How To Get Strong Without Getting Big

Yes. You Can Lift Heavy Stuff and Not Get Big!

If you want to get strong without getting big, then this short little article will tell you how it’s done.

Alexi left this comment the other day:

“…  However I always seem to end up ‘bulking up’ no matter what routine I do, which is fine for everyone else but not for me. Can you recommend a routine that will help increase my strength and power without leading to excessive muscular growth?”

Yessir! Here’s the answer …

What Makes You Strong?

Strength is the ability to effectively use all the muscle on your body. If you’re the same size as another guy, and he’s stronger, it means he can more effectively “contract” his muscles to move a given weight, etc.

So when we’re talking about gaining strength, and pretty much only strength (without adding much size), we’re talking about becoming more effective “neurologically” to become stronger …

What Makes You Big?

The other way to go about gaining strength is to stay at your current level of effectiveness as using your muscle mass, like let’s say you can currently contract 5% of all the muscle fibers in your chest and arms while bench pressing (just a made up number).

If you never get any more efficient at contracting these muscles, but you double the size of them, even though you’re still only contracting 5% of them — you’re contracting 5% of more total muscle area — so you’re stronger.

The way to get big is NOT to lift heavy weights (as everyone thinks). That is, heavy weights alone will not do the trick. You need:

• Sufficient load — usually not the heaviest weights you can lift, sub-maximal loads …
• Sufficient Volume — it’s the volume that’s key — you need lots of volume to grow … and …
• Sufficient Calories – over and above your basal metabolic rate and the energy you expend working out, for your body to have the “excess” it needs to build muscle with.

How To Get Strong Without Gaining Size.

So to get stronger, without getting bigger, you just simply need to focus on training your body to get stronger with the muscle you already have … and not eating much.

So to do that, you need to “practice” contracting your muscles. A perfect program for this type of training is Pavel’s Power to the People! : Russian Strength Training Secrets for Every American routine which has you doing:

• Frequent Strength Training — because you need to practice contracting your muscles harder, in this case Monday-Friday — yes, 5 days a week …
• Only 2 Exercises – so your body stays focused, but the two lifts, the deadlift and the side press hit all your muscles …
• Low Total Volume — 1 set of 5 reps with a high weight. Then cut the weight to 80% and one more set of 5 reps. Then you’re done! On to the next exercise …
• Simple Progressions – or “cycling” patterns so you add weight to the bar …

All you need to do after following a routine like Pavel’s is control how much food you’re putting in your mouth (don’t eat any extra than you are now) and you’ll get a LOT stronger without gaining much size at all.