Re: Mass vs. Strength

[Guest guest]

" mass building and strengtn building are inseparable. "

This whole field of inquiry is way too murky and conflicted to make any

definitive pronouncements. However, there are some strong arguments

separating muscle mass from strength generation. These largely center

around considerations of the neurological component of muscle force

generation. Here the claim is that strength is directly proportional

to how many individual muscle fibers can be recruited in a given muscle

contraction. This can, with training, be increased to some degree. It

is aptly demonstrated in the proverbial 'mother lifting the car off of

her child'.

Pavel Tsatsouline is an advocate of the low rep, high weight school of

training for this reason. The focus of his routines are on producing

impeccably clean and clear neuronal firing patterns that are

functionally integrated throughout the whole body. The problem with

high repetitions of less weight is that they increase the chances of

fatigue (first to the postural stabilizers, then finally to the prime

movers) which increases the risk of injury but more importantly trains

the nervous system into inefficient firing patterns.

jo

[Guest guest]

> " mass building and strengtn building are inseparable. "

>

>This whole field of inquiry is way too murky and conflicted to make any

>definitive pronouncements. However, there are some strong arguments

>separating muscle mass from strength generation. These largely center

>around considerations of the neurological component of muscle force

>generation. Here the claim is that strength is directly proportional

>to how many individual muscle fibers can be recruited in a given muscle

>contraction. This can, with training, be increased to some degree. It

>is aptly demonstrated in the proverbial 'mother lifting the car off of

>her child'.

I can give a couple of other

examples. First, meat chickens! They are one solid mass of

muscle (yeah, there's fat too, but it's mainly muscle). But

they can barely walk. Meanwhile their skinny, less muscular

cousins can hop, fly and are generally a lot healthier.

Also, when women work out, they tend not to develop much mass,

even when they can lift large amounts of weight.

And don't forget monkeys ... they are really skinny but

extremely strong.

There seems to be a hormone that starts and stops muscle

mass growth, independent of exercise. Scientists are studying

this one particular 3 year old that is getting really full

of muscle. So while more muscle *can* mean you are stronger,

that isn't necessarily the case. Lots of other factors.

-- Heidi Jean