Get strong before getting big or get big before getting strong?

[Smudgefit]

Which is best do you think?

I plan to hit next year with a Mass FX/Hyperdrol cycle and do another later with these two different goals

Which do you think would be the most effective order of doing it?

[ThiZzNation925]

Strength, then hypertrophy.

[Hartley110]

It all comes at once...

[Smudgefit]

It all comes at once...

I know but I could do 7 reps and get big and a bit stronger, or do 2-3 reps and get strong and a bit bigger.


I though strength then hypertrophy might have been the answer, it's kinda the one I wanted anyway!

The thing I was thinking about was, if I were to build muscle fibers first (hypertrophy) then wouldnt there be more to switch to fast switch muscle after? Resulting in more strength after?

[N@tural1]

Who's gonna be bigger?

The guy who presses 150lbs

The guy that presses 300lbs

How else is muscle going to hypertrophy without getting stronger?

[fkncody]

You could just switch up your routine every other week. For example, lift lower reps like you were talking about for one week for strength, then next week lift a bit higher in terms of reps for size, then go back and forth between the lower rep workout and higher rep every other week. Best of both worlds in my opinion. Hope that helps.

[bango skank]

The guy that presses 300lbs

That dude is teh hyooge!

[Gzus]

At your stage, that **** does not matter.

If I was just about to start working out and I was convinced that my body wouldn't carry muscle well (hard to get low body fat, or short as ****), my main goal would be maximum strength while looking reasonably strong.
Conversely with god genetics, being large and ripped would be easily attainable (even without regular sessions lifting heavy weight).

Train to be strong and look superb at the same time. Include cycles focusing on hypertrophy or strength within your workout year. My advice.

[BabyBodybuilder]

Who's gonna be bigger?

The guy who presses 150lbs

The guy that presses 300lbs

How else is muscle going to hypertrophy without getting stronger?

Da fuk?.. That's like StrongMan weight

[N@tural1]

Da fuk?.. That's like StrongMan weight

Strong men bench more than 300lbs!

[BabyBodybuilder]

Strong men bench more than 300lbs!

I assumed you where referring to a Press, as in with the shoulders..

[patleb940]

Who's gonna be bigger?

The guy who presses 150lbs

The guy that presses 300lbs

How else is muscle going to hypertrophy without getting stronger?

This thread should have ended with this reply.

[patleb940]

Da fuk?.. That's like StrongMan weight

LOL!

[Smudgefit]

This thread should have ended with this reply.

That's double the weight, obviously that's the case with that.

Alot of people who dont even work out can bench 150lbs, so someone who works out is going to be bigger.

A bigger muscle doesnt mean a stronger muscle at all though, and I prefer the thought of getting big through productive muscle, not quite as vane as pure bodybuilding (no offence guys that do that, but take it how it is!)

You may one day need to be really strong/quick one day, and it's more of an advancement of oneself.
I may just go for all out explosive strength, that would be **** cool...you'd still have a good looking body

[Gzus]

A bigger muscle doesnt mean a stronger muscle at all though, and I prefer the thought of getting big through productive muscle, not quite as vane as pure bodybuilding (no offence guys that do that, but take it how it is!)

You might consider bodybuilding vain, another might say that having a developed body is a requirement of being a man.
And implying that a pure bodybuilder is weak is very relative.

You may one day need to be really strong/quick one day, and it's more of an advancement of oneself.
I may just go for all out explosive strength, that would be **** cool...you'd still have a good looking body

What exactly do you consider a good looking body, or strong or explosive. Because if you standards for each are low, having all 3 is easy.

[islandguy88]

If bodybuilding was my goal i'd be more inclined on getting stronger in higher rep ranges with a larger variety of exercises over time as opposed to using a strength routine which is funnily enough designed for maximal strength gains and not hypertrophy.

[DatTeenLifter]

If bodybuilding was my goal i'd be more inclined on getting stronger in higher rep ranges with a larger variety of exercises over time as opposed to using a strength routine which is funnily enough designed for maximal strength gains and not hypertrophy.

getting stronger in higher rep ranges is much more difficult then say in the 1-6 range. going from 135x10 to 225x10 is going to take alot of time

[Real00]

On the big lifts like Bench Press,Military Presses,Barbell Rows and Squats I don't gain any size with Hypertrophy training.It seems that resting about 2 to 3 minute's is what works for me.Getting stronger for me means getting bigger, however I wonder if resting 5 minute's in between sets is to long to rest.Also I just don't know how many sets to do anymore.

[islandguy88]

There is no too long to rest in my opinion, rest as long as it takes for you to be able to get back under the bar and give 100% intensity.

Yes i agree that it takes longer to get strong in higher rep ranges but i think one should focus on setting PR's in both rep ranges during their training, if bodybuilding is their goal.

I find a good way to do this is say your working chest start with a heavy compound such as bench or weighted dips and concentrate on getting stronger in the 4-6 range whilst supplementing with things like incline presses, flyes, cable exercises etc in higher rep ranges.

[ThickAsABrick]

Do both at the same time.

[Real00]

There is no too long to rest in my opinion, rest as long as it takes for you to be able to get back under the bar and give 100% intensity.

Yes i agree that it takes longer to get strong in higher rep ranges but i think one should focus on setting PR's in both rep ranges during their training, if bodybuilding is their goal.

I find a good way to do this is say your working chest start with a heavy compound such as bench or weighted dips and concentrate on getting stronger in the 4-6 range whilst supplementing with things like incline presses, flyes, cable exercises etc in higher rep ranges.

Well I think resting 5 minutes after every set may not be geared to building maximum muscle mass.To recover 100% it would take the average guy 5 to 10 minutes.I can't dispute the more weight one can move the bigger he will become.The problem I have is that its tough to know who would benefit from resting that long in between sets.

[islandguy88]

As long as your focused on consistent progress on your lifts i can't see a huge problem with resting around the 5 minute mark between sets, i know some will argue it makes exercises somewhat less intense but if your really pushing yourself and you need the extra time between sets to work up the energy to be hitting your desired amount of reps then i don't think you'll shrivel up and die.

[Serpens Aeon]

It's quite possible to do both at the same time, especially when you're a beginner. In fact, I'd say it's optimal.

[tkmgsop]

As long as your focused on consistent progress on your lifts i can't see a huge problem with resting around the 5 minute mark between sets, i know some will argue it makes exercises somewhat less intense but if your really pushing yourself and you need the extra time between sets to work up the energy to be hitting your desired amount of reps then i don't think you'll shrivel up and die.

yes I agree I take up to 3 min in between sets, but I seam to get bored if I take any more than that. but I think 5 min is fine as lone as you have that kind of time to spend in the gym.

[blackthursday]

Who's gonna be bigger?

The guy who presses 150lbs

The guy that presses 300lbs

How else is muscle going to hypertrophy without getting stronger?

/end thread

That's double the weight, obviously that's the case with that.

Alot of people who dont even work out can bench 150lbs, so someone who works out is going to be bigger.

A bigger muscle doesnt mean a stronger muscle at all though, and I prefer the thought of getting big through productive muscle, not quite as vane as pure bodybuilding (no offence guys that do that, but take it how it is!)

You may one day need to be really strong/quick one day, and it's more of an advancement of oneself.
I may just go for all out explosive strength, that would be **** cool...you'd still have a good looking body

not entirely true, ESPECIALLY as a beginner. there is no fine line, but in general, a bigger muscle will be a stronger muscle. if you train heavy and continually get stronger AND eat, there is no need to choose between size and strength. you WILL get both.

[dcamnc]

I think strength first. Then cycle between bodybuilding and strength as needed afterwards. I honestly don't see any difference in muscle size between the two. I like to cycle to a higher rep routine sometimes, only because the low rep/heavy weight stuff starts to wear on me physically and mentally after awhile.

[Darkmind]

Apparently the whole thing with that is higher reps produce more sarcomere hypertrophy while lower reps produce more myofibrillar hypertrophy (functional hypertrophy). With higher reps and volume you still gain hypertrophy but not as much strength while lower reps you gain strength and more functional size. Either way you look at it, you still have to add weight to the bar and eat a lot to gain.

[rdferguson]

Given that you've only been training for about a month [I quickly checked your profile, and having not rained for 2 years, it's best to treat yourself as a beginner], you'll probably have been gaining strength so far and will continue gaining it for about another month. When your body is not used to resistance training, it tends to undergo neurological adaptations in the first two months of training [give or take] before it starts showing naturally converging overto hypertrophy [if training in the hypertrophy range]. I'd recommend continuing hypertrophy training for about the first 6 months of your training, then getting into strength and hypertrophy phases. In the long run, if you do, for example, a month of each, it probably won't make much difference which one you do first, but the sooner you can get into strength training, the fast the results will be [that said, the above recommendation of 6 months hypertrophy training is to allow your bones and joints to build up to strength training]. If you've continued playing sport regularly this entire time, you could probably cut that down to 3 months.

[BillabongVolcom]

Why not train like Hatfield?

An example would look like this..
3 x 4-6 Flat BB Bench
3 x 6-12 Incline DB Bench
3 x 12-15 Dips
1 x 30-50 Cable Crossovers

OR

2 x 4-6 Flat BB Bench
2 x 6-12 Incline DB Bench
2 x 6-12 Weighted Dips
2 x 12-15 Incline DB Fly's
2 x 15-20 Cable Crossovers

[jdmalm123]

Do both at the same time.

Yuh, like heavy compounds + moderate-light isolation moves

and/or

periodization (6-12 weeks strength then 6-12 weeks hypertrophy, etc).



Personally, though, I think that until your core lifts would be considered above average for your BW, stick to mostly strength.