Gaining strength without gaining mass?

Question

Ive been body building for a while now. Im 5 10, about 200 lbs with about a 21 body fat percentage. The problem is i dont feel im as strong as I look and i am happy with the size im at now. I love exercise and fitness, its my hobby and for sports and other things i would like to gain strength without getting any heavier. I want to increase strength without increasing size (which is very easy for me, every thing i eat goes straight to my muscles) . But is this possible and how do i go about doing it. I heard that if you dont eat as much its possible but im not really sure.

Answer 1

Power to the People book by Pavel Tsatsouline/ lift heavy for no more than 5 reps max to increase strength without increasing mass. if you can afford it,buy it. /Russian strength training secrets. he's a genius/works for me.i'm 60 and not many on the planet my age are as strong as me.

Answer 2

the diet dictates the size of the muscles not the load that is used to stimulate them...

if you don't want to gain anymore weight then limit the caloric intake. at 21% bf you should be reducing the body fat. the greater the body fat percentage the easier it is for fat storage to continue and/or increase. adipose tissue is also a major conversion site of testosterone to estrogen

Answer 3

i disagree with bob u can definately get stronger without gaining mass im 6'1 about 165 pounds and i cant gain a single pound unfortunately. i eat and eat plus lift. although i dont gain mass i do gain a lot of strength. my bench is 235 and my curl is 70 pound dumbell once in my right hand, 65 once in my left, and i curl 95 for 5 reps dual handed

Answer 4

I suggest you should try to be satisfied with your current fitness because the only way I can see that you'll get stronger is by gaining more muscle mass which would increase your weight. You may overdo it such as when models try to get thin by throwing up until their nothing but bones.

Answer 5

Train in the 2 to 6 rep range. This will develop more neuromuscular strength. Also, your hypertrophy will tend to be more myofibrillar (gives strength with size) rather than sarcoplasmic (gives more endurance with size). This is the range in which powerlifters train.

Answer 6

No, muscle mass is strength. Muscle is your body's way of getting adapted to the new hard work.

Answer 7

You need some endurance training.

Answer 8

i think that even though ur tryin 2 gain strength were still goin 2 have mass on u no matter wat i dont mean to b rude but ur still goin 2 have pounds on u!!!

Answer 9

easy. do alot of cardio. work out with the same weights or less for longer periods.

Answer 10

do more reps and less weight. your muscle will get more defined but not larger.