Muscles and speed

PJPrimrose

I apologize if this has been covered before. I'm 5' 9" 145 , 44 yr old intermediate, amateur competitive kick boxer. Point and full contact depending on with whom/where I compete.

I have kept my weight under 150 lbs to avoid going up in weight class.

My strengths in kick boxing are agility, speed and accuracy. I'm a fair hand at this. The black belt males in the class describe me as "the really quick one". It's what I depend on when sparing bigger, stronger, and higher ranking males in class. I more or less practice technique and more elaborate kicks with the women.

Seriously, will I lose speed if I bulk up to the next weight class with muscle? Has anyone here ever done a sport that required timing and speed that bulked up? I wouldn't mind being bigger or stronger but I don't want to ruin my "game".

I actually came here to fitnesspal to get back to my weight class while starting to lift a bit heavier. I'm tall and lanky but pack on wiry muscle rather easily. (I don't bulk at all, like, ever.) I DO gain weight while staying lanky. My top BMI is nearly 170 lbs just for starters. Will putting on weight, even muscle weight, slow me down?

TIA

Dave11235813

The more massive you are, the more inertia you will have, meaning it will be harder to get yourself moving. But if you gain your mass as muscles, they may help you move yourself faster.

GetSoda

Keep in mind that speed comes from power...

Do you think someone stronger or weaker can hit faster/harder?

chrisdavey

I've done boxing and mma for about 8 years or so. I have gone from 70kg (skinny fat) to 85kg (much lower BF%) and for me I don't think there is any noticeable difference in speed at all. I don't train with the same people I did ages ago to confirm though. If it's only a small weight increase I don't think it will affect much.

212019156

You might actually get faster.

ninerbuff

Shouldn't if your training includes lifting movements with speed and power.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

PJPrimrose

Thank you! My instructor told me to keep it kind of low which I've been doing all along. With one problem, I was keeping it low as I perceived it as a woman, not low for actual weight training. (Doh!) I've started to add some heavier weight lately and I haven't bulked at all. I went from working with 10-20lbs HEAVY reps to 50-80lbs lower, but still heavy, reps with speed. My instructor gave me a basic anatomy lesson and told me what to look for in too much bulk but I'm so rangy I doubt it will happen unless I "juice". I do, however, put on weight. We'll see how I do against the hugantic women

ninerbuff

One adds muscle by progressive overload with high volume (sets) training and calorie surplus. You can increase strength without gaining weight (neuromuscular adaptation) though.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

PJPrimrose

" You can increase strength without gaining weight (neuromuscular adaptation) though. "

I can stay at 145 (maintenance) and train with increasingly heavier weights? I thought you had to add calories/weight to your frame. I was able to bench press my own weight a zillion years ago but I didn't keep track of my weight. I assumed I'd gained in that time. It was before MA.

So far:

I'm at 50lbs with the front squat (3 sets of 5)
55 for the bench press (3 sets of 5)
80 for the RDL(3 sets of 5)
This took me 6 months, while losing weight (8.5lbs), 2x's a week. I do not "grind them out", these are clean, fast as I can do without losing form, moves.

I'm planning on adding a back squat and a power clean.

Is this a good routine? I do full contact, point sparing and no contact (drills) for 1-1/2 hours 3 days a week. I don't exercise on Wednesdays or Sundays.

I'm getting my info from Starting Strength, Youtube, and Bodybuilding.com

DopeItUp

" You can increase strength without gaining weight (neuromuscular adaptation) though. "

I can stay at 145 (maintenance) and train with increasingly heavier weights? I thought you had to add calories/weight to your frame. I was able to bench press my own weight a zillion years ago but I didn't keep track of my weight. I assumed I'd gained in that time. It was before MA.

So far:

I'm at 50lbs with the front squat (3 sets of 5)
55 for the bench press (3 sets of 5)
80 for the RDL(3 sets of 5)
This took me 6 months, while losing weight (8.5lbs), 2x's a week. I do not "grind them out", these are clean, fast as I can do without losing form, moves.

I'm planning on adding a back squat and a power clean.

Is this a good routine? I do full contact, point sparing and no contact (drills) for 1-1/2 hours 3 days a week. I don't exercise on Wednesdays or Sundays.

I'm getting my info from Starting Strength, Youtube, and Bodybuilding.com

Yes, you can get very, very strong without adding any body weight. At some point, more mass (and or PEDs) becomes a necessity to breaking plateaus. But that is a long, long, long way away.

For example, I progressed my deadlift from 135lbs to 415lbs while LOSING 100lbs. My bench went from 45lbs to 245lbs, etc. This was all over the course of around two years of lifting. At maintenance instead of a deficit, my gains would have been even better.

At some point in a year or three you can think about bulking if you get stuck. But for now just hit the weights hard. You will get stronger and faster.

PJPrimrose

Thank you! Good to know. I'll keep slowly adding weight resistance w/o gaining muscle bulk. I think that would work better than gaining weight/changing my weight class in kick boxing.

I really appreciate all the input! This has been very helpful!

sheltrk

First of all, props to you for competitive kick-boxing in your 40's! :flowerforyou:

At the risk of self-aggrandizement, your experience sounds similar to mine, although from the sound of it I'm not as competitive. I'm 5'9, 41 years old, and I've been training in TKD for 10 years now. (Currently 2nd degree Kukkiwon). I used to weigh ~160-170 lbs, and held my weight in that range from 2005-2012. Recently (a little over a year ago), for a variety of reasons, I decided to take my fitness level up a notch and seriously cut some fat. My best guess is that I was probably around 20% BF before. So, I started doing a little strength training (in addition to my TKD workouts), and I started eating at a modest deficit, but eating plenty of protein. In 9 months, I got down to low of 144.8 lbs, and I also got quite a bit stronger. My weight over the last 6 months or so has fluctuated between 144 and 153 depending on my current glycogen/water loading. I'm guessing my current BF is probably in the 10-12% range.

My performance in TKD has dramatically improved. I am much stronger, quicker, and faster at my new ~150 lbs weight. I have continued to slowly get stronger and faster while essentially maintaining my current weight. I've considered bulking, but I'm pretty happy where I am right now. That may change if I plateau and/or get bored.

My best guess is that if you decide to bulk a little while you keep up the weight training, you will only get stronger and faster. You'd have to put on a huge amount of mass before your flexibility would be noticeably affected. If you're worried about bulking too much and moving out of your weight class, I can understand that. I've actually moved down one class (Welter to Light), and I'm happy to be here!. :laugh:

ninerbuff

Keep in mind that professional powerlifters compete in weight classes and try to be strongest at the lightest weight they can be. Many don't try to gain weight, but train their muscles to get stronger for competition.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition