I'm still learning on this topic, myself. But a former friend had pointed out that muscle density is the secret to having more managable muscle mass on the body without sacrificing speed. He referenced Bruce Lee, who is tinier than a lot of men out there and was capable of hitting exponentially harder.
Personally, I've never been one of the people who sees being a hulking mass of muscle as being appealing. It isn't functionally feasible. The Survivalist in me grasps that being big, bulky, and able to pull 2,000 pounds means nothing if you find yourself in a situation that requires you to be fast enough to react in time with your eyes, or in time with mobile threats. Not to mention, my very bones are structured and sized for Power. I'm not worried about it. Speed and Stamina, however, are my bread and butter in any situation where my body is a factor. I have always been lightning fast for somebody built as broad and big as I am.
I not only intend to remain that way, I want to make sure I can do so for far longer than anybody I meet can.
My original regimen was sets of 30 in a lap through the gym after a warm up round of cardio. I would do all of these without break in-between, excepting the time it took me to wipe down the station I was at before heading to the next. I had been told that Arnold Schwarzneggar supposedly did this in his body building days, and it worked out for him.
I had also been told that it was reps, not weight, that impacted definition. A set of 40 will go a lot farther to toning a muscle than a few broken up sets of 10 will.
So, I set out for weights that I estimated would challenge me to do for 30 reps, but that I could consistently do for 30 reps, 3 days a week.
That being said, my concept of what a Superset is was lacking until I brought it up to the owner of the gym I go to. He pointed out his understanding of it, which triggered memories of the last weight room I had been in ever, which checked out with what I'd seen others doing and had no explanation for at the time. It isn't reps, but exercises without break that define a superset. So, a set of bicep curls, tricep extensions, and leg press would be one superset. Essentially making my entire day at the gym one enormous superset. Yey.
The goal with this kind of training is to go for muscle exhaustion. Or at the very least, to hit that threshold. I was told that this is how you stimulate the fine fibers between the muscles when you flex them, so that all of that fills out as well, which does contribute to your base Strength, Stamina, and even speed to a point. This is also how you appear more chiseled. My goals in the weight room are to perform at higher and higher capacity, yes...but also to slim down and tone up.
Another plus to stimulating said fine fibers, you aren't left with a gaping area of not even softness, just an empty slot on the limb, where you just feel nothing there, while you flex. That's always disturbed me a little, even as a child.
I can tell it's working. My legs are a lot firmer even when resting, one of my main gripes about my body over the years. And the arms aren't nearly so empty feeling in the middle when I flex. It's just a matter of continuing the hard work.
Heh. And my back has actually stood up to what I've heard described as an "Eagle-beak" fingerjab (And a few lighter punches on another day) without threatening to spasm on me. So whatever atrophy those muscles were suffering from is well on the road to recovery, considering I couldn't have my back suddenly touched without a spaz-fit coming upon me about two months ago.
Anyway...my purpose in sharing this, as with most things, is three fold. The first two are the most relevant.
- To learn where I am mistaken, so I can test the quality of the new content VS what I was already working with.
- To share with others, to help them further along with a smoother sail.
