Training for definition rather than mass

Dave0JV

Hey All,

So as the title says, I'm wondering about the differences between training for muscle definition as opposed to training for muscle mass.

A bit of background, I'm a 5'7, ~180lb, 22 year old male who is fairly active, I've plenty of experience in the past of training to build muscle mass but I've never really trained for anything other than this. My diet is pretty balanced, I generally eat a lot of lean protein and carbs though I am prone to the odd cheat day or two!

I've read up on it a bit and from what I can tell the way to go is to cut carbs, use pyramid sets or supersets in resistance training, and use either cardio at 70% max or HIIT training to burn fat. In your experience, is this the correct approach? Or would you suggest a different approach?

Alf Veedersane

If you want more definition then you need less fat which means maybe not having more than one full cheat day. Two and you're just kidding yourself.

So get your diet in order. Balanced doesn't mean a huge amount in the context of getting bf % down.

PowerToWait

That whole cheat day thing is a load of pony anyway.

As every teacher used to say, you're only cheating yourself.

arybvtcw0eolkf

I guess summer is here

Mellor

There's no such thing as training muscles for definition. Definition is dependent on bodyfat covering the muscles, or the lack of.
Supersets, pyramids sets etc are going to increase definition over straight sets.
Low carb is one diet approach, it works for me. Other don't like it. It's just about cutting calories, what ever works

Zillah

PowerToWait wrote: »

That whole cheat day thing is a load of pony anyway.

As every teacher used to say, you're only cheating yourself.

I've always felt the same, but I've a pretty utilitarian relationship with food. Cheat days really help some people. They miss the indulgence, the comfort of it, and without it they'll become miserable with their diet, and no one who is miserable will keep doing what they are doing indefinitely.

caroldevis

Your biggest enemy is the % of fat you have! The less it is the better and healthier you are!

MysticMonk

caroldevis wrote: »

Your biggest enemy is the % of fat you have! The less it is the better and healthier you are!

I thought fat people were always jolly.

learn_more

caroldevis wrote: »

Your biggest enemy is the % of fat you have! The less it is the better and healthier you are!

If that were true Ketogenic diet wouldn't work, but it evidently does work.

Your enemy rather then is high fat PLUS high carbs.

Nervous Wreck

learn_more wrote: »

If that were true Ketogenic diet wouldn't work, but it evidently does work.

Your enemy rather then is high fat PLUS high carbs.

He was talking about body fat, not fatty foods.

MightyMandarin

caroldevis wrote: »

Your biggest enemy is the % of fat you have! The less it is the better and healthier you are!

Unless you get down to 8% or less, in which case it is definitely not better or healthier.

Tbh the ideal percentage is somewhere between 12-15% in terms of general recovery and health for your body. Anything below 10% is really hard to maintain and might impact on your health in the long term.