If you don't keep increasing weights, you'll get weak

Doberdawn

I have been doing the Stronglifts program, but I'm not to sure about what he says. I'm doing the program to gain strength & firm up my glutes, thighs, arms & core. Eventually, when I get to a shape & strength I like, I will just want to stay there, not into body building & the super defined bicep look. I just want strong & tight muscles. I also don't want to have to keep adding ridiculous amounts of weights to my home gym nor do I want to join a gym.

In his program, he says you can never stop increasing weight. If you do, he says your muscles will get lazy and become weaker. Honestly, this doesn't make much sense to me. As long as you continue to workout with weights at your target level, how would the muscles get weaker? Let's discuss.

JenMc14

Why stop? Why not get stronger? You won't get huge biceps just form increasing weight. You definitely won't get a bodybuilder look. You have to eat for that, so if you don't like that look, don't eat at a surplus while lifting heavy. I don't know if I buy that you'll get weaker, but I can see that you'd stagnate, and perhaps by not challenging your muscles they could get "complacent". And, if you're happy where you are, why not change things up then? Just add a little weight. Try a new routine, maybe go for more reps for awhile, etc.

cwolfman13

I don't know that you'd get weaker...by that measure, that would mean you would have to decrease weight if you were getting weaker. I don't know what's wrong with continuing to get stronger though...You can get stronger and stronger and stronger without bulking like a body builder...it's completely different kind of lifting.

DavPul

Of course you won't get weaker. That's patently ridiculous.

But you're safe in going stronger. SL/SS isn't a bodybuilding, defined muscle, big biceps program or whatever it is you say you don't want. Hell, even if you did want it it's like you fall asleep and wake up looking Conan era Arnold. Keep lifting, keep progressing and spend your time thinking about the things you wish to achieve, not the things you wish to avoid

Alexfit12

Why don't we have this discussion when you reach your desired strength and muscle mass? Getting too big or too strong doesn't happen accidentally...

Doberdawn

Stronger is okay, but I have friends doing this. They look awesome, but after a point, their arms did get more muscular than I would like to look for me personally. Also, as I said above, I also don't want to have to keep adding ridiculous amounts of weights to my home gym nor do I want to join a gym.

Doberdawn

I have had to buy more weight plates every other week for the past 6 weeks. I can already see that I'm going to need more in anotherweek or so.

DavPul

worry about that when you get there. if one day you look in the mirror and think your arms go too big, stop increasing the weights. you don't have to worry about that today at all.

BeachGingerOnTheRocks

Your muscles won't get weaker. The only way they get weaker is if you lift less weight or if you quit.

You can maintain training adaptations with a just couple strength training sessions a week. Once you get to where you want, just maintain at that strength. If/when you want to go heavier, do it from that point and lift more times a week.

Maybe you should check out www.bodyrecomposition.com

His information on strength training is trustworthy.

kdiamond

First of all, I don't agree you will lose your strength. You might lose SOME, but you're not going to lose it.

Secondly, the reason behind increasing your weight isn't just to get stronger. Once you hit a point where you can lift a certain weight comfortably, you won't get as much out of the workout...i.e. your heart rate won't go up as high. The point of the increased weight is to keep your heartrate up, and keep you working hard, so you're getting a lot out of your workout.

I also don't believe it happens overnight. For instance, it takes me a few months to even go up 10 pounds on certain lifts. Then I'll change up my workout for 8 weeks, then when I get back on a certain exercise that maybe I haven't done much of for that 8 weeks, I'll have to start over to an extent. So I'll drop my weight back down and increase until I can't anymore.

I mean, you will eventually "top out", its not like you can keep increasing forever. Otherwise I'd be doing 1000 pound squats by now for how long I've been at it. :laugh:

BinaryPulsar

worry about that when you get there. if one day you look in the mirror and think your arms go too big, stop increasing the weights. you don't have to worry about that today at all.

I agree with this.

Doberdawn

Your muscles won't get weaker. The only way they get weaker is if you lift less weight or if you quit.

You can maintain training adaptations with a just couple strength training sessions a week. Once you get to where you want, just maintain at that strength. If/when you want to go heavier, do it from that point and lift more times a week.

Maybe you should check out www.bodyrecomposition.com

His information on strength training is trustworthy.

His site recently helped me break plateau with his full diet break article. So I'llcheck it out. I have to admit, I'm questioning the wisdom of continuing to follow the Stronglifts program if the author is such a goofball that he says you'll get weak because your muscles will get lazy if you don't keep increasing weights. Hmmm.

kapoorpk

I also don't understand his logic of getting weak. It does not make sense to me. I can understand muscle growth stagnation if you stop challenging your muscles with incremental weights due to muscle memory and adaptation. But, I don't think they get weaker. They just plateau out.

I read more about the fat plateau discussion he offered and still disagree with it. The gist of what he was pointing out was that you hit a fat loss plateau either if you are eating too much that needed or your metabolic rate is not high enough. He suggests to eat maintenance calories to entice your metabolic rate and get into a calorie deficit again riding the waive of increased metabolic rate. In principle, he was right, i.e. increase your MR , but eating maintenance calories to restart the metabolism isn't the only way to do so. So, I still disagree with him.

My recommendation, look at other advice in more than one place and see if you see consistencies before adopting it. He may be a bit of an outlier. That's just my 2 cents.

Thanks