Squishy muscles

[Fankango]

So my Trainer was poking my muscle and said they are kind squishy. His muscles are rock hard and mine are hard but still kinda squishy. he is not sure why, i work out just as hard as him, i eat more portien then him. I have just as much streanghth and more bulk, he is 6% BF and i am 9%BF, we are both 6 feet tall and i am 194 he is 189lbs. I am wanting to get Rock hard muscles too. i have a all natural contest coming up on 2 months.

my supps are Whey, Vit C, MultiVit, B complex, Zinc 50, Magnesium, Tribulus 1000mg, Glutamine, and Caffeine.

I was hoping to get some info i could give to my trainer since he doesnt know and i want to change. sorry if i am in the wrong Topic

[.Zaher.]

Maybe its just a matter of time...maybe he has been training alot longer than you have...oh and also genetics?

[HypertroPhD]

that is typically a matter of commutative training type, There are usually 2 types of training that elicits the "hard" muscle tissue, endurance type (marathoners usually have very little muscle, although very hard muscle tissue, The other type is The very strong-powerlifters and strongmen, usually having very hard and dense muscle tissue. if your trainer has fits one of these categories (and bodyfat is disregaurded) then he'll more than likely have harder tissue. so to sum things, if he has spent a majority of his training career lifting in the lower rep range with relatively heavy weight theyll feel much harder(effects of the CNS keeps him contracted all the time).or aerobic type "marathoning" in weight room or running, and they'll feel hard. Now as for you. since you bodybuild, youre probaly a "pumper", I'd find it hard to beleive your not since you bodybuild, and by nature "pumpers" usually have more elastisity in the muscle and therefore fell softer when touched.
...That or it could be genetic.

[barbellina]

if he's 6% and you're 9% could the squishy factor be due to you holding excess fat?

[Fankango]

i guess i would be more of a pumper, i use to go for sets of 10 to 12 reps, at high weights, but now i have been going for more high weights ( not as high) but 15 to 20 reps.
he said that would help make me a bit harder?

[Lachdogg]

I dont know about that. If you switch from a bodybuilding rep range to a "toning" rep range, you will lose size quite quickly. if you want to experiment with the muscle hardening thing, then try doing a power routine with around 5 reps. that way you will keep most of your existing gains.

[JulianBee]

if he's 6% and you're 9% could the squishy factor be due to you holding excess fat?

^^This and you probably hold more water.

[jando]

I dont know about that. If you switch from a bodybuilding rep range to a "toning" rep range, you will lose size quite quickly. if you want to experiment with the muscle hardening thing, then try doing a power routine with around 5 reps. that way you will keep most of your existing gains.

nope

[jules_d1]

if he's 6% and you're 9% could the squishy factor be due to you holding excess fat?

^^This and you probably hold more water.

if hes truly 9%BF, i dont think there is much fat causing the "squishy factor"

[trance__dreamer]

if hes truly 9%BF, i dont think there is much fat causing the "squishy factor"

lawl. true that. kinda reminds me of what women say in the forums & in real life.

[Exa123]

if hes truly 9%BF, i dont think there is much fat causing the "squishy factor"

truth of the matter is, OP is probably not a legitimate 9% BF (unless proper testing has been done) there are a WHOLE heap of variables that this "squishy" could be attributed to -

- Muscles are flat (due to things like limited water, sodium, glycogen)
- Fatter then your firend with "rock hard muscles"
- Not on the same muscular development level as your friend
- If you train in purely a "pump" rep range which im assuming is high reps then you wont have that dense hard muscle achieved when training through lower rep range (4-6) - see the attached article about Sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar hypertrophy. This is why i suggest either training ALL rep ranges or having blocks of high rep and lower rep.

Just too name a few, now im not saying OP is definately NOT 9% but more often then not we are fatter then we think we are and just throw out a bodyfat % based on a 3 site skinfold measurement with some dodgy calipers.

[Mr.ILL]

Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy is characteristic of the muscles of bodybuilders while myofibrillar hypertrophy is characteristic of oly lifters and power lifters.

Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy will be softer than myofibrillar.

[flexapeal]

So my Trainer was poking my muscle and said they are kind squishy. His muscles are rock hard and mine are hard but still kinda squishy. he is not sure why, i work out just as hard as him, i eat more portien then him. I have just as much streanghth and more bulk, he is 6% BF and i am 9%BF, we are both 6 feet tall and i am 194 he is 189lbs. I am wanting to get Rock hard muscles too. i have a all natural contest coming up on 2 months.

my supps are Whey, Vit C, MultiVit, B complex, Zinc 50, Magnesium, Tribulus 1000mg, Glutamine, and Caffeine.

I was hoping to get some info i could give to my trainer since he doesnt know and i want to change. sorry if i am in the wrong Topic

Do they feel your muscles during the contest? I know a lot of peeps take a water pill and dehydrate themselves before a contest to be more defined. Not saying you need to do this. You could be getting a wrong reading for your bf. Then theres always....hey were not all built the same way.

[Roscoe211]

I'm no expert, but someone told me once that overtraining can cause mushy muscles.

[jdmalm123]

OP: Are you talking about resting muscle tone? If so, it's mostly genetic based on your fiber type distribution and your TITIN fibers.

[davidkap]

i think it might be due to water retention
that can make you look bloated and "soft"

[Exa123]

i think it might be due to water retention
that can make you look bloated and "soft"

water retention is only a REAL issue when contest lean - any other times its just bodyfat.

[Exa123]

I'm no expert, but someone told me once that overtraining can cause mushy muscles.

Not squishy muscles per say but that will be a glycogen depleting problem, when over training your depleting glycogen levels to a point where if you can draw a comparison against someone with full gylcogen levels and muscles its like have a fully blown baloon and a half deflated one side by side

[Billy_Gunn]

OP: Are you talking about resting muscle tone? If so, it's mostly genetic based on your fiber type distribution and your TITIN fibers.

do the ones with more myofibrillar hypertrophy also have more muscle tone when at rest?

Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy is characteristic of the muscles of bodybuilders while myofibrillar hypertrophy is characteristic of oly lifters and power lifters.

Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy will be softer than myofibrillar.

so if the oly lifters and power lifters cut down on body fat, what would their muscles possibly look like in comparison to a bodybuilder, will they LOOK harder or is that more of a matter of feeeling the muscle?

also thanks EXA123 for posting that article

[jdmalm123]

do the ones with more myofibrillar hypertrophy also have more muscle tone when at rest?

so if the oly lifters and power lifters cut down on body fat, what would their muscles possibly look like in comparison to a bodybuilder, will they LOOK harder or is that more of a matter of feeeling the muscle?

also thanks EXA123 for posting that article

Two lifters could have the same amount of lean muscle mass, but the one who is training/dieting in a bodybuilder's style may be holding more intracellular fluid. The bodybuilder would look bigger/fuller, but his muscles may also have the external characteristics of a water bed.

The OLY/PLer/Strongman might appear to have "denser" muscles but the amount of passive tone (relaxed) is completely individual and not really affected by training.

[Exa123]

Two lifters could have the same amount of lean muscle mass, but the one who is training/dieting in a bodybuilder's style may be holding more intracellular fluid. The bodybuilder would look bigger/fuller, but his muscles may also have the external characteristics of a water bed.

The OLY/PLer/Strongman might appear to have "denser" muscles but the amount of passive tone (relaxed) is completely individual and not really affected by training.

Yep because SARCOPLASMIC increases in VOLUME whereas MYOFIBRILLAR increases in QUANTITY. Therefor giving a DENSER look but sarcoplasmic will give a FULLER look - Dorian Yates combined the two types well i thought and he is a great example (if you wanted to look at a dense bodybuilder example)

[Exa123]

do the ones with more myofibrillar hypertrophy also have more muscle tone when at rest?




so if the oly lifters and power lifters cut down on body fat, what would their muscles possibly look like in comparison to a bodybuilder, will they LOOK harder or is that more of a matter of feeeling the muscle?

also thanks EXA123 for posting that article

Your welcome!

If a oly or power lifter cut down they would look hard and dense but would be lacking size and fullness in certain bodyparts due to them only training for their particular lifts and not for cosmetic purposes.

One must also realise that "enhanced" lifters will simply grow off any sort of training (not saying they dont work hard) BUT due to these extras it allows them to grow more readily then and un"enhanced" lifter.

[oliverjmartinez]

What about your carb intake? His intake might be higher than yours.

[mitch1414]

What about your carb intake? His intake might be higher than yours.

I have similar issues to OP. From what my coach tells me, its because of carb intake. By reducing the amount of carbs youre taking, you are depleting your glycogen storages and therefore your muscles will feel less "full" and more flat. Meanning you will feel less hard and more flabby/squishy

[Budaan]

Sarcoplasm probably.

[KyleAaron]

Man, this subforum used to have some pointless threads.