Idle curiosity…
Wouldn’t a denser muscle be smaller than a, well, less-dense muscle?
Assuming two lifters, same height, weight, and bodyfat %… one trains for ‘strength’ and one trains for ‘hypertrophy’. Wouldn’t the strength trainer be smaller than the bodybuilder?
And if so, wouldn’t there be a “feeling smaller while getting denser?” thread?
Yes. Those who train for strength ARE smaller than bodybuilders.
I imagine for someone who is already big and tries to “get denser” this would, if anything, add to his size. At least maintain it. He certainly wouldn’t get smaller while adding density as he wouldn’t lose the mass he had.
Lifting heavy weights and eating to gain will not make you smaller.
I think it’s the bodyweight aspect I’m having trouble getting my head around.
If this is the case, a 200lb lean powerlifter would probably be noticeably smaller than a 200lb lean bodybuilder.
But if we start to throw the “genetic limits” phrase into the mix, wouldn’t you get somewhat smaller as you got denser? (assuming you’re near your genetic limit.)
EDIT: not sure yet if it was a mistake to go there.
Right I see what you mean. I have no idea. I imagine the 200lb powerlifter would be smaller, though I’m not sure how significant the difference would be.
I still don’t see how you would get smaller as you got denser though. I think you would ADD density to the muscle you have rather than shrink it to get it denser.
Not sure if it would be smaller but it would be less pumped.
Adding to this question out of curiosity, what would a set/rep scheme look like for someone who is trying to add density vs trying to add size?
[quote]dreadlocks1221 wrote:
Adding to this question out of curiosity, what would a set/rep scheme look like for someone who is trying to add density vs trying to add size? [/quote]
Heavy singles and triples vs 3-4x8-15. At least that’s the general idea as I understand it.
My hair is thick. If is is wet it is denser and i gained half a pound from water.
Mixing 2 questions ads confusion. Asking them 1 at a time helps clarity.
Am i clear?
Do you feel confused?
My hair dried, i lost half a pound, my hair did not fluff up it is still looking dense.
Are you confused?
Read that in a loop, you will not sleep nor eat, will u b denser?
Asking wrong question makes it tough to progress, can we get more dense by eating differently?
Who will give me back my 6-8 cents?
[quote]BHappy wrote:
Asking wrong question makes it tough to progress, can we get more dense by eating differently?[/quote]
Seriously, will you just stop?
Jupiter is more dense than Earth…and bigger:-)
[quote]SMF wrote:
Jupiter is more dense than Earth…and bigger:-)[/quote]
Actually Jupiter is a gas giant so it is less dense than Earth, however you’re right it is bigger
OK, fail on the sarcasm
When I started training in 1985 we certainly had differences around the edges, but bodybuilders and powerlifters/strength athletes still had much in common. IMO…the best of them still do. We frequently trained together…challenging eachother in heavy work one session and repfests the next. It worked toward everyones advantage. Plenty of bodybuilders specialize in heavy work. Most powerlifters understand the importance of volume and rep. work. Look into some Westside RP and tell me they haven’t taken hypertrophy into consideration. You get size and density by busting your ass, over and over again. Taking yourself to deep, dark, lonely, painful places. Outside of eating properly, and getting adequate rest, your genetics are going to determine the majority of your results. Make peace with them early.
The more I see workout videos the more I wonder if its actually the weight used or the act of going to failure vs not going to failure that will have an impact on how “dense” you look
I have 0 science background though so its really just a thought i’m throwing out there
size isn’t the actual muscle being bigger, its the cells being more filled with nutrients. strength are the actual muscle fiber increasing in size. which is very much less noticeable.
@ zraw would you incline that the denser look comes from pushing to failure?
Thanks, all the best!
[quote]buildsomemuscle wrote:
size isn’t the actual muscle being bigger, its the cells being more filled with nutrients. strength are the actual muscle fiber increasing in size. which is very much less noticeable.
[/quote]
Are some of you just making shit up as you go along?