How can i get stronger without gaining weight (wrestling)

no. muscle is dense and heavy. it will increase your metabolism, and help burn fat though.

lj
 
What can I add to the above post? Oh, yeah; how about some useful, accurate information? Lift for 1-3 rep maxes on your lifts. Train the big 3 with little assistance exercises and don't eat any more than you usually do.

Although, if you do get bigger due to extra eating, wouldn't you be better served by being stronger in a higher weight class than you would be being weaker in a lighter weight class? Just a thought. However, the first paragraph should help you with your goals.
 
Lift very heavy (under 5 reps, lots of sets of compound lifts) and keep your caloric intake the same. It's as simple as that.
 
You can get much stronger without gaining additioning weight. One way to get stronger is through hypertrophy (gaining muscle mass), which you don't want to do. Another way is to train your neuromuscular system (increasing the how fast the muscles fire, the synchronization of muscle firing, how many muscle fibers you can recruit).

The latter method you would, as other posters have suggested, train at very high loads (90% plus) with a lot of rest (2-5 minutes between sets).

Lifting for size (what you don't want to do) you would want to train at 70-85% of 1 rep max for 8-12 repetitions with lower recovery times (45-90 seconds). This would build up lactic acid which will bring an increase in growth hormone and testosterone to the muscles.

Lifting with high loads, low reps, and high rest does not increase those anabolic hormones, but you will get stronger because of neuromuscular adaptations. Use a moderate to high amount of sets (6-12), but just make sure you have a lot of rest inbetween.

Some of you might say, this method will not increase your lactate threshold levels and you won't get much of a conditioning effect from it and your are partially right, but if you really can't afford to gain additional mass then this is the method for you and you should focus on increasing your lactate threshold and endurance on the mat/ring. If you don't need to worry about weight gain then I would recommend doing higher reps periodically to increase those attributes.

Hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions.
 
I find myself getting stronger without gaining much weight by doing lots of body weight moves. Lots of push ups, pull ups, and dips. I don't know if their is any science to it but it works for me.
 
gruesome said:
food makes you grow, not working out...
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Good point.

Burn more calories than you take in and you lose weight period. No matter how much you lift. Keeping your calories in check will make it impossible to gain weight. Lift hard and manage your weight with appropriate nutrition.
 
KingSnake said:
I find myself getting stronger without gaining much weight by doing lots of body weight moves. Lots of push ups, pull ups, and dips. I don't know if their is any science to it but it works for me.
Click to expand...
me too
 
the only way to get stronger is to build more muscle fiber. period. end of story. Ever see a skinny powerlifter? You do realize that their scoring is done v.s. weight right?

If it were possible to bench 600lbs and weigh 100 lbs, you would turn the powerlifting world on it's ass... it is simply not possible.

you will notice a slight strength increase as you learn to incorporate more muscle fibers, but you will reach a limit.

You will also be making more muscle fiber, but losing fat... hence getting stronger and staying the same weight.

you *WILL* plateau. this is a fact. you *WILL* have to gain weight (muscle) in order to get stronger.
 
Of course, you could drop body fat as a result from lifting. Thus, your actual weight in pounds wouldn't increase, your musculature would.
 
Wrassler said:
the only way to get stronger is to build more muscle fiber. period. end of story. Ever see a skinny powerlifter? You do realize that their scoring is done v.s. weight right?

If it were possible to bench 600lbs and weigh 100 lbs, you would turn the powerlifting world on it's ass... it is simply not possible.

you will notice a slight strength increase as you learn to incorporate more muscle fibers, but you will reach a limit.

You will also be making more muscle fiber, but losing fat... hence getting stronger and staying the same weight.

you *WILL* plateau. this is a fact. you *WILL* have to gain weight (muscle) in order to get stronger.
Click to expand...

you can train your CNS to fire your muscles more effectively.
 
KingSnake said:
I find myself getting stronger without gaining much weight by doing lots of body weight moves. Lots of push ups, pull ups, and dips. I don't know if their is any science to it but it works for me.
Click to expand...

this is because your teaching your body to handle its own weight better and faster. therfore you can get stronger while maintaining weight. also diet is very important, i've managed to gain weight while doing bodyweight stuff.
 
Wrassler said:
Ever see a skinny powerlifter?
Click to expand...

wk04squat230.jpg


506 lb. Squat

wk04bench147.jpg


324 lb. Bench

wk04dead222.jpg


488 lb. Dead
 
Wrassler said:
you *WILL* plateau. this is a fact. you *WILL* have to gain weight (muscle) in order to get stronger.
Click to expand...

tru tru

twice i have gotten past plateus by eating and drinking myself to a heavier weight

protein alone wont help if you feel you are near your peak. you gotta grow
 
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