2. Heavy lifting improves myogenic tone.

Myogenic tone is what's often called "tonus." While this is a taboo word in hardcore training circles because of the "I just want to tone" crowd, the fact remains that it's a very real phenomenon. Ironically, to improve myogenic tone to the max, it's not the gym bunny with the pink dumbbells that'll see the best results.



You see, myogenic tone refers to a state of partial muscle activation. It means that even at rest the nervous system is keeping some tension in the muscle, probably to stay in a state of readiness if ever a situation requiring an instant force production arises.

Myogenic tone will be determined mostly by two things:

1. Neural efficiency: The more efficient the nervous system is, the greater your myogenic tone will be. Since heavy lifting improves the neural aspect of force production much more so than lighter lifting, it's only logical that this form of training will lead to more tonus over time.

2. Specific muscle fiber development: Some studies have shown that HTMU's (fast-twitch fibers) are predominantly superficial muscle fibers, while slow-twitch fibers lie deeper in the muscle. Preferential hypertrophy of the HTMU's, which are close to the skin surface, may make a muscle appear more solid. This is especially true when your body fat levels are low.

In fact, it's pretty easy to distinguish between a "pumper" and a heavy lifter, even among pro bodybuilders.

The pumper seems to double in volume midway through his workout. When you look at him in an un-pumped state, he won't appear that impressive. Give him twenty minutes in the gym and you'll think he's a completely different person. An hour after his workout, he'll once again look less than impressive.

On the other hand, find a guy who does a lot of heavy lifting and you'll see someone who doesn't change that much regardless of if he's pumped or not. He'll look just as solid, massive, and impressive at rest than during an intense workout.

In the bodybuilding world, you can compare the physiques of Flex Wheeler and Francis Benfatto, who were noted "pumpers," to guys like Dorian Yates, Johnny Jackson, or Branch Warren who are known for lifting in the lower rep ranges. Granted, Flex and Francis have more aesthetic physiques, but I'm only talking about muscle density and that rock-solid look.



Francis Benfatto: Pumped for her pleasure.

It seems that lighter training can give the muscles a rounder look because it stimulates more slow-twitch fibers, which are deeper in the muscle. But, this look is only truly remarkable when the athlete is pumped up.

Heavy lifting seems to lead to a rock-solid appearance that sticks with you 24/7. I remember seeing Marius Pudzianowski at the Olympia expo. He wasn't the biggest guy there, but he was by far the most impressive. He actually looked like he could walk through a brick wall!



Brick walls cower in the presence of Marius.

Now, understand that this "look" theory is only from my observation. There is some basis to it, but it hasn't been proven. But, one thing is certain: Heavy lifting improves myogenic tone better than light or moderate training.

incognito skrev:vil du ikke fortælle hvordan tværsnitareal eller densitet skulle få en muskel til at se hårdere ud?

Så vidt jeg forstår det, så er muskler der ser hårde ud markerede og vaskulariserede. Ingen af tingene hænger sammen musklen som sådan. Hvis man endelig skal snakke om at der er noget der påvirker musklen på denne måde, så er det nok hvilken slags krudt, folk bruger.