Muscle question
Discussion
Quick question for the more informed here, I’m currently following the 5x5 workout and increasing my weights by 2.5kg each time I can lift the weight before. In my head I think that increasing 2.5kg each time should get easier each time due to the percentage being lower on the overall increase i.e
25kg + 2.5kg = 10% as opposed to 50kg + 2.5 = 5%
Also in my little head as Your Muscles grow surely they heal quicker as more fibre? If I am completely off the mark please could someone answer these thoughts once and for all for me.
Be gentle
25kg + 2.5kg = 10% as opposed to 50kg + 2.5 = 5%
Also in my little head as Your Muscles grow surely they heal quicker as more fibre? If I am completely off the mark please could someone answer these thoughts once and for all for me.
Be gentle
LordGrover said:
When you get close to your limit, let's see how easy a 2.5kg increase is.I have a set of heavy washers which weigh about 90g each to add each time and I can feel that sometimes.
Any activity done on a regular basis and improved upon most times by a tiny amount will see large gains over time.
Me: "Good basketball training son, you hit 87.2% of your free throws and last time it was 86.9% - keep it up and by 16 you'll be way over 90%...after all it's all about...."
7 Year old son: ".....WASHERS, I get it - you dont need to mention the f***ing washer story again"
Aha I see some confusion probably from my poorly written post, I was wondering if 2.5kg is 10% of 25kg that means Your muscles have to get 10% stronger but if it's 2.5kg on 50kg then Your muscles need to grow in strength by 5%.
What I'm trying to get my head around purely hypothetically if You are going up by 2.5kg each time isn't the new weight less of a strain for the muscle to adapt to?
I've heard that once Your muscles get in the habit of being destroyed and then re-building the healing process is sped up but could that be because Your muscles arn't having to fix themselves as much every time?
For example if I lifted 25kg one week so I added on 2.5kg when I could lift the 27.5 shouldn't the muscles be able to adapt to an additional 2.75kgs?
I'm not suggesting that someone benching 100kg should be able to whack a extra 10kg on but I'm more wondering why physically the muscles are still challenged by the addition of 2.5kg when then have done everything from a 10% increase to a 2% increase eg 125kg.
Hopefully my ramblings are easier to understand now.... Probably should have put this on the things You have always wanted to know thread as obviously I bench over 2 million KGS
What I'm trying to get my head around purely hypothetically if You are going up by 2.5kg each time isn't the new weight less of a strain for the muscle to adapt to?
I've heard that once Your muscles get in the habit of being destroyed and then re-building the healing process is sped up but could that be because Your muscles arn't having to fix themselves as much every time?
For example if I lifted 25kg one week so I added on 2.5kg when I could lift the 27.5 shouldn't the muscles be able to adapt to an additional 2.75kgs?
I'm not suggesting that someone benching 100kg should be able to whack a extra 10kg on but I'm more wondering why physically the muscles are still challenged by the addition of 2.5kg when then have done everything from a 10% increase to a 2% increase eg 125kg.
Hopefully my ramblings are easier to understand now.... Probably should have put this on the things You have always wanted to know thread as obviously I bench over 2 million KGS
Not being an expert, but applying some logic - this theory would depend a lot on your bodies ability to grow new muscle fiber and how it converts food into energy in order to fuel the muscle when training.
Keeping it high level (and comparing slow and fast twitch fibers) some people have 'burst energy' whereby they maybe able to support the regime your suggesting, and others may not. It may come down to the fact that your performance depends on whether you cycled to the gym or drove...(i.e expelling energy)
I think you are looking at it from a pure numbers basis and forgetting the physiology of it all.
So to answer your question - everyone would be different..
JP..
Keeping it high level (and comparing slow and fast twitch fibers) some people have 'burst energy' whereby they maybe able to support the regime your suggesting, and others may not. It may come down to the fact that your performance depends on whether you cycled to the gym or drove...(i.e expelling energy)
I think you are looking at it from a pure numbers basis and forgetting the physiology of it all.
So to answer your question - everyone would be different..
JP..
Unfortunately, the law of ever diminishing returns will rear it's ugly head.
You will reach a point where you have to do a s
t load of training to get the extra little bit.
For example, using a 2k test for rowing, rough numbers.
No training: 8 minutes.
3 sessions a week: 7 minutes.
6 sessions a week: 6 minutes and 30 seconds.
12 sessions a week: 6 minutes and 15 seconds.
Ungodly amounts of training, nothing else at all, devoting your life to it absolutely and completely: Maybe, just maybe, 6 minutes and 7.5 seconds. If you're particularly awesome. And naturally gifted. And you were doing it since you were at school.
You will reach a point where you have to do a s
t load of training to get the extra little bit.For example, using a 2k test for rowing, rough numbers.
No training: 8 minutes.
3 sessions a week: 7 minutes.
6 sessions a week: 6 minutes and 30 seconds.
12 sessions a week: 6 minutes and 15 seconds.
Ungodly amounts of training, nothing else at all, devoting your life to it absolutely and completely: Maybe, just maybe, 6 minutes and 7.5 seconds. If you're particularly awesome. And naturally gifted. And you were doing it since you were at school.
Firstly, muscle strength is proportional to the cross sectional area of the muscle fibers, not the mass or the length, so it's not the case than an increase in muscle mass will result in a proportional increase in strength (or necessarily any increase at all)
Secondly, the amount you can lift is based on a lot more than just the specific strength of one muscle, particularly when you're talking about the big compound lifts, all of which call upon groups of muscles, your balance and your nervous system.
Thirdly, initially your lifts increase (fast) not because you're putting on any significant muscle but because you're learning how to do the lifts and engaging more of your existing muscle fibers in the process.
HTH
Secondly, the amount you can lift is based on a lot more than just the specific strength of one muscle, particularly when you're talking about the big compound lifts, all of which call upon groups of muscles, your balance and your nervous system.
Thirdly, initially your lifts increase (fast) not because you're putting on any significant muscle but because you're learning how to do the lifts and engaging more of your existing muscle fibers in the process.
HTH
Edited by bonkbonk on Friday 9th September 11:41
bonkbonk said:
Thirdly, initially your lifts increase (fast) not because you're putting on any significant muscle but because you're learning how to do the lifts and engaging more of your existing muscle fibers in the process.
HTH
I think this answers my query perfectly, makes perfect sense.HTH
With the 5x5 program you'll find that it gets harder to increase the weights as you get close to your limits. The first and second week you are pretty much within your limits so increasing is quite easy. It's good though as you focus on lifting the weight correctly which hopefully should carry over into the latter weeks were it does get quite hard. I found that I missed the target reps on certain excersises when I got to week 5 and 6 so had to repeat again the following week.
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