gaining strength without size

[terpol]

hay guys. Firstly this post is about lower body, and i'm not looking for any dietary advice. I have come to the point where i have gained as much mass as i want in my lower body and want to continue gaining strength without hypertrophy. My main interest is sprinting and my lower body is well developed but i think gaining more mass would be a hindrance although any info on an optimal amount of muscle or something is welcome.

for the past few months this has been my routine which i do before upper body/core. Its basically Couch Sommer's WOTD which i altered recently to have 2 warmup sets and 3 work sets based on a post by slizzardman and i think it works better.

Warmup: 5 half-ghr -> 5 sls -> 5 harder half-ghr -> 5 sls. rest 3-4 min

Work Sets: 3 hamstring curls (unassisted descend, half assisted ascend, no pike), rest 30sec - > 5 sls with 20lbs. rest 3-4 mins, repeat twice more

i do this M/W/F

so any advice on frequency, number of reps/sets, amount of rest for strength without hypertrophy is what i'm looking for. thanks for reading

[Neal Winkler]

The optimal amount of muscle for sprinting is the amount that allows for the greatest power output. Sometimes, gaining muscle is better.

Check out the article here: http://www.higher-faster-sports.com/relativestrengthmyth.html

If it's not the case that gaining muscle will be better for you, then you have to eat enough to support recovery from your workouts, but not enough to gain weight. The only set/rep scheme that for sure won't put on any size is training at maintenance (1/3 the volume that it took to get where you are), but that won't allow you to get stronger.

Basically, given sufficient calories, any set/rep scheme can put on size over time if you are getting progressively stronger. The only way to stop this is to not eat enough.

[terpol]

thanks for replying. I'm 5'8 and 180lbs, around 10-12% bodyfat i think. I guess i have typical sprinter proportions (longs legs and big ass ). Thats seems like about as much muscle as i'd want.

Since i started strength training about 6 months ago i've gained about 20lbs of weight with no visible bodyfat change, just eating as i usually do (i guess i eat a lot... ). Trying to eat less than i want is the last thing i want to do. I suppose its all about calories and less protein wouldn't matter?, i don't eat that much as it is.

what about a scheme to at least minimize size gains?

thanks

[Neal Winkler]

Well, one thing to consider is that the lower your training age (the amount of time that you have been consistently and correctly training) the easier you gain muscle. As your training age goes up, your ability to put on muscle goes down. So, you are going to see slower and slower muscle gain. You're not going to keep putting on 20lbs. of muscle every six months, even if you specifically trained for hypertrophy.

Also, maybe you have good genetics and getting stronger just makes your body hungry because it wants to get bigger. If so, good luck with not getting bigger if you don't want to watch your calories.