Hard vs. Soft Muscles - Also Speed Reps ve Slow:

[EPROM]

Two things:

(1) Hard Muscle vs. Soft Muscle (Bicep as an Example)

I have been training hard all of my life. I usually have a much better build than most people, but there have been declines now that I'm 47. From my 20's all the way to now I have what I call "Soft Muscles". When I flex a big ol' Bicep ...it's kinda soft. You can crunch it. Most people have rock hard biceps ...but mine are never rock hard. I usually have better volume and size than most of these people, yet they always have the rock hard bicep. Why is this? ...and should I have a certain type of workout/training method based on my muscle type? (i.e., is "lower weight - higher reps" better for this muscle type or "low rep - higher weight"?)

(2) Speed reps vs. Slow and Determined

I have always understood that you quickly lift heavy weight upward (one second) and lower the weight slowly and determine (3 to 5 seconds). For instance, If I am doing curls I curl lift the weight quickly up - slowly back down to positive failure. Then I immediately drop the weigh a certain percentage and keep going to positive failure. I do this one more time for a total of three breakdows to positive failure. I consider this all "One Set of Curls". I may do 5 sets of this type of breakdown curls during a workout.

However, every time I see a video clip of a professional bodybuilder s/he is doing reps just as quickly as friggin possible! ...I see them getting 8 to 12 curls in like 10 seconds! I always thought this was the WRONG way to do this? have workouts changed over the years and somehow I missed it? What's up with all the "speed lifting"?

Birdman

 

[desmond]

Yeah bump re: question 2.

Why do (a lot, not all) pros lift like this? Is it because they are the genetic eliete, and are comparable to 100m sprinters with mainly fast twitched muscles?

Two things:

(1) Hard Muscle vs. Soft Muscle (Bicep as an Example)

I have been training hard all of my life. I usually have a much better build than most people, but there have been declines now that I'm 47. From my 20's all the way to now I have what I call "Soft Muscles". When I flex a big ol' Bicep ...it's kinda soft. You can crunch it. Most people have rock hard biceps ...but mine are never rock hard. I usually have better volume and size than most of these people, yet they always have the rock hard bicep. Why is this? ...and should I have a certain type of workout/training method based on my muscle type? (i.e., is "lower weight - higher reps" better for this muscle type or "low rep - higher weight"?)

(2) Speed reps vs. Slow and Determined

I have always understood that you quickly lift heavy weight upward (one second) and lower the weight slowly and determine (3 to 5 seconds). For instance, If I am doing curls I curl lift the weight quickly up - slowly back down to positive failure. Then I immediately drop the weigh a certain percentage and keep going to positive failure. I do this one more time for a total of three breakdows to positive failure. I consider this all "One Set of Curls". I may do 5 sets of this type of breakdown curls during a workout.

However, every time I see a video clip of a professional bodybuilder s/he is doing reps just as quickly as friggin possible! ...I see them getting 8 to 12 curls in like 10 seconds! I always thought this was the WRONG way to do this? have workouts changed over the years and somehow I missed it? What's up with all the "speed lifting"?

Birdman

 

[timtim]

i wouldnt look to pros for any training advice. maybe some exercises to target muscles at different angles (Charles Glass) but their training is usually not the best. i see king kamali 3 or 4 times a week. monstorously huge but his intensity and exercises are shit. i rarely ever see him use free weights. he is beyond huge though. there is the genetic response to the aas and he probably eats 6k calories a day.


rep speed varies. explosive for fast twitch, short sets. the long, slow reps are for hypertrophy and to activate deeper muscle tissue. both should be used in a periodized plan.

 

[EPROM]

So why are my "guns" softer than others? How's come I can squeeze them? They're big ...but soft.

Other people's muscles are this way too.

Should we workout differently based on our curious muscle type?

 

[mmo115]

i wonder the same

 

[NJL52]

There is no such thing as hard muscle or soft muscle. It is called fat.

 

[EPROM]

There is no such thing as hard muscle or soft muscle. It is called fat.

That is NOT what is going on here. I am not alone on this either. On CERTAIN people (and it must be a minority) no matter how lean you make yourself, when you flex a muscle ...it's soft. "Soft" means that you can crunch my bicep no matter how hard I flex it. It is a nice, big bicep with a nice vein on top ...but you can crunch it. Other people's muscles can't be crunched so easily. ...It's NOT FAT!!!

Maybe if a few other "Softies" would chime in on this we can have a concensus. ...I know they are out there! It's a muscular condition and NOT fat!

Birdman

 

[OneBreath]

That is NOT what is going on here. I am not alone on this either. On CERTAIN people (and it must be a minority) no matter how lean you make yourself, when you flex a muscle ...it's soft. "Soft" means that you can crunch my bicep no matter how hard I flex it. It is a nice, big bicep with a nice vein on top ...but you can crunch it. Other people's muscles can't be crunched so easily. ...It's NOT FAT!!!

Maybe if a few other "Softies" would chime in on this we can have a concensus. ...I know they are out there! It's a muscular condition and NOT fat!

Birdman

Actually it might be intramuscular fat. Check this out:

Intramuscular fat - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[SaiBoT]

Actually it might be intramuscular fat. Check this out:

Intramuscular fat - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It's intramuscular fat! Pumping a muscle will not give the hardness you are looking for Eprom, so the problem about your biceps is more training related... you should as heavy as you can and keep your muscle under tension thoughout the set, going all the way up on any type of curl will make you lose the contraction point. Also you don't need drop sets... You need a routine?

 

[EPROM]

It's intramuscular fat! Pumping a muscle will not give the hardness you are looking for Eprom, so the problem about your biceps is more training related... you should as heavy as you can and keep your muscle under tension thoughout the set, going all the way up on any type of curl will make you lose the contraction point. Also you don't need drop sets... You need a routine?

SaiBot,

First, thanks for your input! I have been lifting for probably 30 years. I have a variety of routines tried and tested over the past thirty years. if what you say is true, then there is no way this "IM fat" will ever go away ...because one time I did nothing but protein shakes and heavy, hard-hitting training until I dropped down to 160 pounds at 5'11". I was thin, but MAN I WAS CUT!! There wasn't a thimble full of fat on me and my vascularity was insane.

Yet (((STILL))) ...my biceps and other muscles are soft when flexed. It really pissed me off, too.

I think there is a muscualr condition that is seldom talked about or something to do with the straition of the muscle tissue that makes this happen.

Have you ever seen those wierd people who can stretch the skin on their cheeks like a foot away from their face? I can only pull mine away about an inch. These people have something STRANGE going on. I'm thinking there is a similar strange thing going on with my muscle tissue, too.

BTW: I am not alone on this. I've googled and read the posts where other people are asking the same question. I also see their frustration because they get the same answers and THEY KNOW something else is going on.

You probably don't hear much about this condition because it falls in the "small dick" category. ....Nobody wants to fess up and admit that they are made this way. They would rather just keep silent and hope they can glean an answer from some brave fucker's post (like mine).

I appreciate your response ....but my 160lbs experiment says otherwise. My body fat was like onion skin thin - almost to the point of being sick-looking.

Birdman

 

[SaiBoT]

Eprom

I can see your frustration about it! from 1 to 10 how would you describe your flexiblity?

Ok so since that you have no issues with dieting down I will just say that the type of training you can do to maximize hardness is in fact strength training like powerlifting routines, do you have any experience on strength training or is it mostly bodybuilding type of workouts you have done?

 

[mkiitrd]

I know this is an old thread but i was looking for this answer too because i am like this (soft muscles)...

I have been working out for 10 years and am big for my height. 5'6" at 158-162lbs ....
You cant say i need to do Heavier weights and increase intensity cus I bench 245lbs. I do a 10-8-6, 245lbs being on my 6 reps (I used to do 275lbs back in the day)...
You cant say its fat cus last time i checked I was 7% bf

so for all those looking for this answer this is what i found when googling it .... i found this on another forum...

Just wanted to share for those looking for this answer.

"Its a genetic advantage some people are lucky enough to have.

It means your muscles are more flexible and elastic. Less likely to injure and normally faster to react to central nervous system commands.

Enjoy your advantage and don't worry about it."

 

[nrbrhys]

You wont have soft muscle it would just be fat. For me example i am averagly skinny and only started lifting a few months ago yet my biceps are rock solid but not that big as i dont have much fat around my bicep

 

[BODIUC]

I had the same problem, but i started to lift with max 6 reps, going to max 4 reps on my last set( 3 sets max), and i started to develop rock-hard muscles, but my size decreased, also my power went sky-high, so to each his own, i guess...

 

[skinnybeast]

Well I came upon this post becuase I too have this problem ...I am 31 years old and I weigh 135 naturally...I am 5'11" and I am all muscle ...what I mean is that the body fat indicator thingamajig at the gym that you hold onto for a few seconds and tells you your body fat always says error when i use it...with that said I am and always have been althletic and can run faster jump higher and have better reflexes than most people...but for some reason even though I have a great looking upper body my muscles can't ever be real hard like some of my friends and even family ...let me put if like this I am skinny but my skinny 135 lbs ass can bench 235 6 times after 2-3 sets of lighter but more repetitions sets....sometime other guys even tell me "like yo your pretty strong for a skinny guy"...only other thing I can say to describe my body type is that I'm all top heavy ...my legs are straight up skinny there guys that have bigger bi's than I have legs...sad but it is what it is...I'm still faster than 90% of people that I play football basketball and baseball with ...I don't get why my muscles don't get that real hard feel like other people though...

 

[ha1a1]

There are lots of variables. Do you log everything? Also have you had your estrogen/test checked? Do you work hard physically at your job? Some of the hardest dudes I know mix concrete and make footpaths. Do more stuff that requires tension in your muscles and body besides working out. Ive seen guys do 100s of partial reps with light weight as well.

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[zazen5]

It regardless of your muscles condition fast repping on certain exercises could hurt your joints. You may have hypertrophied the endurance fibers which are also considered postural and by this function aren't neurologically wired to reach tetanus like a 2b fiber. That is my hypothesis. If u want speed of contraction do the lifts that require it such as Olympic lifts. Curls are an accessory exercise. If you do rows heavy only 3 sets of curls per week should be required.

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[buttbeater]

Practice flexing, especially when working out. This can make your muscles very hard.

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[surferdad]

My muscles are soft as well. Even when I was super cut and only 7% body fat, my muscles were soft when flexed. I've noticed that other guys have harder muscles but may not even be as cut or as strong as me. For example, my wife has really hard muscles and she has more body fat than me. Underneath her thin layer of fat, you can feel rock hard muscle.

I am very flexible for a guy. Maybe having soft muscle contributes to that. As far as I can tell there's no disadvantage to it, other than if someone squeezes my bicep when flexed they might notice it feels soft. My wife teases me about it.

I haven't researched this, but I'm guessing there are different muscle types that we are genetically born with. And little can be done to change it.

-Surferdad

 

[Pepe Le-r3]

I believe it is all a game of hormones, have you ever seen supplements and certain pro hormones advertised as muscle hardeners? I would have to research into how it works, but it might have also to do with water retention and glycogen stores within the muscle. I would suggest doing some research on these things.