When you start a new workout regimen, you may have a specific goal in mind. You may want to lose some weight, get in shape, or achieve a certain level of strength. What a lot of people do when they try to formulate a workout plan is figure out how to get stronger without getting bigger. This is an especially important distinction for women.
Many times, women are looking for a way to build up their strength and endurance level without looking really bulky. They still want to have that feminine look. So, knowing how to get faster and stronger without getting bigger is important to them.
For some men, it’s a vital distinction as well. They may not want to look like a muscle man or a “meathead” and instead simply want to lose some weight, get fit, and increase their strength.
Knowing how to do this can come down to eating the right kinds of food and doing the right kind of exercise. What’s the workout regimen for someone who would like to get stronger but not necessarily bulk up? Let’s discuss what you can do to achieve those kinds of goals.
Strengthening without Bulking
As you exercise, you want to focus on developing muscles without making them very big. A lot of this comes down to your diet, but the kind of exercises you do play a big role when you’re attempting to get stronger but not bulk up a lot.
What a lot of training experts will recommend for how to get stronger without getting bigger muscles is to do what is known as contrast training. This means weightlifting mixed in with plyometric training.
Plyometrics is simply jump training, and most people do this through jump rope, jumping jacks, and other simple jumping exercises. You can also incorporate obstacle courses for this kind of training.
Mixing this with weightlifting is a great way to build up your muscles without focusing on bulkiness. It lets you get stronger very quickly, improves your cardiovascular strength, boosts your endurance, and helps you to lose weight.
Alternating your exercises is a great way to keep them interesting and keep you from feeling bored with your workouts. It also ensures that your muscles don’t get too big too fast. You can better control the size and development of your muscles as you work out.
Be Careful about Powerlifting
One of the mistakes people make when they’re trying to get stronger is to go straight for powerlifting. I think this will be the fastest way to gain muscle, and that can be true. The thing is, when you powerlift, your muscles can get too big too fast. You may end up bulking up when that’s not really what you want.
What happens when you powerlift is that you can get a really bulky look that’s actually not whole lot stronger. Coupling this with protein powders or protein shakes can give you a look that you’re not very happy with, and at the same time you may not be getting as strong as you would like.
A lot of workout plans and dieting plans are actually all about making you look bigger and buffer without doing a whole lot for your physical endurance and overall strength. If you want to know how to get stronger biceps without getting bigger ones, you can do weightlifting rather than powerlifting. This means lifting smaller weights that are more manageable and that won’t push you too hard.
What a lot of trainers recommend for people who want to build their biceps without looking super stuff and grotesquely big is too do short, high intensity lifting sessions.
This means you really exert yourself for about 15 minutes or so and then you have a period of rest. It is important that you rest as you work out so that you don’t bulk up too quickly.
If you’re looking to control your size while improving your strength, make sure you have long resting periods and short, high intensity workouts. This will help to strengthen you without letting your size get too out of control.
Focus on Weight Loss
If you’re scrolling the forums who looking for “how to get stronger without getting bigger” Reddit advice, you may find a lot of people recommending that you try to lose weight.
You can look stronger without bulking up by getting rid of some of your fat. As you burn calories and get rid of fatty tissue, your body will look more toned and muscular. This doesn’t make your muscles any bigger and bulkier, but it reveals and exposes them.
The muscles are already there hiding under your fat, and it’s just a matter of revealing them. A weight loss plan can help you to do that very effectively.
It can also help you feel stronger, as you’ll have less weight to move around, so it’ll be easier to move your arms. You have greater freedom of movement and greater strength because you’re dragging around less body weight. More of what you have in your body will help you to move and be active as opposed to having a flabby body that holds you back from physical activity.
To focus on weight loss, you want to be doing plenty of aerobic activity and keep your carbs, sugar, and fat consumption down as much as possible. If you’re looking to develop muscle, then you need plenty of protein in your diet.
Exercising regularly while consuming very little sugar and fat will help you get rid of fatty tissue quickly. You don’t want to try to eliminate carbs completely, but you should cut them back if you want less of a bloated look or if you would prefer a leaner, more muscular appearance.
You can likely achieve a lot of the look you want without doing weightlifting or other high intensity exercises that may be a strain for you. Simply by working on your diet and doing light exercise, you can eliminate fat safely and avoid bulking up.
Keep It Consistent
Consistency is very important for people who are trying to strength train. You won’t be able to boost your strength and maintain it very well if you’re not keeping up your workouts.
For best results, it’s recommended that you work out five times a week, spreading out your days off rather than bunching them together. This allows you rest time, but not so much rest that you lose your gains.
Because consistency is so vital to strength training, it’s important that you don’t overexert yourself, strain yourself, or injury your body. This is why you should be careful as you work out and not lift weights that are too much for you or do physical activity that puts you at risk for a serious injury.
You may want to limit your outdoor activities due to the inherent risks involved in hiking, running on the road, and training in poor weather.
You should also train with a partner who can keep an eye on you and help you out if you get into trouble. Doing all of this will help you to avoid injuries and ensure that you stay consistent.
You also want to stay motivated so that you keep up with your exercises and diet and achieve the results you’re looking for. A lot of people lose their motivation partway through the process and don’t achieve their goals. Training with a partner will help you keep your motivation up as will being accountable to someone for your goals, letting them know what you plan to achieve.
It can also help to change up your exercises from time to time so they don’t feel too monotonous and you don’t feel like you’re doing too much of the same thing too often.
A lot of strength training experts will recommend that you have a varied workout plan, where you do a different set of exercises each day. This gives you something to look forward to and it helps you avoid feeling burnt out with your training regimen.
You also want to keep your diet consistent. It can help to limit what kind of foods come into the house. If you shop for groceries on a full stomach and only buy what you put on your list, that can help you to avoid buying snacks and unhealthy food that will get you off your diet. You should also avoid eating out as much as possible, as it’s easy to lose control of your diet when you do that.
If you stay consistent, you can achieve your weight loss and strength training goals in short order. You’ll also be less likely to lose control of your workout and not end up bulking up instead.
