Muscles dont = streangth?

[crosskore 0]

I just came back from 3 ours at the gym today and i was talking to someone and a bunch of questions came to my mind. just because you have muscles growing over muscles does that mean you have strength or power? For instance, Boxers dont look like they have muscles ontop of muscles, they dont look like Arnold Shwartzinager (sp) but yet, they are powerfull and strong. When a boxer gets a good punch in, the other guy get lifetd off his feet. Why is that? Thats just one of the examplses i thought of. I have never seen a hockey player up close but from what I have seen, it doesnt look like they have muscles growing over muscles. Of course you dont want to get so big you get slow, but how can you be strong and powerfull without getting huge? Is it just a matter of knowing when to stop? Or maybe its a matter of, instead of lifting 100 pounds 6 times, you lift 6 pounds 100 times? or you lift up a 6 pound bar and hold it with your arms stright for as long as you can? Maybe this will stop you from getting big and bulky and still trian your muscles to be stornger and more powerfull? Maybe Iam just doing needles work going to the gym? I see quite a few NHL'ers who look like they are a little on the smaller not-so-strong side. I have read everything you guys have posted and all the links, I just think maybe I need it to be explained more or something. I just dont want to screw up my hockey future because I screwed up in the gym. Any help would be appreciated. Iam also going to look on the internet for any other information. Thanks guys.

[Eazy_b97 1]

Your looking to get bigger. I assure you at least 95% of the players in the NHL are extremely well built, but atheletes are more defined than bulky. I've heard really big body builders have trouble lifting their arms above their head. What you'll be looking to do is improve your overall strength, tone and define your muscles. Getting big is a nice side effect most of the time, but it's not the be all to end all.

[Chadd 916]

Leverage and handspeed have a lot to do with Boxers power.

[D3nZ 0]

Some get bulky fast (like me) some take time, alot of time. Just remember 2 things, muscle weights more than fat, if you gain weight, train alot and eat the same amount, you are gaining muscle weight. Don't train for 3 hours straight you may pull some muscles and could get hurt for a long time(I pulled a muscle in my back a couple of years ago and can't throw a baseball or football anymore), muscles need at least one day to cool down, like myself I do one day of cardio(jog or leg workouts) and the day after I do weights.

[SB39 2]

Both lifting strategies and how much you eat will determine how big you get. Bodybuilders do a lot of isolation exercises to maximize each individual muscle's development, along with benching, squating, etc... Athletes usually want to do more compound exercises in the gym, like squats, deadlifts, Olympic lifts, bench press, rows, pullups, etc. Pro Athletes also can't really get THAT big since they are so conditioned and do so much cardio, albeit hockey is all about anaerobic bursts. You want to get your legs as big and strong as possible, but your upper body you just want to be strong without getting too big. There should definitely be an imbalance in how big your legs are and how big your upper body is. Muscle and strength growth is also related to how many reps you do at what % of max lift. Powerlifters, who aren't always the biggest guys but can usually outlift pro bodybuilders, never really do more than 7 reps per set, and they rest a while between sets. Lower reps and high weight lends itself more to a surge in test during and after you lift, while hgher rep ranges lead more to surges in Hgh. Bodybuilders also use a lot of steroids, whereas it's less common, though still common, in pro sports. Bottom line, you want your heart to be the strongest muscle in your body, and the way to do that is by interval training and circuit training. I would suggest peroidizing your lifting between circuit training and powerlifting to best prepare you for hockey, with a lot of liners and biking thrown in there too. Wait for yglod11 to answer too, cuz he's smarter than me about this biznass...

[Gongshow11 1]

sb39, you dont' want the inbalance. Naturally your legs are always stronger than your upper body but u dont want your legs to be huge and your upper body small...think of it. most of what you said is right tho about the lifts and cardio.

crosskore, at begining of summer do hig reps low weight (high is 10-15) and low weight is like 65-80% of what you normally do

by end of summer, do low reps high weight (3-8 reps) to get stronger. it explsion and power, then strength. www.hockeyschoolonline.com has the best workout online for hockey players i find, I went away from it and now back on it.

3 hours is way too long by the way. 45 mins-2 hrs is optimal, 2 hrs being a lot

post your program so we can review it, and tell the exercises for each day

[headonaswivel 1]

Here's 2 cents form someone who trained to compete nationally, and have friends who compete.

Buy a good anatomy book, or at least a poster. In order to properly build your body, you need to know how it is all layed out, and by the muscle on top of muscle statement it really seems you have tons to learn.

First off and the foremost important thing here is how old you are.

3 hrs???? Far too long there junior. Think quality not quantity. Don't be the guy lifting bigger than they should be using weights with terrible form.

There is a ton I could tell you on this, but the last two posts sum it up well.

Certain athletes work harder than others because they tend to have less natural ability, therefore work super hard to get to a level that others rarley even work to maintain, they just are that way.

A few of my best friends are pros, and the one who is the most naturally skilled, well, he trains the least off ice.

The other 2 run, lift, and plyo themselves to death every morning in the summer.

It all depends on what you wish to achieve.

Keep it specific to your sport, build up your core foundation, lift heavy but smart.

[sn1per 0]

Huge muscles doesn't mean power. Aside from hockey, I used to train in martial arts and believe me, I'm not a huge guy, but I could punch a lot harder than guys who were bigger and stronger than me. It's the mechanics and technique that really help. Take Bruce Lee. This guy didn't weigh anywhere near what the average football player does but this guy just had incredible power. This guy trained everyday like mad. He could knock over a 200lb guy with his infamous 1 inch punch. I guess what I'm trying to say is that explosive power requires muscles but it doesn't mean getting huge.

[crosskore 0]

I knoow I am not suppose to have muscles on muscles. Thats why I need to know how to get strong and powerfull without being huge

[Gongshow11 1]

show us your program

[crosskore 0]

Honestly I dont know what anything I do is called. I was taught how to use the weights but not the names of the procedures. Ill look around at some ecersize sites and see if i can pick out what I am doing to help you guys out some.

[Flyerguy91 0]

little help there mate dont lift past 1 hr. it a causes your body to become seriously catabolic (break protein down for food instead of carbs and fat)

[crosskore 0]

Ok, Thanks. Iam only inthe gym for about 2 hours, but a friend and I take turns doignthe same thing so i guess you would cut the 2 hours in half to be one hour. None the less though, Thanks for the tip, I'll keep that in mid for when I go next time. Make sure I dont go over an hour.

I also run for about 25 minuets before I start my workout. Is this a good idea?

[Gongshow11 1]

run 10 before, and about 15-30 after

[biff44 0]

I can give you one piece of advice: Don't ever go heavy on a leg extension machine. I blew out my right knee on one, and afterwards the Physical Therapist tells me that they are the worst machines in the gym--that they should be banned.

Any weight that you can't do at least 20 reps of on the leg extension machine is TOO HEAVY.

[Gongshow11 1]

for you info, the leg extrension is useless.

according to joe defranco of defrancotraining.com, you don't need it for sports, ie it does nothing.

[crosskore 0]

Is thatthe mechaine that you sit down on and then push weights up with your legs?

[SharpShooter 0]

Comparing boxers (power) to a weightlifters is not a good way to analyze it. A boxers power comes from leverage and SPEED of the punch. SPEED is directly related to kinetic energy such as from a punch or a bullet. The faster the bullet hits the more power it transfers to the target. If you are training for hockey you must work on your FAST TWITCH muscle cells and not your slow twitch cells which are responsible for slow steady strong muscle fibers. 3 hours is way to long for anyone but a pro bodybuilder to be in the gym. Start with high reps and light weights slowly 3 to 4 weeks getting a little heavier. Clean reps no jerking and slinging, once a month go heavy to shock your system but use common sense dont hurt yourself. Diet and proper rest play a large role in this as well. Work your whole body and always stretch before during and after. Sample Mon. Chest,Arms, Wed. Legs and back Fri. shoulders and neck Everyday is abdominal day. One hour a day is plenty with cardio added. This is not for anyone under fourteen. Caution heavy gym workouts that last 2 to 3 hours for kids under this age can hurt your growth. I am speaking from personal experience as someone who did this since the age of 11, 7 days a week till 29. All my family members are above 6ft2 I am 5ft 7 but I weigh 225 and not fat. Trust me, even if you avoid injuries you do not want this. Ride the bike a lot for cardio no impact shock to legs and it works the muscle groups you need the most for hockey (legs and heart) I hope this helps.

[biff44 0]

Yes, the leg extension machine is the one where you sit down with your knees at a 90 degree bend, and then push the legs up so there is a 0 degree bend at the knee. It concentrates a lot of stress into the knee cartilage and the tendons around the knee, and if you are not really careful--pop!

My PT said I could get all the benefits of the leg extension with few of the risks by simply doing two leg weighted squats or one leg body weight squats. If you really want to work those quads, do a one leg body weight squat standing on a 3" platform.