read stuff at the same time).

[Verstyle]

I lift, boxed, train fighters, have a formal elite trainers education.

The key to getting strong without gaining is simple. What kind of lifting requires strength? The heavier the weight, the more strength is required to lift it. You DON'T get stronger if you're doing lots of reps. You have to lift heavy, and keep the workload down (ie. low reps, few sets).

The kind of training effect you get from this is called neural adaptation. Your neural system adapts to the heavy lifting in a number of ways. Ex. the impulses sent to your muscle, saying "contract" increase in frequency and intensity, making the muscle contract faster and harder increasing strength and explosiveness. This is why a heavy lift that LOOKS slow can actually increase explosiveness. It's not a matter of how fast the weight moves, but how fast the neural system fires.
The neural system also adapts by making more motor units (a single α-motor neuron and all of the corresponding muscle fibers it innervates) available in the muscle in question. This means that more of the muscle is used, which means you get stronger without gaining any muscle, you just utilize more of what you already have.

So in short, "lots of reps" = bad idea.

like i told brooklyn tell my friend that.

[Sweat]

WRONG. Read the post I made before your first one.

1. Gaining muscle and weight is more dependant on diet. No training program in the world will get you muscular if you don't eat enough.
2. Notice that I said LOW WORKLOAD. If your workload is very high, then yes you CAN gain musle by lifting heavy with low reps but only with the right diet. It is still primarily strength though.
3. Light weights with high reps alone will NOT make you ripped, a proper diet AGAIN is the key to losing fat.
4. Light weights with high reps alone will gain you very little speed. You have to increase your strength, and teach your neural system to fire faster and harder. This, is done by lifting heavy.

What you're saying is one of the oldest training myths/misunderstandings caused by people confusing bodybuilding with strength training. I advise you to go read a few books on the subject, go see powerlifters, Olympic weightlifters in lower weights (where they can't afford to put on weight either), or better yet get in some real world experience (this should probably take a few years, and works best if you actually read stuff at the same time).

Its just a matter of opinion. In the end, it just depends on the person. I have been doin my usual routines and I get good results. I've been weightlifting for 4 years now and boxing is my cardio and I have been eating right. I dont do heavyweights, just lightweights and it made me ripped. So I guess I'll just keep doing what I'm doing..

[PunchDrunk]

like i told brooklyn tell my friend that.

So how does he know that he can do 3 reps with 230 at a BW of 145 if he doesn't lift heavy? My bet is the guy lifts heavy a great deal more than either you're letting on here, or he's letting on to you.

Other than that, there are always genetic freaks out there. What I mean by that, is that it is entirely possible for A FEW people to be that strong, naturally. Sort of like how you look like a bodybuilder without lifting weights. Does that mean NOT lifting weights is the way to get big, just because it works for you? I didn't think so. You see, IF you don't lift weights, your physique is not BECAUSE of you not lifting weights, but IN SPITE of not lifting weights. Big difference. Just the same; IF your friend never lifts heavy, he's that strong IN SPITE of that, not BECAUSE of it. See what I'm saying, or do you need someone who lifts more, boxes more, and reads less to explain it you?

[PunchDrunk]

Its just a matter of opinion. In the end, it just depends on the person. I have been doin my usual routines and I get good results. I've been weightlifting for 4 years now and boxing is my cardio and I have been eating right. I dont do heavyweights, just lightweights and it made me ripped. So I guess I'll just keep doing what I'm doing..

No, it is NOT a matter of opinion, training is a science. It's a matter of knowledge, theoretical AND applied.

Notice what you claim. Light weights didn't make you ripped, your "eating right" did.

Besides, the topic was not hoe to get ripped, but how to get stronger without gaining weight, so your fat loss really has no relevance to that. One thing that is for sure, the miniscule amount of strength you'll gain in four years of light weights, is NOTHING compared to the strength gain you could have acheived with heavy weights. AND you could keep your current weight. Proven fact, not matter of opinion!