Does Hypotonia/Low Muscle Tone Affect Gains?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

Hey,i’ve been weight training pretty seriously in these time periods WITH high protein diet:

March 2006-May 2006
October 2007-May 2008
July 2008-December 2008
January 2009-June 2009
July 2009-September 2009
April 2010-June 2010
July 2010-present

I generally measure every 6 weeks and normally add mass to my arms and thighs. Sometimes my chest size increases along with shoulder width.

My strength generally shoots up about 20-30lbs in 6 week periods if I eat enough. On Rippetoes it shoots up more (about 40-60lbs).
What frustrates me is that my funtional strength is a bit poor-even with free weight training. My grip is weak, I can’t win arm wrestles and I STILL can’t do a chin up.

I have hypotonia but I was told muscle tone and strength have little or no correlation.

2

Well make sure you train consistently instead of a few months training and a few months off. Pick a dedicated strength programme. (you could try some strongman exercises eg farmers walk, or use fat grip bars to improve your grip.) and have a read of this for improving chin up strength. http://www.T-Nation.com/article/bodybuilding/keep_your_chin_up

3

Not training consistently is the reason for your poor gains, and hypotonia is not some disease that isn’t your fault. It comes from lack of training or not training properly.

You get better at arm wrestling by training for arm wrestling. Starting Strength has absolutely no carry-over. Same thing with grip strength. Deadlifts help, but to build crushing grip strength, you need to train it specifically.

And you most likely can’t do a pullup because you haven’t trained specifically for it + you’re 20% bodyfat.

Consolidate your fecal matter and quit bitching.

4

stop being so english. that will fix a lot of things.

5

[quote]ronki23 wrote:
Hey,i’ve been weight training pretty seriously in these time periods WITH high protein diet:

March 2006-May 2006
October 2007-May 2008
July 2008-December 2008
January 2009-June 2009
July 2009-September 2009
April 2010-June 2010
July 2010-present

I generally measure every 6 weeks and normally add mass to my arms and thighs. Sometimes my chest size increases along with shoulder width.

My strength generally shoots up about 20-30lbs in 6 week periods if I eat enough. On Rippetoes it shoots up more (about 40-60lbs).
What frustrates me is that my funtional strength is a bit poor-even with free weight training. My grip is weak, I can’t win arm wrestles and I STILL can’t do a chin up.

I have hypotonia but I was told muscle tone and strength have little or no correlation.[/quote]

How and when were you diagnosed with hypotonia and what is the cause of it?

6

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]ronki23 wrote:
Hey,i’ve been weight training pretty seriously in these time periods WITH high protein diet:

March 2006-May 2006
October 2007-May 2008
July 2008-December 2008
January 2009-June 2009
July 2009-September 2009
April 2010-June 2010
July 2010-present

I generally measure every 6 weeks and normally add mass to my arms and thighs. Sometimes my chest size increases along with shoulder width.

My strength generally shoots up about 20-30lbs in 6 week periods if I eat enough. On Rippetoes it shoots up more (about 40-60lbs).
What frustrates me is that my funtional strength is a bit poor-even with free weight training. My grip is weak, I can’t win arm wrestles and I STILL can’t do a chin up.

I have hypotonia but I was told muscle tone and strength have little or no correlation.[/quote]

How and when were you diagnosed with hypotonia and what is the cause of it?[/quote]

I was diagnosed with dyspraxia 1999-2000 because I had trouble catching a ball/wrist started cramping up after 3 minutes of writing.

7

[quote]JayPierce wrote:
Not training consistently is the reason for your poor gains, and hypotonia is not some disease that isn’t your fault. It comes from lack of training or not training properly.

You get better at arm wrestling by training for arm wrestling. Starting Strength has absolutely no carry-over. Same thing with grip strength. Deadlifts help, but to build crushing grip strength, you need to train it specifically.

And you most likely can’t do a pullup because you haven’t trained specifically for it + you’re 20% bodyfat.

Consolidate your fecal matter and quit bitching. [/quote]

Ok-but why’re so many people so good at arm wrestling even though they hardly train AT ALL?
Same as gripping- I was told most beginnig strength/bodybuilding workouts require you not to do too many exercises/keep it simple?

Also, the June-December 2008 and the January-June 2009 were both consistent training programs. As was July-September 2010 (still in process-haven’t attempted chins/grip/arm wrestling yet but i’m at my strongest when carbed up/average strength when depleted)

8

[quote]ronki23 wrote:

[quote]JayPierce wrote:
Not training consistently is the reason for your poor gains, and hypotonia is not some disease that isn’t your fault. It comes from lack of training or not training properly.

You get better at arm wrestling by training for arm wrestling. Starting Strength has absolutely no carry-over. Same thing with grip strength. Deadlifts help, but to build crushing grip strength, you need to train it specifically.

And you most likely can’t do a pullup because you haven’t trained specifically for it + you’re 20% bodyfat.

Consolidate your fecal matter and quit bitching. [/quote]

Ok-but why’re so many people so good at arm wrestling even though they hardly train AT ALL?
Same as gripping- I was told most beginnig strength/bodybuilding workouts require you not to do too many exercises/keep it simple?

Also, the June-December 2008 and the January-June 2009 were both consistent training programs. As was July-September 2010 (still in process-haven’t attempted chins/grip/arm wrestling yet but i’m at my strongest when carbed up/average strength when depleted)
[/quote]

If some people are good at arm wrestling without training then its either genetics or maybe a demanding job they had. Also having a few months gaps between training doesnt help strength levels

9

Arm wrestling is more about technique and strategy than “gym strength”. If it’s important for you, train arm wrestling.

“There are three kinds of grip strength: Supportive, crushing and pinching” is the usual way to categorize it, while some add “hand posture”. If you lift weights without straps you’ll get supportive strength, but you’ll probably have to add in direct training for crushing and pinching, again, if it’s important for you.

And if you still can’t do a pullup at a bodyweight of 190 pounds you are weak. You need consistent training in line with your goals, whatever they are.

10

[quote]ronki23 wrote:
Ok-but why’re so many people so good at arm wrestling even though they hardly train AT ALL?
Same as gripping- I was told most beginnig strength/bodybuilding workouts require you not to do too many exercises/keep it simple?[/quote]
Same reason some people are just plain strong without much training. I know a guy at work who is a bit stronger than me, even though he hasn’t trained in six years. I chalk it up to “sucks to be me”.

Most beginner workouts are simple and low in volume because beginners typically don’t have huge recovery capacity. The key to all of this is progression, and if you can’t recover from session to session, you can’t progress.

[quote]Also, the June-December 2008 and the January-June 2009 were both consistent training programs. As was July-September 2010 (still in process-haven’t attempted chins/grip/arm wrestling yet but i’m at my strongest when carbed up/average strength when depleted)
[/quote]
You did well for one year, took a year off, and you’ve been back at it for two months. That is not consistency. I’ve taken a grand total of maybe four weeks off from lifting in the past two years and three months, and there are folks right here in this thread who have had that kind of dedication for over a decade and a half.

11

I assume the answer is to keep at it and not cut after only 2-3 months of bulking then :stuck_out_tongue:

Maybe one day after I finish University i’ll do it for years. ATM I have time for it but after September I have to do only martial arts training and University :stuck_out_tongue:

When I go to University i’ll be doing kickboxing at University once a week and kickboxing at my local club once a week. After my 2 kickboxing tournaments (end of September and end of October) I can only do it once weekly-i’ll be able to start up again in Feb 2010 until end of March.

I’ll always be doing Japanese Ju Jitsu once a week.

When I go to Uni 3-4x a week I walk to and from there 10 mins at a time.

Won’t have time for weight training so I just hope I retain 70-80% of my muscle by the time I finish Uni next June. This year the marks count.

Note that I can’t do much OFFICIAL kickboxing training because I got my ass kicked last year in the intermediate section at the UK Universities Tournament:-I was on 18 months at the time and am now on 22; 25 months means I go into advanced GULP What’s even worse is that it’s next March so I have to ration out official kickboxing training and do Ju Jitsu in the meantike (LOOPHOLE!)

12

[quote]ronki23 wrote:
I assume the answer is to keep at it and not cut after only 2-3 months of bulking then :stuck_out_tongue:

Maybe one day after I finish University i’ll do it for years. ATM I have time for it but after September I have to do only martial arts training and University :stuck_out_tongue:

When I go to University i’ll be doing kickboxing at University once a week and kickboxing at my local club once a week. After my 2 kickboxing tournaments (end of September and end of October) I can only do it once weekly-i’ll be able to start up again in Feb 2010 until end of March.

I’ll always be doing Japanese Ju Jitsu once a week.

When I go to Uni 3-4x a week I walk to and from there 10 mins at a time.

Won’t have time for weight training so I just hope I retain 70-80% of my muscle by the time I finish Uni next June. This year the marks count.

Note that I can’t do much OFFICIAL kickboxing training because I got my ass kicked last year in the intermediate section at the UK Universities Tournament:-I was on 18 months at the time and am now on 22; 25 months means I go into advanced GULP What’s even worse is that it’s next March so I have to ration out official kickboxing training and do Ju Jitsu in the meantike (LOOPHOLE!)
[/quote]
I have no idea what most of that just said. Just thought you’d like to know that.

Priorities are up to you. I’m just trying to key you in to what’s required to reach your goals. If you ‘don’t have time for it’, then it’s not high enough on your list of shit to do. Again, not trying to tell you what your priorities should be, just being honest with you.

13

This is dumb. If you don’t have time for this, quit expecting to make progress. I don’t take time off like this. I haven’t taken longer than 2 weeks off in over a fucking decade. Here you are taking YEARS off yet whining about your progress made.

THAT MAKES NO FUCKING SENSE.

14

[quote]Professor X wrote:
This is dumb. If you don’t have time for this, quit expecting to make progress. I don’t take time off like this. I haven’t taken longer than 2 weeks off in over a fucking decade. Here you are taking YEARS off yet whining about your progress made.

THAT MAKES NO FUCKING SENSE.[/quote]

I didn’t know that it takes more than a few months to make progress-only recently did I find out that most lean mass gains are glycogen/water weight. I was told that it’s v.v. hard to gain more than 5lbs of pure muscle (cells) a year
^^^
why didn’t anyone tell me this takes that much time?

With regards to that, how do movie stars get in shape so quickly (in a couple months) e.g. Christian Bale,Hugh Jackman,Will Smith

15

[quote]ronki23 wrote:

[quote]Professor X wrote:
This is dumb. If you don’t have time for this, quit expecting to make progress. I don’t take time off like this. I haven’t taken longer than 2 weeks off in over a fucking decade. Here you are taking YEARS off yet whining about your progress made.

THAT MAKES NO FUCKING SENSE.[/quote]

I didn’t know that it takes more than a few months to make progress-only recently did I find out that most lean mass gains are glycogen/water weight. I was told that it’s v.v. hard to gain more than 5lbs of pure muscle (cells) a year
^^^
why didn’t anyone tell me this takes that much time?

With regards to that, how do movie stars get in shape so quickly (in a couple months) e.g. Christian Bale,Hugh Jackman,Will Smith[/quote]

Dude, go away. This is the wrong site for you. This is not an activity you do for three months and then quit for years at a time. The people making real progress are way more dedicated than you seem to think they are.

LIFE isn’t a fucking movie. No one is going to fix the lighting or distance the camera at an angle that makes you look huge without the effort.

16

Christian Bale…because he’s Batman.

Hugh Jackman…because he’s wolverine

Will Smith…because he’s black…I mean…cuz he’s the fresh prince :wink:

17

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]ronki23 wrote:

[quote]Professor X wrote:
This is dumb. If you don’t have time for this, quit expecting to make progress. I don’t take time off like this. I haven’t taken longer than 2 weeks off in over a fucking decade. Here you are taking YEARS off yet whining about your progress made.

THAT MAKES NO FUCKING SENSE.[/quote]

I didn’t know that it takes more than a few months to make progress-only recently did I find out that most lean mass gains are glycogen/water weight. I was told that it’s v.v. hard to gain more than 5lbs of pure muscle (cells) a year
^^^
why didn’t anyone tell me this takes that much time?

With regards to that, how do movie stars get in shape so quickly (in a couple months) e.g. Christian Bale,Hugh Jackman,Will Smith[/quote]

Dude, go away. This is the wrong site for you. This is not an activity you do for three months and then quit for years at a time. The people making real progress are way more dedicated than you seem to think they are.

LIFE isn’t a fucking movie. No one is going to fix the lighting or distance the camera at an angle that makes you look huge without the effort.[/quote]

I don’t ‘quit’ for years-I am at University and still do my martial arts-that’s both aerobic and anaerobic and works on strength.

Also,nobody tells me how these movie stars get in shape for movies as soon as they sign the contract.

Will Smith was tall and skinny and in a matter of months he changes his body completely to have a physique like Ali.

Christian Bale had an average physique yet in several months he changed his body to become ‘buff’ for the Batman movies (there’s a clear difference between his physique in Reign of Fire and Batman Begins)

We hardly saw Hugh Jackman shirtless in Van Helsing/X Men but by the time Wolverine Origins comes around, he’s pretty ripped/put some size on.

^I assume the strength/size gains from glycogen are what come first and only stay for the short term if weight training is not continued. I have a similar time frame as them and the movie stars transform quickly-I assume the pure muscle gains are what last longest.

Please enlighten me on how it works for the celebrities but not me

18

[quote]JayPierce wrote:

[quote]ronki23 wrote:
Ok-but why’re so many people so good at arm wrestling even though they hardly train AT ALL?
Same as gripping- I was told most beginnig strength/bodybuilding workouts require you not to do too many exercises/keep it simple?[/quote]
Same reason some people are just plain strong without much training. I know a guy at work who is a bit stronger than me, even though he hasn’t trained in six years. I chalk it up to “sucks to be me”.[/quote]

Yep, this. I used to work with two swedish armwrestling champions, one of them won the heavyweight class after a pretty short time of training, he was just a natural. He had done some lifting on and off but nothing too serious and yet he was built like an ogre. A bit chubby and not exactly in good shape, but still huge. Very thick joints, huge hands, even his head was huge. He kind of looked like Shrek…

The other guy was more of a training product, kind of skinny at 80kg but with forearms that would put most bodybuilders I’ve seen to shame. That guy had a crapton of dedication. He competed as a veteran and won the national, european and world championships all in the same year.

The point is that life is unfair and some people are born to be big but less gifted people can still get very far with a lot of dedication, discipline and smart training. The OP seems to be a quite average person and average people just can’t get away with the kind of inconsistency that he describes, they need to work hard for a long time if they want to get good gains.

19

[quote]ronki23 wrote:
Also,nobody tells me how these movie stars get in shape for movies as soon as they sign the contract.

Will Smith was tall and skinny and in a matter of months he changes his body completely to have a physique like Ali.

Christian Bale had an average physique yet in several months he changed his body to become ‘buff’ for the Batman movies (there’s a clear difference between his physique in Reign of Fire and Batman Begins)

We hardly saw Hugh Jackman shirtless in Van Helsing/X Men but by the time Wolverine Origins comes around, he’s pretty ripped/put some size on.

^I assume the strength/size gains from glycogen are what come first and only stay for the short term if weight training is not continued. I have a similar time frame as them and the movie stars transform quickly-I assume the pure muscle gains are what last longest.

Please enlighten me on how it works for the celebrities but not me
[/quote]

It doesn’t work for you because you’re not Will Smith, Christian Bale or Hugh Jackman. These celebrities you’re talking about are all very gifted when it comes to putting on (or losing) size, some people are that way but most aren’t. Also, in movies you can make things look better than they really are, combine this with their ability to make quick gains and you’ll have something that looks even more impressive.

20

[quote]Matsa wrote:

[quote]ronki23 wrote:
Also,nobody tells me how these movie stars get in shape for movies as soon as they sign the contract.

Will Smith was tall and skinny and in a matter of months he changes his body completely to have a physique like Ali.

Christian Bale had an average physique yet in several months he changed his body to become ‘buff’ for the Batman movies (there’s a clear difference between his physique in Reign of Fire and Batman Begins)

We hardly saw Hugh Jackman shirtless in Van Helsing/X Men but by the time Wolverine Origins comes around, he’s pretty ripped/put some size on.

^I assume the strength/size gains from glycogen are what come first and only stay for the short term if weight training is not continued. I have a similar time frame as them and the movie stars transform quickly-I assume the pure muscle gains are what last longest.

Please enlighten me on how it works for the celebrities but not me
[/quote]

It doesn’t work for you because you’re not Will Smith, Christian Bale or Hugh Jackman. These celebrities you’re talking about are all very gifted when it comes to putting on (or losing) size, some people are that way but most aren’t. Also, in movies you can make things look better than they really are, combine this with their ability to make quick gains and you’ll have something that looks even more impressive.[/quote]

You’re telling me it’s their genes that get them in shape?