Thread: everyday muscle vs gym muscle

specificity.

So what the hell is the question here?

Not to be an ass, but what are you asking?

I guess what I deciphered from the scrambled text was that you wonder what the difference is from gym muscle to every day natural functional strength. Is this correct?

The difference between real world muscle and gym muscle is simple. Gym muscle helps you lift more in the gym, while real world muscled helps you do real world task. I'm not sure what exactly you are trying to figure out.

You adapt to things you do in your daily life and optimize for those tasks. If I stop barbell benching and move onto something else (say dumbells) my barbell bench drops a bit. I also have to adjust when I change gyms, I think once I lost around 15 pounds on my bench moving from from gym to another, no joke.

My daydream muscles kick ass over my gym and real world muscles. On time I went to the gym there was a new machine . It must have been locked down or something because I lifted the whole gym for 6 reps. It was sweet.

A good example of this is my father and I. He worked construction for 10 years and is just one of those guys that can bust his ass all day no problem. Where as me, I bitch and moan at physical labour. I can bench, squat, DL you name it, close to double what my dad can. Yet he can still beat me in arm wrestling. I'm also 4" taller then him. I can probably take him now though. He just turned over 50. I don't want to try though. It frustrates me.

Originally Posted by Doublebase

A good example of this is my father and I. He worked construction for 10 years and is just one of those guys that can bust his ass all day no problem. Where as me, I bitch and moan at physical labour. I can bench, squat, DL you name it, close to double what my dad can. Yet he can still beat me in arm wrestling. I'm also 4" taller then him. I can probably take him now though. He just turned over 50. I don't want to try though. It frustrates me.

Good, I'm not the only one. So frustrating when my dad does stuff like that and I have a hard time with it - it's just like WTF I can lift twice what you can in the gym, what the hell is going on here.

I guess what I deciphered from the scrambled text was that you wonder what the difference is from gym muscle to every day natural functional strength. Is this correct? yes correct . sorry for my rambles , but yes i was jus curious to see why that it is but duh gym muscle are for the gym and working is totally different . I dont but i always got the idea big muscles strong worker ect .

The difference has been pretty well covered. I just want to add one thing that might make all of us feel better.

A gym goer will be stronger in the gym, a construction worker will be able to heave dry wall like its nobody's business. But if the gym goer worked smart and increased fitness in all areas while a construction worker just did construction...put both people in an unfamiliar environment the gym goer would come out on top (assuming comparable physical characteristics).

Isn't a good example of all this The World's Strongest Man Competition? Don't the bodybuilders usually suck ass at competing while the heavier/Icelandic farmer dudes usually win?

All the guys you see competing on WSM are strongmen. They all train like strongmen, but some look like BB'ers and some look like tanks. The top guy for the last couple of years is a Polish competitor named Mariusz Pudzianowski, he looks like a bodybuilder...go figure.

Originally Posted by captaincaberman

Isn't a good example of all this The World's Strongest Man Competition? Don't the bodybuilders usually suck ass at competing while the heavier/Icelandic farmer dudes usually win?

Yes, but the reason is because these different sets of competitors (though I doubt a 'pure' bodybuilder would bother entering the competition at any level) train for completely different reasons; that is, they train with different goals in mind (ie winning that competition vs. winning a bodybuilding competition) and the training itself reflects these goals.

Of course that's really just an explanation of P-Funk's answer, though.


To the original poster: Yes, there is a large difference between what can be accomplished in the gym versus the real world. Building strength for more applicable situations is often referred to as functional strength training. It essentially mimics the real world in as many ways as possible by using only natural movement (ie no machines because they limit movement) and by using muscle groups that are largely represented in daily activities. Great information on this type of training can be found in many places, not the least of which from Brooks Kubik.

Originally Posted by Yanick

The difference has been pretty well covered. I just want to add one thing that might make all of us feel better.

A gym goer will be stronger in the gym, a construction worker will be able to heave dry wall like its nobody's business. But if the gym goer worked smart and increased fitness in all areas while a construction worker just did construction...put both people in an unfamiliar environment the gym goer would come out on top (assuming comparable physical characteristics).

I used to drywall ceilings no shoulder workout can prepare you for that

Originally Posted by NordicNacho

I used to drywall ceilings no shoulder workout can prepare you for that

Why not?

That probably consisted mostly of holding drywall well above your head for extended periods of time (and moving it). Someone could simply buy a sheet of drywall and practice much the same thing. Or he could use a sandbag instead, or a water jug, or some other object that is inherently awkward to hold and would require a lot of effort from stabilizers.

Drywalling ceilings is, after all, just another real-world exercise that can serve to increase the functionality of the muscles involved, no?

Theyve put in a new functional training room at my gym, i havent checked it out yet but the idea sounded great untill i found out what their version of functional was (stability balls, wobble boards...)

I have to push for sandbags and things...at least they have kettlebells in there i guess.

I get to do both most of the time.

Lifting real heavy chains and shackles to rig stuff up is pretty hard on the body after a while. And digging a trench for 6 hours straight just blows.
But I can also say that doing the basic lifts in the gym has made it easier.

Deadlifts I think mostly mimics the actions in which I would pick up stuff.
Seated row is about the same as dragging heavy shit.

But I would agree that there are some strong bastards out there who would not do so well in a gym type situation, and vice versa.

isn't the difference muscular endurance. someone who workouts at the gym will be there for about a hour - hour and a half and each set will last about 45secounds. but someone esl who doesn't go to the gym at all but works all day digging holes or brick laying would have better muscular endurance. is this correct.

also does anyone know what muscles get worked in arm wrestling. i know that one of the main muscles that gets worked is forarms, but what other muscles. i know that a lot of arm wrestling is to do with technique, but still my brother does not work out a all but can still beat me in arm wrestling even tough i can do twice as much as him on ever exercise. i think is because he has a better grip and therefor stronger forarms.

Originally Posted by captaincaberman

Isn't a good example of all this The World's Strongest Man Competition? Don't the bodybuilders usually suck ass at competing while the heavier/Icelandic farmer dudes usually win?

Yes. Bodybuilders suck ass at strongman.

Originally Posted by UFC rocks

isn't the difference muscular endurance. someone who workouts at the gym will be there for about a hour - hour and a half and each set will last about 45secounds. but someone esl who doesn't go to the gym at all but works all day digging holes or brick laying would have better muscular endurance. is this correct.

also does anyone know what muscles get worked in arm wrestling. i know that one of the main muscles that gets worked is forarms, but what other muscles. i know that a lot of arm wrestling is to do with technique, but still my brother does not work out a all but can still beat me in arm wrestling even tough i can do twice as much as him on ever exercise. i think is because he has a better grip and therefor stronger forarms.

Hands, forearms, bicep, tricep, shoulder girdle. Probably the back and chest to some extent.

He might just be better at arm wrestling, technique and strength aside. If you do something enough you're bound to be better at it. You go to the gym more than he does, so you are better at that.

Add in forearm and grip strength, as well as technique, and its no wonder he beats you.

I was wondering if I should get into this or not. But I'm a real world guy that went back to the gym. I don't think the big guys like me. They are way bigger but I lift as much or more, They never look me in the eye and I don't think they like me. : ( I guess I try to stay away from bench so they have that but everything else is mine. I do bench at home.

Originally Posted by Hoglander

I was wondering if I should get into this or not. But I'm a real world guy that went back to the gym. I don't think the big guys like me. They are way bigger but I lift as much or more, They never look me in the eye and I don't think they like me. : ( I guess I try to stay away from bench so they have that but everything else is mine. I do bench at home.

I think its all in your head. There are lots of guys bigger than me at my gym, and I can lift nearly as much, and in some cases, much more than them. But, they are always friendly to me. I just love being at the gym, and I enjoy seeing other people move lots of weight as much as I enjoy moving it.

Also, size doesn't equal strength. You might can lift more weight at lower reps, but if they outsize you, they will be able to dominate you at higher rep ranges. There is a difference of training types and muscle fiber types.

Sounds like you may also have an attitude about big guys which you subconsciously project and they perceive.

I think you might be right about all that, KelJu.

One thing I know for sure is that having people watch me has pushed me to lift harder. Some say you should leave your ego at the door when you go in the gym. I've tried but it's hard in that environment. In a way it's better that I don't as I've mentioned. Anyway, I should find reasons to strike up conversations more at the gym. Mental note to self: Think less talk more.

: )

Originally Posted by Hoglander

I think you might be right about all that, KelJu.

One thing I know for sure is that having people watch me has pushed me to lift harder. Some say you should leave your ego at the door when you go in the gym. I've tried but it's hard in that environment. In a way it's better that I don't as I've mentioned. Anyway, I should find reasons to strike up conversations more at the gym. Mental note to self: Think less talk more.

: )

I think if you keep that attitude you will find that most gym goers, especially the big guys, are really friendly people. Sure, some people are dicks, but that usually is rare.

Remember that we share a bond. Weight lifting is a sub culture. I love the fact that when I go to social gatherings that big guys always give me a gesture when they walk pass. Its almost like a secret society. Often times we never speak, but the gesture implies a lot. When I paid close attention, I noticed that they didn't pay that gesture to everyone, usually only other lifters.

The muscle is the same. You don't develop different kinds of muscle depending with each of these activities. The difference is in the nervous system adaptations. Essentially, you will be better at the things you do frequently.

Originally Posted by CowPimp

The muscle is the same. You don't develop different kinds of muscle depending with each of these activities. The difference is in the nervous system adaptations. Essentially, you will be better at the things you do frequently.

Are you saying you can't stimulate the growth of one kind of muscle fiber over a another by training with different styles? If so, then that blows my mind, because it goes against everything I thought I knew about power lifting vs bodybuilding.

I trust you CP, but can you maybe explain more on this.