muscle size and power question...

[thin]

At the gym last night I was talking with a guy. He was very thin and complaining that this other guy had huge muscles, but really was not any stronger than him. He also said that they had the same body fat so what is up with that?

Is it possible to have small muscles that are as strong as larger muscles? His friend was about twice as built as him.

Is that genetic? Some people just have "puffy" muscles?

Is there a way to reduce or increse the puffyness factor?

-Susan
--
http://futurebird.diaryland.com

 

[Arioch]

As well as things like fiber type, there are numerous other factors that influence strength that have little to do with muscle PCSA. Factors such as rate coding, the ability to sychronize motor units, etc. are all variables that alter the equation.

 

[TheProject]

Strength and size don't necessarily go hand in hand. I would guess that TheProject is stronger than 90% of the guys at our old "gym" but he's not anywhere close to being the biggest. However he trains specifically FOR strength, which involves more muscle recruitment than those trainng for size and/or symmetry.

And it's comments like that that make my day.

 

[keiko]

The strongest person I've ever met, man or woman, is a stunt woman who was a Russian circus aerielst. She's tiny, thin, and all steel.