Can You Separate Strength From Size?

[@peterkristensen7038]

This man knows what he is talking about. Every noob lifter should watch this channel and take notes. He might be a bit socially awkward but so what? This channel deserves +1 millions subs. KZbin is filled with genetically gifted and enhanced morons with no basic understanding of the physiological implications of resistance training. Programming your training is crucial to gaining strength and size as a drug free lifter. Best regards, medical student researching in muscle physiology

[@AlexLeonidas]

Really appreciate that Peter, your comment means a lot.

[@Legenda20SLO]

What do you mean with "he might be a bit socially awkward" ? To me he seems very sociable, the man can talk for hours.

[@WetPig]

Smooth Operator Yea I never understood that.

[@Legenda20SLO]

+Spandan Adhikari Haha, wish he cut down to a lower bf, shave the beard off and imitate him. I'd fucking die laughing :D

[@Legenda20SLO]

Just started doing Landmine press again, man what a wonderful exercise. It hits the upper back, shoulders, upper chest and triceps at the same time. BAAM!

[@AlexLeonidas]

FYI, I look tired/sick in this video because I had terrible gastro these past 2 days. I had an extra large pizza, a shitload of eggs, and over 2L of whole milk which resulted in all kinds of problems. Had to lay down in bed all day as a result, really sucked.

[@tomlink7134]

AlphaDestiny Why the hell would you do all that?😂

[@iiNeedSkins]

AlphaDestiny You're fooling no one Alex, you're clearly baked out of your god damn mind ;)

[@Hersovyac]

Speedy recovery to you

[@marcorodriguez7694]

lol!!!

[@dylanbergfitness2971]

hope you feel better man. Also please do a video of you getting a dexa scan please. I know you are 5'6 185lbs, but you need to be realistic on your bodyfat percentages. I know you think your 15% but I would say your closer to 20% bodyfat. Which means you have around 148lbs of lbm. So if you get down to 10% bodyfat, which I know you don't want to, but if you did you would be around 165lbs, probably closer to 160lbs when its all said and done. But please get a dexa scan done

[@adammazen6359]

I laughed so fucking hard when you said '10x10 would put most of you in the hospital'

[@Legenda20SLO]

Man 10x10 is straight up disgusting. Even I don't want to do that shit anymore and I enjoy volume days.

[@averagejoe7136]

Adam Mazen I love 10x10... but fuck doing that on a deadlift just sounds sick...

[@GrowYourMeat]

Try it at around 50% of your 1RM

[@imoamedo]

it's so awesome to see how a rather small channel like this has the best community ! 👊

[@iiNeedSkins]

A good way to spot a steroid user in the gym is to evaluate their performance. If a dude comes in hits cables isolations all day, shrugs 2 plates and is jacked, he's using.

[@wesleygaitan]

Cosmic Ape you do realize you can get jacked with light weights as long as the total volume is high

[@rocklee5231]

destroyerplayer not entirely true. if it were distance runners would have massive calves due to the astronomical volume accrued over the course of 10ks for example.

[@wesleygaitan]

rxs 13 lifting 200lbs 1 set and lifting 10lbs for 20 sets equal the same

[@wesleygaitan]

rxs 13 ultimately what I mean is progressive overload you can lift light weights as long you keep progressing by more reps sets

[@godwavenexus]

destroyerplayer If it worked that way, we could get yoked with pink dumbbells.

[@mattbrumbaugh4039]

You are the messiah that KZbin Fitness doesn't deserve, but so desperately needs.

[@UltimateKeyboardist6]

I love when you said "you can't get bigger from doing the same fucking shit", got me really fired up to kill pr's tomorrow. One of these days I would love to watch a motivational video you put out, not that your training isn't motivating, but a special video designed to help get psyched up and for focused

[@UltimateKeyboardist6]

For focus*

[@drumminfool92]

Bro, do you even periodization?

[@pantelisgeorgios1]

Zach Frierson haha you are godamn right

[@blukcirtap]

This speech says it all. It pretty much sums up everything and this would shut up so many people but people still believe magic is better

[@AlexLeonidas]

Magic gains ;)

[@LearningThingsWithAaron]

"That would put most of you in a fucking hospital" LMAO bruh that made me laugh so hard

[@patrickstar1439]

Bro you are forgetting about tendon strength . I know farmers that could throw Arnold off the hay wagon ,but they aren't big like him.

[@UndoMove]

I swear that your channel is nothing but truth man. Too bad some people don't want to fucking believe it.

[@jjanderson4767]

My current day 1 of 4 workout is... Deadlift 10x10 65% of 1RMP Supinated Seated Row 3x12 super setted with Band pulls 3x12 Incline DB press 10x10 Cable cross overs 3x12 super setted with press ups 3x12 (1 and 1/2 reps) Took me three weeks to start consistently getting through it and now I'm upping the weights slowly! My day 2,3 and 4 also consist of various 10x10's, my strength has gone through the roof in less than four weeks!

[@TwisTroGaming]

from personal use: i took 500mg testosterone and gained 9kg (20lbs). cuz of the drugs i finally went over my bodyweight goal what i just couldn't reach natural. tbh, my diet was almost the same & didnt put much effort into it. Just wanted to add this, maby it's interesting lol idk

[@AlexLeonidas]

Textbook case right here, thanks for sharing your experiences brother.

[@mominkhan6056]

Alex is the goat some of the best advice on KZbin

[@k7cody7]

You’re the most knowledgeable and honest fitness youtuber I’ve seen yet. Thank you for sharing what you know. I know a lot, and guys like scooby and Omar as great as their channels are don’t teach me nearly as much as you If you’re down for constructive criticism, you come across as very aggressive and socially awkward. I personally don’t mind. The content is so worth it. Well done. I absolutely love your channel.

[@AlexLeonidas]

Thank you sir, happy to be of benefit

[@blakemarsee4801]

I think too many people are listening to Rich Piana. lol.

[@jeremywhitfield4556]

Squuueeeezzee SHOOP AAHHH

[@theopap4672]

It's about PROGRESSIVE TENSION not progressive overload(it doesnt actually contradicts what you are saying but its better put this way)....everybody have a nice day!

[@imnotyourdoctor8134]

Alex dropping truth bombs!

[@onry714oc]

Preach brother! Preach!!! In ALPHADESTINY we trust.

[@onry714oc]

Oh and I just started your novice program. my first week . Thanks

[@yonathankebede9694]

for those who complain that he says the same thing over and over again. THAT'S CUZ DA TRUTH DON'T CHANGE

[@romclater8448]

yeah you tell em alex! pisses me off when someone says that getting bigger has nothing to do with strength.

[@MikefromTexas1]

(reads title, says outloud) "Why the hell would you wanna do that???"

[@zispop]

Your Channel is pure gold. Keep killing it brotha

[@chne8055]

Alex you are a real motivator and you are giving good advices and i think that you are also a good brother and that you are giving some good advices to your brother and sister !

[@chrisakri6616]

fucking love your raw truth cut through the bullshit informative approach, keep up the awesome work man

[@Jakearrian]

The level of alpha in this video is astounding!

[@Ruben9122]

I love his talking style

[@JayLivinFit]

Genetics play a major role! I made videos on this man.

[@edwarddasilva2723]

thanks for slapping these people with common sense!!

[@dakidsbac777]

Ray here from Brooklyn NY, this channel is awsome.

[@karlfreeman2153]

Yessss, someone who finally cuts the bullshit!! I would argue that different rep ranges target different muscle fibres e.g. Sarcoplasmic vs myofibrillar. But your bang on with the genetics and also that people are likely to follow where they are naturally inclined. So much ignorance when it comes to muscle hypertrophy and genetics.

[@AlexLeonidas]

That too has been debunked my man. The ratio between the two is genetically set, you cannot target one or the other. See what Stuart Philipps PhD says about this. "Sarcoplasmic vs. Myofibrillar hypertrophy… perhaps you’ve heard those terms and even read information from some guru who says there are different types of ‘hypertrophy’. This is unadulterated garbage and basically anyone who has ever taken a course in muscle physiology, exercise physiology, and knows a little biochemistry would tell you so. The amount of myofibrillar protein in skeletal muscle fibre remains remarkably constant! There are no examples of where a muscle fibre hypertrophies with resistance training and the myofibrillar pool doesn’t grow but the sarcoplasm does! The occasional example of a discordance between hypertrophy and strength gain (for examplewww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22518835) is not, no matter what the pundits think, due to a ‘sarcoplasmic’ hypertrophy in the low-load condition. The obvious explanation is a neuromuscular training-zone specific strength response in the low vs. the high load groups - muscle/exercise physiology 101."

[@katar4yyy]

Been listening to Alex a lot recently, so I did my first 635lb rack pull above the knee today and had about 6 guys (3 of which were gym staff) laugh at me from the other end of the gym and say things like "he JUST rack pulls it". Wow.... I sometimes wish this channel was so much more popular just so these dickheads would obtain some knowledge.

[@AlexLeonidas]

Well Scott Herman has 1.3 million subs and does rack pulls above the knee. Omar Isuf featured me on his channel about the topic and the video has over 250k views. Rob Libsett also made great gains from this lift, and I have thousands of men who got yoked by doing it. Just reference this to them next time, and they won't know what else to say. BTW those dudes are probably insecure pussies that are very immature, fuck them

[@stevend481]

thanks for spreading the knowledge for the natties, the bodybuilding broscience has plagued this community, this is a revolution

[@TheBonboni11]

I just had this discussion yesterday, i'm gonna send him this video in tha face

[@zackfakhouri]

I am an idividual who focus on more bodyweight strength (eg. Handstands,Levers) And what you mentioned is totally 100% true.I met a lot of people who are really skinny with a low muscle percentage yet they are so strong,they can easily control their bodyweight and move freely against gravity,Compared to me i have an average strength for now but my genetics allow me to look like more a bodybuilder cause of my wide and slightly big traps :)

[@yolo-tb7ip]

I cringed so hard every time I hear that shit about pump and squeeze. I had a minor stroke. Keep up the informative vids man

[@dannym3821]

Squeezing muscles isn't why bodybuilders are bigger than powerlifters. Its because the elite bodybuilders are juicing and have insane genetics, and also work a lot more on isolation exercises so they look more aesthetic. They are not necessarily bigger. People are so stupid.

[@talder123]

Also the fact bodybuilders use other drugs that powerlifters do not. Powerlifters would use drugs that only help them recover and get them stronger. Bodybuilders use growth hormone and other drugs powerlifters don't use which would make them even bigger though not as strong

[@dannym3821]

deapinvalid Not necessarily. Again, they will appear bigger due to their more apparent muscles but you're seriously underestimatating just how much muscle power lifters build. Just cuz their main goal is powerlifting doesn't mean that they're skinny little shits. Just as not all bodybuilders are weak little shits.

[@dannym3821]

deapinvalid That's true. But there's direct correlation between the numbers you can lift and how big you are. As a natural, the more you can lift for more reps, the bigger you will be. Take any elite natural powerlifter and put them on a bodybuilding diet and training style for a year. Watch them look better than almost any non genetically gifted bodybuilder. As a natural, you really should focus on both. You can only get so big so why not focus on strength anyway?

[@ProphetFear]

@deapinvalid Did you not watch the video at all? He just addressed that powerlifters DON'T just do low rep routines.

[@dannym3821]

werdgrghr yuiygfs Isn't that what I said? I said that as a natural you should focus on both bodybuilding AND powerlifting for the most optimal gains in strength and aesthetics.

[@tommom5808]

No pain, no gain.

[@zyzzthetics8217]

Most underated channel on youtube😕, keep up the good work man!

[@superdee7095]

I think what is meant by the old 'squeeze the muscle' idea is that if you are isolating a muscle or muscle group you can actually make the exercise harder without increasing volume weight/reps/sets etc not just by squeezing the muscle but making sure the target area is actually doing all or more of the work. Like if you are doing 30kg dumbell curls with shit as fuck form swinging all over the place yeah you might be 'overloading' the biceps but how much of the power is coming from the hips or back ? You might be better off making the biceps do more of the work by doing the exercise strict with less weight and less volume overall but making the muscle work more by doing the exercise differently and then increasing the volume from there . The way you do the movement can potentially limit the amount of stress the muscle is put under . The answer might not always be add more volume when you can first make the area work more with the way you do the exercise

[@AlexLeonidas]

You still need to improve performance though, at some point squeezing alone won't get you anywhere. You'll have to increase the strength of your perfect form curls.

[@Naptownstreetsquid]

volume is the primary driver of hypertrophy. - Dr Mike Isreatel. go ahead with the shit storm Ill defend.

[@MrJamesdryable]

I love this video. I watch it every few weeks.

[@Ruben9122]

Best youtuber

[@bruh-ik9yt]

my favourite youtube channel. hats of to you sir, you know your shit man.

[@jayfallen5934]

completely agree my brother! love the passion man it gets me pumped!

[@Avarazon]

Damn I realised I've just been aimlessly going to the gym lately not focusing on improving my strength. Just thinking if I get my muscles some stimulus they will grow eventually through consistency. Not the case, thanks for the eye opening!

[@legobinfitness8215]

All you need to do is marinate the muscles, pump them up

[@TheMorganBrothers]

"10x10 deadlifts would put most of yall in the fucking hospital" i shit myself 😂😂

[@jwright3234]

Great vid! Amazes me that people lack so much common sense to actually believe that adding weight to the bar while doing the same amount of reps won't build muscle!

[@XlAnonymousUserlX]

The part on leverages was the key to your video. Richard Hawthorne locks weights out at his knee. He may be a great deadlifter, but he's only an okay bencher by scale (300 lbs). That is still tremendous for his body weights but it goes to show how strongly your bench press is tied to your body mass

[@AlexLeonidas]

Arm length aside, he also broke a squat world record

[@JimitriG]

Good vid man, get strong and you will get big in those muscle groups.

[@CJax749]

Totally agree, usually the people who claim pump work are small or on drugs. It all comes down to performance and volume

[@Wellsie333]

in order to maximise hypertrophy, especially in specific muscles, progressive overload is important in combination with a good mind to muscle connection and feeling the muscle work.

[@stelliumeleven2889]

Beard game is strong. I think it's time for a trim, as well as some beard oil. Then letting it grow out evenly. I have the same issue man, my chin beard grows way faster than everyone else.

[@AaronTheManCityKid]

Hello Alex, I was watching some old videos seeing somewhat of a fallout between you and Kinobody. I watch many of Greg's old videos and you commented and seemed to have a good relationship with him. Do you not like each other? I really enjoy his channel and your content with the rack pulls above the knee and shit, it would be more beneficial if you both supported each other!

[@talder123]

Kinobody did make a video attacking Alex basically saying being 15-20% bodyfat makes you look like shit. Also most of Kinobody's beach body philosophies don't fall into Alex's look yoked philosophies as the beach body philosophies won't give you that yoked look for a natural the way Alex's philosophies will

[@tomlink7134]

It's not the size it's how you use it. Which increases the size. But if you don't increase the way you use it it won't increase in size.

[@randomuser6789]

tom link wut

[@tonycrosby913]

great video bro. you and Jason blaha are my favorite channels

[@IsmaelDrucker]

Tony Crosby inner ciiiiiiityyy

[@dougdimmadomeownerofthedim3072]

Rich O'Gallagher fair enouugh

[@tonycrosby913]

Ricardo Hernandez not sure what these comments mean. actually was born and raised in inner city so there's that. but let's keep the comments fitness focused guys. no funny business.

[@Timmy-qr4ws]

Just came across this. Great video and subbed.

[@grahamcallaghan5429]

Possibly the best video you ever made. I come back to this all of the time!!! And now I'm off to do some weighted chin ups with 200kg added 💪💪😂

[@Ism0Lait3la]

More commentaries over your workouts please Alex.👍

[@jarilo8639]

Well strength has a neuromuscular component to it but size does not. As long as you can stimulate it enough it will grow but your 'brain' won't get better at contracting the muscle.

[@nadza3265]

one of your best videos love it

[@aragon19964]

Fucking GOLD video Alex. Keep spreading that fucking truth!

[@christopherdelva7592]

I believe that a stronger muscle is a bigger muscle simple that's worked for me

[@БожидарНиколов-к7д]

Nice video dude ! You are saying the truth and i really appreciate this!! Never stop with the good videos big fan here !

[@lionelpil8707]

This is absolute thruth. I began training at the same time as a friend and he always was a little ahead in term of strenght when we compared conventional deadlift. Did not matter how harder than him I trained he was still ahead. Tho my size exploded when his size somehow remained the same.

[@Strontius89]

german volume training for squat was the most intense thing I ever did, felt like I ran a fucking marathon. Never again :p

[@MrKandova]

Haha, I wanna try it out for my bench and see how it works. I'm sure doing that for Squats is another story though. I sometimes do a 20-rep squat routine and I always feel like throwing up after that and I'm also super fucked up after and can barely function for some time. I can only do it at the end of my workouts also because if I started with it, there would be no workout after that at all. Tough shit man.

[@Ulixces]

Mr Beard has returned with a great video yet again. Quick question man, as a novice I stalled a lot on my 5x5's so I switched it up to 8x3's and I am lifting weights I've never lifted before. Really making gains. Is there much of a difference size wise if you compare 5x5's to 8x3's? Thanks man

[@AlexLeonidas]

Probably not a significant difference, although with 5x5 the percentage of your 1RM may be higher

[@Ulixces]

AlphaDestiny Thank you man!

[@alextrimblett7625]

Great video as always, spot on! Keep up the great content, I'm looking forward to a full body workout

[@dojajkox]

You can progress from 20 pound cheat curls to strict curls to squeezing them to doimg them more explosively and slowly om the way dowm. That is still progress in performance

[@evancarmean2698]

For about 5 months now my bench has been stuck at 185, squat at 300, and deadlift at 315. I've been telling myself bullshit excuses like my genetics suck and such. Thanks to your channel, I know that all of that is bullshit and I realized that I've been stuck for there so long because my training has been stagnant and I haven't been changing anything. I'm about to hop on that novice program of yours Alex and I cannot wait for the gains to come rolling in. My goal is to hit 225 on bench, 315 on squat, and 405 on deadlift sometime in August. I'm sure a lot of it depends on how fast my muscles grow, but what do you think about these goals?

[@undefinido]

lol same here, almost the same numbers.

[@MISFITNESS-x]

Still somewhat better than me. my bench is at 245 but my squat is 275 lmao. my deadlift is 315.

[@AlexLeonidas]

you'll hit the goals in no time! keep it up

[@evancarmean2698]

MISFITness Nice man! It's been awhile since I hit that on squat and was actually getting really close to hitting 315 with good depth, but I had a couple of surgeries on my feet and I've been struggling to get back to it.

[@evancarmean2698]

AlphaDestiny Thanks! I've been dealing with a pulled abdominal muscle (got it checked out and it's not a hernia or anything serious), so I'm not sure when I'll start the program. I'd like to start next week, but being 100% comes before the gains

[@rambo102626]

lol i got a kinobody ad for this video

[@pedro6508]

Alex: The fitness comunity red piller

[@coryrockwell8864]

My god your tone throughout the video sounds like me when trying to help my friends with their lifting programs😂

[@Patatmetmayo]

Not everyone responds the same way to the same kind of training. Some people's muscles respond better to more volume work, others to heavier work, or certain exercises may be better for you than for others. So while the difference between arm size between you and your training partner may be explained by genetics, other factors may certainly play a role as well. It could be that your arms grow more by doing a certain exercise or going heavier with lower reps, while your training partner's arms grow more by following the training program you guys were doing. Everybody is different.

[@jadeer1786]

Awesome Video Alex loving your chanel.

[@user-wf6xd3db4i]

alex i believe some people naturally have more strength or size. Because of the different types of muscle fibers. idk i could be wrong. But u are right progressive overload = growth for sure

[@amazinginterestingstuff9413]

nice editing, bring back the music from the old days!

[@danielkrome2333]

Well said my man

[@brycelugviel8035]

I love the way this dude speaks XD

[@MRnnathann]

This shit is so fucking true. Genetics contributes to so much... my mum sister and dad have big chests naturally. GUESS what, mine grows by not doing much at all. But my arms? No matter how hard I train them, they won't grow nearly as much as my chest/delts.

[@matthewgeng8946]

Great ideas !!! Thank you Alex!!!!

[@enigma7689]

Brother please can you make full body training videos again? I really want to see some more of them!!

[@shaunmabey9790]

I'm getting back into weights out of shape asf after a long string of thing such as a shoulder injury, moving to a new town etc etc etc. I've missed it so much and I'm loving smashing the weights, only problem is I'm struggling to get the fat off me

[@fitznesstraining2245]

Great video bro!

[@at6062]

I really don't understand the people saying these things. Why wouldn't you want to be strong?

[@AlexLeonidas]

No clue bro, I think it's just teenagers or inexperienced lifters who don't care. Just my opinion though

[@Enmanuel_V6]

“Allow me to shattered those beliefs right now”🤣

[@pranavgainz4180]

bradely Martyn has a video of him deadlifting 405 for 100 reps.

[@dylanrosser797]

40odd dislikes are from guys doing cable crossovers and pushdowns and only show up on Fridays before a night out

[@ThePitPony]

Young impressionable people who look towards well known bodybuilders who are (but don't admit) using PED's see them training in a less than optimal way and getting huge. They erroneously assume that because these guys LOOK big and are well known/famous then they MUST be training correctly. Trying to get your message across can be very tiring,annoying and fruitless. I have found that over the decades that you might as well leave them to their own devices,you'll progress and they won't. Incidentally,these same people saying you are wrong will be the same ones who accuse you of being on PED's even when you are not.

[@tarearnaut3502]

Alex I dont get it when people say "You need to get strong to get big", but like, is there even a way to train lets say 2 years and dont get strong? Like how can you train and not get strong? Its impossible. Is this a message to all the people that are benching the same weight for 2 years lets say for the same volume? 135lbs wont be the same for the first year and the second year, like the second year should be easier to lift it, but they still keep that weight because I dont even know the reason for?

[@Kayeinel]

"it's there FUCKING GENETICS!"

[@TheBonboni11]

Kayeinel their*

[@Kayeinel]

Lol thank you

[@Sidehustlesu]

Waiting for this

[@eduardpascaru2385]

Yep, true words!

[@PaschalP]

when will I stop feeling like I have been hit by a fucking bus with full body workouts. I been doing full body three days a week for 2 months and I still feel like a fucking MMA fighter beat my ass.

[@tommyguglielmo1194]

Thomas Paschal Jesus Christ man. twice a week is fine! eat more fish, butter, veggies and ul blow up. full body twice a week requires a heavy weight though. if ur doing full body with low weight, high reps, then ur body WILL be taxed crazy. lower the reps, up the weight, and take a 5 minute break IF REALLY NEEDED

[@PaschalP]

Three times a week is hard enough! I can't help but want to go more frequently. I'll give it a try though. Is it ok to do some cardio and calisthenics on my rest days?

[@tommyguglielmo1194]

Thomas Paschal yea man, just don't over do any rest days. idk about calisthenics though. might have to do alot of sets for those. if u burn a shit load of calories (which u probably do, alot of people saying they can't gain or are sore all day, usually do) u won't get proper recovery and-or growth

[@vojin63]

Now i totaly agree

[@auz2430]

Genetics are everything. I've been working out for 5ish months but was always a big guy. I can only strict curl 90 lbs and my one rep bench is 205 yet I have 16 inch arms.

[@AlexLeonidas]

For 5 months that is INSANE progress bro. Both size and strength. You're gonna be an insane natural, just wait and see

[@auz2430]

AlphaDestiny Glad to hear that from you. Always was stronger due to sports such as football and rugby and just have been lucky with genetics. Had a pretty bad knee injury that required a lot of surgery and rehab but will be hitting 315 (possibly for reps) by the end of the year (thanks to your channel)

[@yoyoyo09ish]

Alex, I have to point out that you didn't mention the height of this training partner.

[@GamerPro735]

0:15 my PDHPE teach was saying that shit and fuck i was seething while i was trying to keep my mouth shut cause i knew she was wrong. squeezing the muscles do FUCK ALL