Size VS Density?

[gubbar924]

First, I know this has been addressed here before, but I'm still not getting it ...

As far as dieting & exercising, how can I help determine muscle growth in terms of size vs density/solidity?

laymans terms please ...

[BiggerGuns=LongerDrives]

Size v.s Density???

I am not sure how to compare one over another, doesnt make much sense.

Size is such a relative term....
As a person can have a high bodyfat % but have lots of size and others can have lots of size with a relatively low bodyfat. Two total different physiques, but both big in size.

And so far as density??? There is no way to grow denser muscle tissue,
because muscle growth is muscle growth, period.
The more muscle you have, the more dense it becomes.

[gubbar924]

hey thanks for the reply, sorry I couldnt get back to ya sooner

to get back to the point, i cant find where i read this anymore (i know its on this site somewhere) but what I might be getting this confused for is the amount of water in the muscles (does that sound right?)
its been a while since i read it so dont know if im even anywhere near making sense, but i think the basic concept was that the more water/fluid in the muscles, the bigger they look, less you have in them, the smaller but dryer/harder they are

*EDIT*
while writing this repsonse, I went ahead and googled the water in muscles thing. With the help from BG=LD, I think we managed to answer my question
Thanks BG=LD

P.S. heres an interesting article, it atleast managed to get me wondering, I dont know enough to know whether the guy is off base or not, what do you guys think of it?

How to make your muscles bigger: four sure-fire dietary strategies for enhancing muscle-cell volume - Nutrition Flex - Find Articles

[TorontoMoFo]

Density = higher reps, lower weight.

This makes your muscles harder and tighter because you are training your muscles to be able to acoomodate more oxygen and what not. You are also using mainly slow twitch fibers which dont necessrily grow much, but can become harder.

I cant get into the specifics because they are complicated and I learned it in a personal training course, and as such i dont remmber much of it.

But the sum of it was that if you want harder/dense muscle, do higher reps. Size = low reps heavy weight = more fast twitch fibers that grow.

[POWERJIM]

I always thought that heavy lifting at lower reps will tightly pack muscle fibers together, this can only result in stronger denser muscle fibers surely?

[BiggerGuns=LongerDrives]

Originally Posted by TorontoMoFo

Density = higher reps, lower weight.

This makes your muscles harder and tighter because you are training your muscles to be able to acoomodate more oxygen and what not. You are also using mainly slow twitch fibers which dont necessrily grow much, but can become harder.

I cant get into the specifics because they are complicated and I learned it in a personal training course, and as such i dont remmber much of it.

But the sum of it was that if you want harder/dense muscle, do higher reps. Size = low reps heavy weight = more fast twitch fibers that grow.

I disagree unless you can provide some facts to back that up as it's highly disputable

PJ, I would tend to agree with you to some degree

[POWERJIM]

Originally Posted by BiggerGuns=LongerDrives

PJ, I would tend to agree with you to some degree

To me it makes alot of sense, although im clueless on the science behind it.

[BiggerGuns=LongerDrives]

Yep, because high reps does NOT build big muscles.

There is a common misconception from the old school that high reps helps "cut up" your muscles and you should use high reps during a cut to make them harder and for definition.
Perhaps this is what it referred to??? If so it's a total misconception and is very outdated .



.

[POWERJIM]

Originally Posted by BiggerGuns=LongerDrives

Yep, because high reps does NOT build big muscles.

There is a common misconception from the old school that high reps helps "cut up" your muscles and you should use high reps during a cut, perhaps this is what it referred to??? If so it's a total misconception and is very outdated .

First bit of info i was exposed to on training came from a york poster i got with my very first weights Bench, on that poster it said that high reps were for getting "toned" and low reps were for getting muscle size, even as a newbie to lifting it didnt ring true somehow and lead me to a number of great articles on the internet lucky for me.

[BiggerGuns=LongerDrives]

Yep

You use the same rep range for bulking as you do cutting.
And to add to that, I recently cut 25 lbs and used reps of 3-8 during the whole time and of course I looked harder and more defined than before, actually looked bigger, but thats all based on bodyfat.
I lost bodyfat, so the muscles hiding underneath became more exposed at the surface, thats all, had nothing to do with the idea of changing the rep range to higher for cutting and lower for bulking..