How do I get strong but not muscular?

Question

I want to be kind of like Bruce Lee. Strong but not muscular.

Is there a way to strengthen the tendons connecting my muscles to the bone specifically? I hear that's where most strength comes from, not just the muscle.

Answer 1

First, Cthulhu's answer is very good.

Add on:  

Strength doesn't just come from the size of your muscles, it also comes learning how to use your whole body as a single unit, with all of your muscles working together.

Doing isolation exercises like bi-cep curls or exercise that isolate deltoids, lats, tris, etc., are great if you only care about LOOKING BIGGER.  They only make you a teeny-tiny bit stronger.

Excercises that make you stronger require you to use your whole body, like push-ups, pull-ups and squats.

Read up about how power-lifters train.  They don't care about looking bigger, they only care about getting stronger.  read about "sympathetic contraction".  Your question about "making the tendons stronger" will be answered by reading up on power-lifting.  You might look for some good books that explain power-lifting on Amazon.com.

Search google for sites on body-weight conditioning - exercises that use your own body-weight.

If you want strength exercises to complement yout martial arts training, these exercises cover almost everything.

CHEST

pushups of course.

try feet-elevated pushups for variation.

SHOULDER

hand stand

hand-stand push-ups if you are able

Ju-jitsu push-ups, or hindu push-ups - head down, butt in the air, feet spread, make an upside down "V" with your body and do a shoulder press with your body weight for resistance.

BACK

body weight pull-ups of course.  Flex your whole body head to toe, not just your arms.

Tri-cep dips

LEGS

body-weight squats or Hindu squats

running and sprints

jump-rope

cycling

I was surprised that when I did boxing, I didn't do any sit-ups but I my stomach was flatter and tighter than it had ever been, and my chest definition was much better than when I was lifting weights.

Cycling did more to make my waist and lower back strong than weightlifting did.  I stop having low-back pain when I cycle.

Cycling is not isolating the legs.  Cycling requires you to connect your whole body from right hand to left foot and left hand to right foot.  Everything in between gets strengthened.  (Hard to see if you're young, easier to see if you let yourself get really out of shape and then start cycling every day!)

Answer 2

To be honest, that whole question depends on your body type. There are some people who, when they train, will become muscular. Then there are people who won't get muscular, but will get lean. I fall into the latter group. I am a lifeguard, and I can say from personal experience that swimming is one of the best exercises that you can do. It is very low impact and works almost all parts of your body. However, that won't be enough if you really want to get in shape. Try training with very light weights. It will be enough to give you a good workout but not enough to make you bulk up.

Answer 3

as the first said...swimming.

push ups

pull ups

plyometrics

good core training

proper nutritionhttp://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php

Answer 4

Swimming, it gives you strong, toned muscles