I was wondering why so many posts I read on this forum express desires to not "bulk", to rather "tone" or other such sentiments. It seems to me this is in conflict with everything else these posters are after... more speed, more strength, more performance, more endurance, reduced bodyfat, etc.
Is this an excuse to forgo the grueling heavy workouts? To say that they do not want to increase muscle mass because they fear they cannot accomplish that goal? Some misguided belief that smaller muscles are better at performing muscular tasks than larger ones? Or possibly some financial concern with having to buy new clothes?
I can understand people not wanting to look like Mr Olympia... I also understand that takes a massive overdosing of steroids for many years and a totally dedicated lifestyle to be that huge. I just dont see how people think they will go to the gym and one day its like OOPS!! I accidentaly put on 50 lbs of muscle and did not even notice.
In my eyes, whether you are looking to reduce bodyfat, gain strength, run faster, be better at hand to hand, or have better endurance the FIRST thing you have to do is get slightly larger muscularity than you would have at an ideal weight. This is necessary because building muscle mass is HARD and you will inevitably lose some if you attempt to reduce fat, add in lots of endurance work, or pretty much anything that is not strictly part of a massbuilding life style. This muscle also increases your BMR so it aids in fat loss, will increase strength and thus muscular endurance and gives a foundation to allow more performance once you learn to control that greater muscle mass.
I would also be willing to bet that most of the peole not wanting more mass are actually underdeveloped to begin with which is even more disconcerting. I see this in women who begin training all the time. They say they WILL NOT do mass work yet point to a picture of someone like Carmen Electra and say that is what they want to look like... and she has about 50% more muscle mass than they do at a minimum.
I would like to know some of your thoughts on the subject.