Difference between muscle mass and how strong you are?

natruallycurious

Just something I've been wondering about. How does muscle mass/size relate to how strong the muscle actually is? I know that the size of the muscle doesn't directly relate to being stronger. For instance, I have extremely muscular legs visually, but I have friends at the gym with much smaller legs who can out lift me with things like squats and deadlifts (I did not intentionally build muscle mass, I have just always had a muscular/athletic build). So is there any actual benefit to having larger muscles in terms of strength training, or is it just an aesthetics thing?

ronocnikral

Depends on your definition of "strong."

You can train your muscles to do what you would like them to do. If you want to squat more, train to squat. If you want large bulbous muscles, train for large bulbous muscles. The "benefit" is all in what one desires as an outcome(s).

sgt1372

Powerlifters are almost always (if not always) stronger in terms of their ability to lift heavier weight than bodybuilders of the same size/wt even though body builders look like they have bigger muscles.

Looks can be deceiving.

hesn92

I find this interesting. You definitely don’t have to have big muscles to be strong. My husband doesn’t look strong at all, he’s pretty thin, but he’s actually very strong because he’s been framing houses for a living for the last 15 years or so. He has also had guys working for him who have really big muscles from lifting weights who aren’t actually very strong at all (well, in comparison to other guys on the job site anyway) but lifting weights doesn’t necessarily give you the functional strength needed to frame a house probably.

CarvedTones

There are lots of strong "wiry" thin people. Some of the better SUP paddlers, people that win a lot of races, don't have the physique you might expect.

watts6151

All you need to know about the subject by
Greg Nuckols

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/size-vs-strength/amp/

BrianSharpe

If you want a perfect example of the lack of correlation between muscle size and strength just watch gymnasts.....

VUA21

CarvedTones wrote: »

There are lots of strong "wiry" thin people. Some of the better SUP paddlers, people that win a lot of races, don't have the physique you might expect.

PBR competitors as well. I have a male friend who's cousin is a pro bull rider, very lean... strong as hell!!!!

AnvilHead

natruallycurious wrote: »

So is there any actual benefit to having larger muscles in terms of strength training, or is it just an aesthetics thing?

A lot of strength gains come from neuromuscular adaptation. Essentially, your central nervous system becomes more efficient at recruiting and utilizing the muscle you have (paired with the fact that you become more technically proficient/efficient at whatever lifting movement(s) you're becoming stronger in). But at some point you exhaust those gains, and that's when you have to get bigger to get any stronger.

With that said, "strong" is a very broad/vague term with a lot of different applications, and you don't necessarily have to be big to be strong.

aokoye

BrianSharpe wrote: »

If you want a perfect example of the lack of correlation between muscle size and strength just watch gymnasts.....

Or rock climbers. That's why I'm so not of the "go to the gym to make your body look like xyz" mentality. My preferred physique is that of a rock climber (that was my main sport growing up). Large muscles aren't terribly useful but strength sure is.

fishgutzy

aokoye wrote: »

BrianSharpe wrote: »

If you want a perfect example of the lack of correlation between muscle size and strength just watch gymnasts.....

Or rock climbers. That's why I'm so not of the "go to the gym to make your body look like xyz" mentality. My preferred physique is that of a rock climber (that was my main sport growing up). Large muscles aren't terribly useful but strength sure is.

So true. Free climbers tend to be lean, ripped, and incredibly strong. They can do 100 one handed pull ups with just a couple fingers on the bar without breaking a sweat.
And you will need a wrench to remove and nut they secure with there fingers.