Quickest way to muscle definition?

[ForsakenGemini]

What's the quickest way to muscle definition? (Strength is secondary, going for looks here, heh...vainvainvainvain!) Lots of fast reps with easier weight, or as much weight as possible or lots of really slow reps?

-Forsaken

 

[Flat]

Torture yourself 5 hours a day & lower your body fat to around 3-4% like moi, and you will have definiton on everything, muscles veins, tendons! its great

Edit: I just got back from a 4 day swim meet, and I am dehydrated, tired, and feel funny in my tummy

 

[Zim Hosein]

ForsakenGemini, start by laying off the Yodels

Interesting question, I'd like the answer myself.

 

[Bignate603]

Swim, but you'd know I'd say that. Just don't go overboard, or you can join me on the 19th for shoulder surgery.

 

[ForsakenGemini]

::kicks Nate:: Must...get...buff...

-Forsaken

 

[ST4RCUTTER]

Repetition.

At low to medium weight.

 

[McPhreak]

eat right

 

[Harvey]

<< Quickest way to muscle definition? >>

Look it up in the dictionary.

 

[andrey]

Unfortunately if you want to do it right, it can't be quick. You gotta work out, work out hard, and, of course, eat right.

Usually get the most weight you can do for 10-12 repetitions, 3 sets per each exercise. There are different exerecises for different muscles. Each person has a different body, so exercises which work very well for me might not work for you. To get you started, you might want to start here. Good luck!

 

[911paramedic]

Swimming will put on good muscle, but not definition. Unless you are in very hot water, your body will put on a layer of fat to combat the cold water.

The only way to get good definition in a short period of time is high repititions (running, lower weights, cycling) over high weights. Definition is the ability to "see" your muscles, so you need to lose fat. You can get larger from higher, and different, weights. If you combine the two, you have the best of both worlds.

More weight = size
More repetitions = definition

P.S. I used to tread water for an hour at a time as well as swimming but I never lost the body fat, got in great shape though. (I was a rescue diver, hence the training)

 

[SinNisTeR]

work it harder, make it stronger........

 

[Flat]

Bignate, I would suggest you really look at your technique, major shoulder problems with swimming are quickly becoming a thing of the past.



<< Swimming will put on good muscle, but not definition. Unless you are in very hot water, your body will put on a layer of fat to combat the cold water. >>



LMAO, omg too funny.... still laughing. haha. You could tread water for an hour eh? And wondered why you didnt lose any fat... oh yhea that fat was combating the cold water! oh, basic physiology is a wonderful thing to know.

Here is a set I do often, 3x10 minutes of vertical breastroke kick, with a 25-50lbs weight on your back. arms crossed behind the back. deadly

 

[StinkyMeat]

Forsaken I suggest you clear off your bench press and start ACTUALLY USING IT. And who are you developing muscles for anyways? There is no such thing as a buff nerd.

 

[urameatball]

don't eat for 4 days...
that's the absolute quickest!

[caution: may have other side effects]

 

[Geekbabe]

<< << Quickest way to muscle definition? >>

Look it up in the dictionary. >>





LOL !!! Harvey made a funny !!!!

 

[miniMUNCH]

Muscle definition is directly proportional to your % body fat and shear muscle mass (i.e. the more muscle you have the more it sticks out and is noticeable). High reps is usually not the best bet to gain muscle mass...a pyramid approach to lifting is more suitable for most people.

So...do some cardio (interval training is best) and hit the free weights using a pyramid approach. Do compound movement excercises such as bench press, military press, squats, pull-ups, rows, etc. Work out sections of your body on different days a do multiple type of excercise for each body part.

Split my body up on three days: chest/back, shoulders/legs, arms/mid-section...I do wind sprints at least 2 or 3 times on "off" days.

For each set order your excercises like this:

12 reps at 50% of your max weight
9 reps at 70%
6 reps at 85-90%
3 reps at 95% (if you can't do three don't worry...when you can, up your weights)

rest 45 to 60 seconds between each set.

And remember, even if you don't care what your legs look like (which I think is silly) you gotta work them if your trying to lose fat...most of your easy muscle gains will come in your legs and every 5 lbs of muscle requires an additional 400-500 calories a day...this fact is actually amplified for your legs since they are used so much.

I tend to be a little over weight (like 10lbs) when I don't workout...it only takes me about three weeks to shed that 10 lbs and get my 6-pack back using this simple approach.

 

[911paramedic]

LMAO, omg too funny.... still laughing. haha. You could tread water for an hour eh? And wondered why you didnt lose any fat... oh yhea that fat was combating the cold water! oh, basic physiology is a wonderful thing to know.

I was in a swimming pool that was about 80F, where have you been?? I know more about physiology that you do I bet so dont even try. It is a proven fact that people that work out by swimming do not lose weight, but their muscle % does increase. Fat weighs much less that muscle does, so that is not a very accurate measure of fitness. A 200lb swimmer is much more fit than a 200lb couch potato. Have you ever seen a skinny whale?? A skinny seal?? A skinny Polar Bear?? No?? And why not?? Because they are quite fit, but have a protective layer of fat.

Try again.

 

[Flat]

<< LMAO, omg too funny.... still laughing. haha. You could tread water for an hour eh? And wondered why you didnt lose any fat... oh yhea that fat was combating the cold water! oh, basic physiology is a wonderful thing to know.

I was in a swimming pool that was about 80F, where have you been?? I know more about physiology that you do I bet so dont even try. It is a proven fact that people that work out by swimming do not lose weight, but their muscle % does increase. Fat weighs much less that muscle does, so that is not a very accurate measure of fitness. A 200lb swimmer is much more fit than a 200lb couch potato. Have you ever seen a skinny whale?? A skinny seal?? A skinny Polar Bear?? No?? And why not?? Because they are quite fit, but have a protective layer of fat.

Try again. >>



Yep, still laughing. I swim everyday 4 hours, in omg! 76 degree water. I have 3% body fat. Anyone who trains by doing a mix of sprint, pace, and aerobic will lose quite a bit of fat. The club team I train with recently had a guy join who weighed 220lbs, he has lost 40 pounds of fat in 5 months, In 76 degree water! Humans arent seals or polar bears.Treading water for one hour does not require a great deal of fitness, any active person could do so. As for my knowledge of Phys, my undergraduate work was Anatomy & Physiology at Manchester, after I went to Music Conservatory in the US, I lived in scotland, where I worked at University of Edinburgh biomechanics lab, and mostly with swimming Link

 

[Bignate603]

911paramedic, I am a swimmer and if I have a "protective layer of fat" I'd like to know where it is. I'm 5'10" and less then 130 pounds but look better than you would think with my shirt because of something called muscle definition. Anyways, if you're swimming as a work out and are getting cold either you aren't working hard enough or the water is really cold. I like the water at mid to low 70s when I practice and a high 60 is bareable if you really push it and don't take a lot of rest. I've actually overheated because the water's been to warm.

Oh and Flat, I've been swimming for about 10 years now so it's not like I've done this overnight and it could have been fixed years ago. However, part of the problem is I've streached the the tendons and that gives me less control of my stroke so the problem snowballs. The flaw in my stroke is reaching to much with my left arm and over the years the tendons streached enough that my shoulder doesn't sit in the socket like it should and it looks like I've torn some cartlidge. My doctor gave me the ok to keep on swimming until championships so I'm just popping pills to keep the inflammation in my rotator cuff down for the next month until feb 19th when I get chopped.

 

[StinkyMeat]

Poor BigNate. I hope the surgery goes well.

 

[Tarmouth]

Simple Quick and Easy ---- get a job in vertical cement ! You'll be buffed out in a month !

 

[StageLeft]

It is the combination of high muscle and low fat. To gain the muscle the "toning" that most people talk about is a highly popular falacy. Muscles can't be "toned" or "bulky". Muscles have two attributes: Size and shape. If you do a set at 20 reps vs. a set at 5 reps there is NO difference in how they will shape. The high-rep set will possibly give them endurance vs. max strength but the shape is the same on both. Thus you want maximium size. To do this go with fairly low reps. Ultimately no matter how much muscle mass you have you'll not have any real definition without a low body fat.

So in conclusion increase muscle mass through mass gaining weight training and decrease body fat.

 

[Flat]

Bignate, you have hyperflexable shoulders? If thats right, I have (had) the same condition, I had a unique laser treatment that "shrunk" my tendons quite a bit. I would be really interested in the type of surgery you are expecting to undergo.

What level are you at in your swimming?

Lastly, I know all about 130lbs, I am 6'3 138lbs

 

[StageLeft]

<< LMAO, omg too funny.... still laughing. haha. You could tread water for an hour eh? And wondered why you didnt lose any fat... oh yhea that fat was combating the cold water! oh, basic physiology is a wonderful thing to know.

I was in a swimming pool that was about 80F, where have you been?? I know more about physiology that you do I bet so dont even try. It is a proven fact that people that work out by swimming do not lose weight, but their muscle % does increase. Fat weighs much less that muscle does, so that is not a very accurate measure of fitness. A 200lb swimmer is much more fit than a 200lb couch potato. Have you ever seen a skinny whale?? A skinny seal?? A skinny Polar Bear?? No?? And why not?? Because they are quite fit, but have a protective layer of fat.

Try again. >>

I'm sorry to say it but that is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Whales have fat because they have evolved that way. Without MASSIVE amounts of fat they die of coldness. There is absolutely no way to take this argument and apply it to humans. If you burn more calories than you take in you lose body fat. It's that simple. There is no magical point at which your body will start putting on fat because it's cold. This is just silly. A person's genetics and inherent physiology will not change simply because they are working out in cold weather. This is akin to saying that runners who train in the north in the winter will gain fat. Just isn't so.

When was the last time you saw a flabby olympic swimmer? Oh that's right: NEVER. In fact they all have very low levels of body fat.

 

[ForsakenGemini]

Maybe I should make myself more clear...right now I'm looking for some decent pecs (as opposed to the nearly flat chest I have now, haha point and laugh at the typical nerd) and my arms aren't that bad but anything helps (I have pretty thin arms but you'd be surprised how strong I am...must have really efficient use of muscle tissue or something). Six-pack and legs can come later.

-Forsaken