increasing strength without increasing body weight?

[graciekiller]

My last thread I started went the wrong way because I wasnt clear in what I was asking, so I decided to make a new one.

Ive been following a 5x5 program with a neutral caloric inake (I burn what I take in) and I follow a 40/40/20 carb/protein/fat ratio and strength gains have been awesome. Along with the increase in strength my body weight and muscle size have also increased. Im getting to a point where I do not want to get any heavier (I try to stay below 185lbs because I need to cut to 169 for weigh ins) but I still want to increase my power and strength. Ideas?

 

[Judo Tom]

5x5 can definitely put some size on you.. maybe time to switch it up..

also you can focus on losing even more body fat.

im a fan of wendler 5/3/1 because you will get stronger and if you just do the 3 sets you wont put on much more mass.

at the same time there is a point of no return where if you keep getting stronger and stronger you will get bigger.

 

[graciekiller]

Thanks Judo, always appreciate your input. You are correct, losing more fat is definately an option being that i walk around with about 10-12% of fat when Im not in tournament preparation. For me, its tough staying under 10% fat with the daily hard training I do. I feel as though I need to eat ALOT just to keep up with practice demands.

I am going to look into the wendler program and possibly give it a try. Ive been doing 5x5s for about 2 months and you are correct that with strength comes size and weight. Thanks again!

 

[stevesmi]

I can only look back to my days as a powerlifter. we would have to make weight, but also try and get stronger throughout the season. if you gained too much weight you had to jump to another weight class which was not good and you could lose your varsity slot. so what we would do is lift for 40 minutes and then run 40 minutes.. this gave us lean muscle mass and very very little fat on our phrames to tip the scales.

. i would honestly tell you to drop 6 pounds only to the weight class above that in the short term, and then if you feel like over the long term you can drop another 10 pounds then go for it. cause you will lose a lot of strength i'm sure you know dropping that much weight.

 

[Arabian]

Gracie, this is awesome news. I was just speaking with Stevesmi reference the 5x5 program 3 days ago and I am actually going to be starting it monday. How would adjusting your diet help. I know I eat to clean and its hard for me to break the 225 pound mark..Best of luck to you and great post..

 

[Deleted member 33117]

-20% fat intake is a little low for strength gains in a male unless you are on the sauce as it will impede testosterone production a bit. Bump that to 30%. Stay at caloric maintenance to not gain weight and/or recomp. Calories in/calories out will always be the primary factor in increases and decreases in bodyweight, other than fluid balance fluxuation. More fat less carbs for less actual bodyweight (you will hold less water on fewer carbs) and more testosterone (which will speed up strength gains).

-5x5 is more a hybrid protocol for size and strength. Work in the 1-3 rep range for everything but accessory movements and avoid doing moderate reps even on accessory movements unless you specifically want to gain size in that muscle group. Keep the overall volume low and the work sets at 3 reps and under to avoid too much time under tension to focus on neural gains, and avoid hypertrophy inducing metabolic fatigue. 5x5 can put size on you and probably isn't optimal for your goals.

 

[graciekiller]

Steve - big thanks for that insight. If it wasnt for all the cardio and extra work I do besides lifting, I would be much much heavier with alot more fat. Im going to try and dial in the diet a little more to see if I can come down on a little more fat. When weigh ins are about 3-4 weeks out, I change up the diet alot to help drop down on the body fat, that way, its less weight I need to cut on either the night before or the day of weigh in.

arabian - thats awesome bro. I think you will make some great gains with the 5x5 program, it worked really well with me.

body - Im going to go ahead and up my fat intake as well. I would be lying if I said I count every calorie and track the exact percentage of what I take in. I have a good estimate though, and it seems to be working well enough with me especially with something that we all have....a life, lol. This 1-3 rep stuff is really intriguing and I really need to look into it. How does 1-3 rep training affect muscle stamina and endurance?

 

[gymrat827]

I can only look back to my days as a powerlifter. we would have to make weight, but also try and get stronger throughout the season. if you gained too much weight you had to jump to another weight class which was not good and you could lose your varsity slot. so what we would do is lift for 40 minutes and then run 40 minutes.. this gave us lean muscle mass and very very little fat on our phrames to tip the scales.

. i would honestly tell you to drop 6 pounds only to the weight class above that in the short term, and then if you feel like over the long term you can drop another 10 pounds then go for it. cause you will lose a lot of strength i'm sure you know dropping that much weight.

very good advice.



OP, have you looked into peptides?? IGF1 and a GHRP & GHRH?? igf1lr3 stacked with cjc 1295/GHRP 2 should strip fat off you and build very very lean muscle. most guys see 1-3lb drop in BF and pick up 3-6lb LBM.....


I would give them a go for 8wks and see what happens??

 

[Voijn]

It is possible to increase strength without building to much muscle, CNS training. But as said, if you want to become stronger you need to lift heavier, lifting heavier will produce more muscle.

If you want to become bigger you also want to increase weight since Progression is needed so that u get stronger= lift heavyer = build muscle and repeat:
3x10 harvesting musclemass
3x2/3 building strength
3x10 harvesting new musclemass
3x2/3
ect.
ive always said that reps in range of 1-4 is more towards building strength then mass
and 10reps is more building mass then strength

 

[SANTANAF]

My last thread I started went the wrong way because I wasnt clear in what I was asking, so I decided to make a new one.

Ive been following a 5x5 program with a neutral caloric inake (I burn what I take in) and I follow a 40/40/20 carb/protein/fat ratio and strength gains have been awesome. Along with the increase in strength my body weight and muscle size have also increased. Im getting to a point where I do not want to get any heavier (I try to stay below 185lbs because I need to cut to 169 for weigh ins) but I still want to increase my power and strength. Ideas?

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