Is gaining strength the same as adding muscle?

grim_traveller

I don't know if this is a dumb question or not. I was at a caloric deficit for a long time with a lot of weight to lose, and did a lot of cardio, with lifting to preserve as much muscle mass as I could. I did lose some muscle though, no question. Since I've rwached my weight goal, for the last month I have shifted into eating more and adding muscle, and started thinking about the question on this post. As I have added a little bit of weight to my lifts each week, am I adding muscle? Or just simply making existing muscle stronger, if there is such a thing?

I had educated myself pretty well on diet, nutrition, and cardio while shedding excess weight, but still know far too little about lifting. I had been doing 3x5s until a couple of days ago, when I started 5x5s. I'm 6'3", 202 pounds, 53 years old.

Thanks for putting this group together. I've learned alot here.

SideSteel

A good portion of strength gains come from neurological adaptations.

Gaining strength is not necessarily the same as gaining muscle. You can gain strength without gaining muscle.

That being said, if you are continually gaining strength, if you're eating in a caloric surplus with reasonable macros, and you are training regularly with reasonable volume then chances are good that you're also gaining some muscle.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/reps-per-set-for-optimal-growth.html

joejccva71

^^ What SS said.

OP- It's a good idea to try to incorporate both a strength mixed with hypertrophy training routine. Layne Norton's PHAT program and Eric Broser's PRRS program are just a few. These are somewhat intermediate to advanced and can be more volume than you may be ready to handle depending on your training levels, etc.

Power training (best for strength): 3-5 rep range
Mixed strength and hypertrophy: 6-8 rep range
Hypertrophy (best for growth): 8-15 rep range
Endurance: 15+ rep range

IronSmasher

No.

Sarauk2sf

Agree with SS, so nothing to add, except, holy cr@p, congratulations on your weight loss. That is fantastic.

PriceK01

Agree with SS, so nothing to add, except, holy cr@p, congratulations on your weight loss. That is fantastic.

Yep!!!!

FrnkLft

I don't know if this is a dumb question or not. I was at a caloric deficit for a long time with a lot of weight to lose, and did a lot of cardio, with lifting to preserve as much muscle mass as I could. I did lose some muscle though, no question. Since I've rwached my weight goal, for the last month I have shifted into eating more and adding muscle, and started thinking about the question on this post. As I have added a little bit of weight to my lifts each week, am I adding muscle? Or just simply making existing muscle stronger, if there is such a thing?

I had educated myself pretty well on diet, nutrition, and cardio while shedding excess weight, but still know far too little about lifting. I had been doing 3x5s until a couple of days ago, when I started 5x5s. I'm 6'3", 202 pounds, 53 years old.

Thanks for putting this group together. I've learned alot here.

Yeah man I've been struggling with the same question. Layne Norton's PHAT is the best answer I've found, it's a "best of both worlds" approach and he has the body to back it. He is an educated guy with a PhD in muscle development, AND a serious bodybuilder. In so far as trusting what all these fitness guys say, I decided to thow my hat in his ring.

A great point that he makes is "How often have you heard you should ONLY train in ‘X’ rep range because it is the best one for growth. Then two days later you see an article interviewing a 300 lb behemoth who trains in a different rep range but also looks insane, so who are you to believe?". His answer is that a lot of different things work, and maybe a hybrid protocol is the most reasonable.

As for me, right now I'm using the 5/3/1 protocol for the strength portion, and taking my cues from Layne's PHAT protocol for "hypertrophy work". I had to swap some exercises out to my liking, but the net effect is the same for me. If it's too much for you just make sure you understand the fundamentals, and make whatever changes you need to make to suit you and keep moving.

grim_traveller

Thanks everyone for the responses, they were all helpful. I'll take a look at Layne Norton's stuff and keep educating myself.

And thanks for having a nice, quiet, sane corner of MFP. There are a lot of crazy bitter people out there with some really bad advice.

SideSteel

Thanks everyone for the responses, they were all helpful. I'll take a look at Layne Norton's stuff and keep educating myself.

And thanks for having a nice, quiet, sane corner of MFP. There are a lot of crazy bitter people out there with some really bad advice.

Got that right.


Regarding Layne's program, it's a very solid approach to periodization but having said that, I'd not recommend it to anyone that's not at least well into the intermediate stages of progression with training.

grim_traveller

Thanks SideSteel. There's a lot I'll need to learn, but I 'll continue doing the 5x5 for at least two months before I'd consider something different. Results don't happen fast, so I'll be patient, keep studying, and do my work like clockwork.

Sarauk2sf

Locking so we can keep track of active threads. If you wish for the thread to be unlocked for further questions, please feel free to PM either myself or SideSteel, including a link to this thread and we will unlock it so you can.