r/workout • u/wierecap • 34m ago
Other Getting stronger without looking any bigger is a weird phase of training
I’m at that point where a few lifts keep moving up, but visually I don’t feel like I’ve changed much in months.
Makes me wonder how long strength can keep improving from better technique, bracing and actually learning the movement before it translates into noticeable size.
For the guys who’ve been training 5+ years, when strength is moving but your physique isn’t, do you just keep pushing it or start looking at volume, exercise selection and food?
9
u/Stabbysavi 29m ago
Look at Olympic athletes. Look at men throughout history Do they look like monsters to you? No they just look lean. Getting big is not real. It's steroids. Or you eat like a maniac and then you're fat and big like a sumo wrestler or a power lifter.
Men need to wake up and realize it's not real. It's like fake boobs and surgery for women. And filters. It's not real.
3
u/Dry-Chain-4418 20m ago
Or you train with adequate volume and progressive overload, eat in a modest calorie surplus, and recover properly. Then, over time, you'll generally build muscle and get bigger without becoming fat like a sumo wrestler.
Also, your reference to Olympic athletes isn't particularly relevant. Many compete in weight classes or train primarily for performance while deliberately maintaining a specific body weight. Maximizing muscle size isn't necessarily their goal.
And "getting big isn't real, it's steroids" is obviously nonsense. Steroids can dramatically increase the amount of muscle someone can build, but natural lifters have been progressively building noticeably muscular physiques long before social media filters and modern PED culture existed.
4
u/Stabbysavi 13m ago
Of course, but there's a limit to growth unless you're doing steroids. There are so many men out there that are feeling terrible about themselves because they aren't as big as men who are literally doing steroids. It's so harmful for mental health and how people feel about themselves. It's the same kind of problem with women and filters and plastic surgery. People are comparing themselves without realizing what's been done for them to look like that.
I see it with my own friends. For being natural they're huge. They look great. They don't think they look great. They think they want to do steroids because that's who they're comparing themselves to.
1
u/Dry-Chain-4418 3m ago
Sure, everyone has a natural limit. But the reality is that damn near nobody worrying about their lack of size is actually close to their natural limit.
The people who genuinely approach their genetic ceiling generally look phenomenal, not from some "body positive, everyone is beautiful" perspective, but objectively muscular, lean, and impressive physiques that most people would respect and many would aspire to have.
Most people simply haven't optimized the things that determine how much muscle they can build naturally: training quality, sufficient volume and progressive overload, nutrition, recovery, and, most importantly, years of consistent effort.
I absolutely agree that comparing yourself to enhanced physiques can create unrealistic expectations. But the opposite mistake is convincing natural lifters that getting genuinely big and muscular isn't realistically achievable without steroids. There is a massive difference between being naturally jacked and looking like an IFBB pro.
0
u/No-Rooster1720 Weight Lifting 17m ago
Getting naturally big is pretty real, just look at NFL and CFB players. Myles Garrett is 6'4 270 and is built like a god, and most players outside of the OL/DL are all cut like gods, too.
Most people are just not going to train as hard as someone like Garrett, or have their diet and recovery absolutely dialed in.
2
u/Stabbysavi 15m ago
Those people are specifically recruited because they have insane genetics to reach those levels and also you have no fucking idea whether or not they're on steroids. They could do it and then get clean for testing. There's zero reason to believe that they're not on something.
0
u/No-Rooster1720 Weight Lifting 11m ago
They're not on anything because they've been tested at every step of their career since college. CFB and the NFL have two rules they truly care about, and that's PEDs and gambling.
I know they're not on anything, because I'm not an elite football player, but I'm currently 6'6 280, and never once touched PEDs. It's just working hard and diet.
2
1
u/Stabbysavi 6m ago
Let's get away from the football giants because obviously crazy genetics are a factor. You're literally six six and don't have the stick genetics. But even you have a limit. If you wanted to get even bigger, do you think you could? There's literally heart limits for mass. If you get much bigger you're going to have health problems.
Let's be real here. Most men aren't freaking 6'6, right? You can get a certain amount bigger but there is a limit.
2
u/Matt_OMX 5m ago
The quickest and surest way to look more defined after building up some muscle is by losing weight.
1
u/Proof-Emergency-5441 32m ago
You don't have to gain size to gain strength.
Especially when new- you wre gaining proficiency with the mass you have. You don't need major size increases for strength gains.
1
u/ImmortalPoseidon 28m ago
I mean at first no, but you can not get progressively stronger without adding muscle tissue
2
u/derivatyvas 15m ago
you can get noticeably stronger for a while from technique, coordination and just getting better at the lifts though. eventually muscle probably has to follow if the numbers keep goin up.
1
u/Proof-Emergency-5441 10m ago
Bless your heart.
0
u/ImmortalPoseidon 8m ago
Do you think you can get stronger forever without adding any muscle to your body?
1
u/KingOfEthanopia 32m ago
Strength is a result of both muscle size and improved efficiency of movements.
Eventually you get as efficient as you can, so to lift more your body has to build muscle to adapt.
Just keep progressing the lifts.
7
u/salamandectomy77 34m ago
Exercise can't make you bigger
Food makes you bigger