[quote author="davan" date="1258418697"]Non-specific hypertrophy? I’m not sure what you mean, but you should be using exercises that are targeting musculature specific to your sporting activities, though there were undoubtedly be some general hypertrophy related to this.
If I add muscle to my tris by doing extensions, doesn’t mean it will transfer to my bench. Lifting adds muscle, but if it’s not specific how much does it carry over? Very little from my observations.[/quote] That is not a very good example, though I understand your point and it is a good one overall, with many caveats. Most strength oriented movements will come down to the amount of muscle one has and most strength improvements beyond becoming better at the movement (coordination specific to the lift) are going to come from increased protein content within the muscle(s). Therefore, adding muscle to your triceps via extension will likely lead to improvements in the bench press IF you combine the new muscle with associated movements. The issue of transference becomes problematic when looking at more multi-faceted disciplines (ie sprinting or jumping) where there are many muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bone structures working together at high rates of speed with very short contraction times which rely much less on muscle than a static strength movement like the bench press (or tricep extensions).
It will necessitate non-contractile hypertrophy
That is simply not true at all. There CAN be non-contractile hypertrophy, but it is not necessary or even necessary likely when looking at a holistic program that is combining many elements, along with manipulating diet and other factors to keep this from happening.
Unless you’re juiced, you can only hold a certain amount of fat free mass without fat gain
This is true regardless of whether or not somebody is on drugs, it is just that the amount is higher if someone is using drugs. It is tangent to the point, especially when dealing with people that are not near their maximum fat free mass (ie nearly anyone who isn’t a bodybuilder).
If neural efficiency doesn’t carry over, why are powerlifters strong as shit in general. If a skinnier elite level powerlifter was going to fight a guy with bigger muscle who doesn’t train, who would you put money on?
What are you talking about? Strong as “shit” in general? I do a lot of my lifting with 2 friends that are powerlifters and they have pretty good lifts, but they are not freakish on all movements, certainly not any more than someone else. A person with more LBM is almost always going to be stronger and the reason why elite powerlifters are strong in a general sense is in large part because of the muscle mass they have and how that muscle mass is distributed (please see the triceps/back/etc. of dieted down HW and SHW PLers). This has little to do with the % they lifted at and much to do with the muscle mass they have.
Further, I’d pick a strongman with equal LBM over a PLer any day for being “strong as shit” in general (in being able to be strong on any given movement).
All athletes have a transfer period, not just the ones who lift over 85%. Doesn’t have anything to do with being strong.
This response doesn’t even make sense to what I said, but you’re right about it not having anything to do with being strong because the improvements are not associated with any transferable strength gains.