Will I Lose Muscle?

[ZRX38]

Hey guys, im thinking of starting training gymnastics, following the killroy style. I lifted weights for like a year, and went from 56 kilograms to 60 (123.5 pounds to 132). My height is 1.72 meters (or 5.6 feet). Do think i will lose muscle if i stop training in the gym and start a full gymnastics training?

Thanks in advance!!

[Daniel Burnham]

Muscle mass is more about diet. As long as you don't drop your eating when you change routines you won't loose muscle mass. Though if you drop leg training you might loose mass in your legs.

[Brian Li]

Of course you can get more hypertrophy. Have you seen how male gymnasts particularly rings specialists look like? Most don't use much or any weight training.

[ZRX38]

Of course you can get more hypertrophy. Have you seen how male gymnasts particularly rings specialists look like? Most don't use much or any weight training.

Yes but i think those guys have been training for decades lol

[Biren Patel]

Indeed, they have been training for 'decades'. But, you have only been training for one year. You are still a beginner by all standards. And, like all of us, you'll be starting gymnastics at a low tier. Depending on the kind of program you used with weightlifting, you may lose 1 or 2 kilos in the beginning. It will also depend on your current body fat and such. But, you will make up the lost weight with plently of surplus. 4 kilos is not that much, so do not distress. 1 year of training is not that much either. In all likelihood, given good diet, good training, and good health, you will make up and add weight fast as you progress through the exercises. No one acheives an iron cross or planche without putting on muscle.

In my own experience, I went from 121 to currently 133.8 lbs in 10 months. I started at 14% body fat. During this entire past summer, I did not gain a single pound of weight. But my physique grew. How? My body fat plummeted to 7% and I simultaneously gained muscle. So, while the scale showed the same weight, my body composition was different. So the weight shown by your scale is not the ultimate standard.

Anyways, don't worry so much. Train hard and eat right and give it a few years - your physique will be impressive. Again, no one achieves an iron cross without putting on muscle throughout that journey.

[Joshua Slocum]

Hey guys, im thinking of starting training gymnastics, following the killroy style. I lifted weights for like a year, and went from 56 kilograms to 60 (123.5 pounds to 132). My height is 1.72 meters (or 5.6 feet). Do think i will lose muscle if i stop training in the gym and start a full gymnastics training?

Thanks in advance!!

No, nothing about gymnastics training precludes muscle mass. I'm 5'6" and weigh 77 kilos (170lbs). My exercise routine is entirely gymnastics based. I've been training for 6 years.

Weight gain is much more about the structure of your workout than whether you're lifting free weights or bodyweight. Higher intensity with lower reps will cause more strength but less muscle growth, and lower intensity with higher reps will cause more muscle growth and less strength.

[ZRX38]

No, nothing about gymnastics training precludes muscle mass. I'm 5'6" and weigh 77 kilos (170lbs). My exercise routine is entirely gymnastics based. I've been training for 6 years.

Weight gain is much more about the structure of your workout than whether you're lifting free weights or bodyweight. Higher intensity with lower reps will cause more strength but less muscle growth, and lower intensity with higher reps will cause more muscle growth and less strength.

Thanks for the tips!!

[Daniel Burnham]

No, nothing about gymnastics training precludes muscle mass. I'm 5'6" and weigh 77 kilos (170lbs). My exercise routine is entirely gymnastics based. I've been training for 6 years.

Weight gain is much more about the structure of your workout than whether you're lifting free weights or bodyweight. Higher intensity with lower reps will cause more strength but less muscle growth, and lower intensity with higher reps will cause more muscle growth and less strength.

Really I've found that volume in general increases muscle mass. It doesn't necessarily have to be lower intensity though that does usually help you get more volume in. This is apparent when I add more exercises or just work through a routine a lot.

[Joshua Slocum]

Really I've found that volume in general increases muscle mass. It doesn't necessarily have to be lower intensity though that does usually help you get more volume in. This is apparent when I add more exercises or just work through a routine a lot.

You're right. I meant lower intensity in the comparative sense. As in "lower intensity than when you're doing low volume" since you can only do so much volume at a given intensity level before you get tired.

[Larry Roseman]

Another difference would also be in the chest . I notice a lot more development in my shoulders and back compared to my chest. That doesn't bother me as I never liked the overdeveloped bulging chest of typical bodybuilders.

Do they mainly serve a stabilizing function in gymnastics, or what accounts for them lagging compared to other upper body parts? Or is this more a begginer thing, and further development would occuras a result of more advanced moves in the future?

[Eric Heiden]

Like others have said - I really don't think that you'd lose muscle mass. I wasn't lifting weights prior to starting, but I had been on programs like P90X prior to starting GST - which helped me put on some muscle. Upon starting GST I've found that my stable bodyweight has increased something like 6 pounds after so many months while having less visible body fat. Good luck!

[Michael Chang]

This is my first post as I have been lurking for a bit now but wanted to chip in. I've been lifting for about 4-5 years now and am at about 185 pounds (about 83 kg). I haven't lost an ounce of muscle and would say that I've actually gotten bigger. At the very least, like Shakyumuni said, my physique has improved and I LOOK way better than before with some serious chest and shoulder development.

[Joshua Naterman]

Nice!

 

My shoulders are growing just from handstand work and ring supports. 

 

FIN: Regarding the chest, it is just much less involved in shoulder stabilization than the deltoids, and even though it does produce a large portion of motive force the stabilization work is really the core of ring training and even floor/PB planches (and FL + everything else where hands are the only base of support) so it makes a lot of sense that we're going to see massive shoulder development compared to chest development.

 

If you ever want to balance things out, weighted push ups or bench press will be your best two options. In my opinion, with my current experience. It's possible that ring flyes could also fill this in.

[Larry Roseman]

Thanks Josh.

 

I'll take all the appearance benefits as an indirect benefit but I feel funny about doing them for the main reason.  So for strength gains I'd consider getting a vest. Raising ones feet more and more to increase difficulty puts the weight on the shoulders, wheras planche leans seem to be more biceps and diamond more triceps. I've heard wider out pushups are chest though I find them easy on their own. Ring flyes are more chest like you say. I can do ring flyes from my knees but even then they are hard on the elbows at my level so don't do them very much at all.

 

 

[Joshua Naterman]

That's where I would do the ring flyes with bent elbows. Don't get caught up thinking that is useless...

 

Sure, bent elbows are not going to help you with your straight arm progression at all, but they are an EXCELLENT way to target your chest with an exercise that will carry over well to other skills. Same with weighted push ups. I think the two together would be great.

 

Just remember that they will almost exclusively benefit your bent arm work, so don't leave out that straight arm training!

[Larry Roseman]

That's where I would do the ring flyes with bent elbows. Don't get caught up thinking that is useless...

 

Sure, bent elbows are not going to help you with your straight arm progression at all, but they are an EXCELLENT way to target your chest with an exercise that will carry over well to other skills. Same with weighted push ups. I think the two together would be great.

 

Just remember that they will almost exclusively benefit your bent arm work, so don't leave out that straight arm training!

Thanks. I'll experiment with a mixture of more bend and reduced ROM to start. Straight arms mainly planks, L-sit, Wall HS, FL variations. Also partial wheel roll outs for "full body".  Looking forward to taking a good 4 days off soon for R&R!