some training advice, please!!

[Gardy]

Hi there!
i would like to ask you.. can you recommend me some weekly exercises? (what to do on monday, tuesday.....) i want to build my arm muscles A LOT more (i'm thin as hell), and build up my speed!
i don't (can't) train anything at the moment, cause we have school from 12 pm to 6 pm, and the trainings here are held from 2 pm - 4 pm
so... can you recommend me some weekly exercises??? (btw, i can't run far here.. the road is approx. 70 metres long, until it reaches the main road with plenty of cars, and the canal by the road is not suitable for running)

[Sean Dempsey]

Re: some training advice, please!!

Originally posted by Gardy
i want to build my arm muscles A LOT more (i'm thin as hell), and build up my speed!

Hmm, I'm a certified personal trainer, so you know the background of my response.

first of all, building size is typicall fairly slow, especially in arms. An Inch a year in circumfrance is usually considered pretty phenomenal. (that'd take you from 13 inch arms to 18" in 5 years... 18" is a decent size, 13" is like toothpicks).

First of all, spend 2-3 weeks at the gym or whatever just messing around and loosening up. Just have fun and play with the weights, don't go too heavy, but try and just get some moderate exercise to loosen up your ligaments and tendons. Don't do a hard routine right off the bat, start out just with fun warmups for a while.

If you want bigger arms, and only have 1 day a week to work them, here's what I'd do given those parameters:

First of all, I'd do reverse pyramids. Low reps, high weight, that's an effective way to get SIZE.

Biceps:
Heavy Barbell Curls
4, 6, 8, 10

Hammer dumbell curls
6, 8, 10, 12

Preachers (if you can find the bench)
6, 8, 10, 12

Triceps:
Dips (if your bodyweight is enough, fine, but try and get a weighted belt to add extra weight)
8, 10, 12

Tricep pulley pushdowns:
6, 8, 12

Close Grip Bench press:
6, 8, 12


The numbers beneath the workouts are the reps, in order. When it's only 6 reps, it should be heavy that doing 7 would be iffy if not impossible. Same with the others, when you're doing 12 dips, it should be almost to failure.

This is designed really to add on size. Reverse pyramids have been used by countless people who are going for mass. Of course, such low reps won't give those muscles great endurance, but adding great size and gerat endurance at the same time is hard, some say it's mutually exclusive.

[Great Sage]

Gardy,

Well... I’m NOT a personal trainer, but I have trained with a few.

I usually don’t recommend a schedule for people since many will find out what works for them. A lot of people try different exercises and realize their muscles react accordingly. I do like the routines Sean Dempsey has provided for you, so you could give it a try.

My personal advice is to not only train your arms, but your entire body. Many times, people who try and work one area reach a block because the rest of their body hasn’t caught up. Besides, training your entire body will increase your overall strength quicker.

One thing I disagree with Sean on is arm size... I think 13” is fine if it’s lean muscle mass. My arms are close to that size, about 13.25” and I max at about 305 lbs on a good day. At 18” I don’t think many people can throw quick punches. Most amateur weighlifters only have arms around 18”-20”.

Train for strength and the size will eventually follow. Also, the key is nutrition. Consume about 1 gram of protein for every pound and 2 grams of carbohydrates. For instance, if you weigh 150 lbs., you would need 150 grams of protein and 300 grams of carbs each day.

Keeps the reps low for bigger muscles and avoid doing a lot of cardio while you’re trying to build mass.

[kh_s]

(that'd take you from 13 inch arms to 18" in 5 years... 18" is a decent size, 13" is like toothpicks).

HAHAHA, my arms are 11 inches, while flexing to !!

oh btw how do you quote someone properly ??

[IPON]

Sean question - are you refering to "pyramids" not reverse pyramids. Pyramids are typically increasing the weight and decreasing the reps. reverse pyramids (which I like for curls) is decreasing the weight and increasing the reps.

Gary I would follow what Sean suggested also I would recommend also doing the dips first when working on Triceps, the logic is that you cannot adjust your body weight but can always adjust the weight on machines there after. The long bar (barbell) curl is a monstre my favorite and I think under utlized.
Hammer curls you can do seated or standing I prefer seated, I would also alternate(1 week on/1weekoff) preacher curls and concentration curls. Play around with teh weight so you can fit them in the reps like sean indicated and don't take big rest periods between sets and reps. Since you are starting you might but just be aware of the time.

And remember just like MA you techniques is all important to not only making gains but preventing injury. No major rocking or swinging with movements. If you are not sure of haw to properly execute the technique ask somone that works in the gym and they will show you for free...good luck

[Sean Dempsey]

A few things (DISCLAIMER: I'm just passing on info, not barking up anyone's tree or trying to push certain ideas. It's just info.)

Consume about 1 gram of protein for every pound (of body weight)

According to the American Council of Exercise, it is supposed to be 1 gram of protein for each KILOGRAM of LEAN bodyweight, not pound of total bodyweight. You'd want to measure your bodyfat and calculate your amount of lean mass, since fat and bones don't need protein per se.

The "1 gram per pound" is sort of a distortion, since most people aren't used to staying metric. If you consume 1 (or 1.5) grams of protein for each pound, you'll be excreting alot of the protein, wasting it down the toilet.

There's nothing terribly wrong with 1 gram per pound, it's just alot for your kidneys to handle, and costs money since usually people have to resort to shakes. Plus, you can only process about 30 grams of protein every 2 hours, so whenever you consume more than 30 grams at once, it gets flushed.

Sean question - are you refering to "pyramids" not reverse pyramids

I was referring to reverse pyramids, where you start heavy and go lighter, increasing reps (starting with 2 super heavy reps..).

Reverse pyramids and super heavy failure training is mainly for size and maximum hypertrophy. It is NOT really the thing to do for "strength" (neuromuscular adaptation) or speed, or endurance. Of course you'll get stronger, but there are different things to do for different primary goals.

[IPON]

Claro.....I think I was actually looking in reverse

[Nit]

In regards to increasing speed, some tips I picked up was to work you 'twitch' muscles...

examples are:
clapping pushups
skipping
running steps
ducking -> get someone to swing hay makers at your head, then do controlled bends from knees, and from waist, also fient side to side without move your feet, this will get your back muscles used to moving your torso out the way of an attack.
combination exercises like hindu squats mixed with mountain climbs and tuck jumps

basically anything that makes you move swiftly and in short bursts.

I can say in regrds to the top four they have absolutely made me feel pathetic once starting them, I could about 2 - 3 of each before feeling like I am about to die.

Now after getting used to them I feel stronger and swifter, the real test is in the dojo where it feels that I am able to duck in and out of range whilst not feeling like and elephant.

[Gardy]

thanks for all of your advices! i really appreciate it! i'll try them all in the next 2, 3 weeks