Creatine Powder

Working out to gain size and working out to gain strength might seem like two sides of the same coin. Many people assume that, with one, goes the other. Interestingly enough, this isn't always true. While lifting weights may be seen as simple and foolproof, there are any number of end results that can occur depending on HOW you lift weights.

If you are trying to increase your strength, but you aren't necessarily concerned about increasing your size, you may have to switch up your workout. This isn't to say that working out won't make your muscles bigger; it will. The thing, though, is that there are different ways to accomplish your desired results and some workouts are designed for different outcomes. That being said, in order to primarily increase your strength, you will want to do fewer repetitions and more sets with heavier weights. Instead of, say, three sets of ten repetitions with a certain weight, you will want to increase the weight and perform five sets of around five repetitions. This will make your strength gains more noticeable. Coupling this with creatine powder also goes a long way towards increasing your performance. With creatine powder, your muscles will be better able to recover from each workout.

If you want to burn fat and make your muscles more toned, then the low repetion/high set number idea is not for you. You will instead want to go the opposite route. You will want to do fewer sets but make each set have a higher number of repetitions with less weight. Normally, two to three sets of twelve to fifteen repetitions is ideal for making the muscles look more toned and "cut". The fat around the muscles will melt off and your muscles will look very lean and cut, but they won't be big. Also, if your desire is to be toned, avoid creatine powder. It inflates the muscles with water weight and takes away from the "cut" look.

Obviously, the middle area between these two concepts is the good old fashioned "three sets, ten reps" concept. This is perfect for making your muscles bigger, although you won't get as toned as you can with higher reps, and you won't see strength gains as significant as you would see with heavier weights and fewer repetitions. In the end, it is up to you to decide which look you think you would like the best. Don't forget, you can always switch from different workouts, depending on what you want to look like.