Posted: 1/20/2011 4:02:05 PM EDT
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some of you might give me a thumbs up, some of you might rip me to shreds but here is my current routine, and i am open to ideas to make it better.
first off- im not doing any cardio. ive spent my life trying to bulk up, and have finally done it this winter. i also cant run, im dealing with Plantar Fasciitis <––- spell check in my right foot. im 6'1" 220-223 pounds now. Tuesday- curls like a MR'er. 4 sets of "21s" with the short straight bar + 50 pounds = 85 pounds. then did 3 sets of hammer curls with 60 pound dumb bells, 2 sets of narrow grip curls with the straight bar + 40 pounds, then forearm curls and crunches to finish off the workout. Thursday- i did Squats, deadlifts, over head press, then 4 sets of pull ups. Saturday will be- dips, tricep extensions, rows, lat pull downs, crunches and pushups im not as motivated or hard core as some people are, but i think this routine weekly will give me a pretty well rounded excersize. i will try to keep this up even when work starts up again. |
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That sure is a lot of stuff for biceps and forearms alone. I also don't see any mention of bench press. 
I don't do nearly as much arm work as that, personally. I try to get chest and back 2x/week, though. ive been staying away from bench press for a while. i tore a pec muscle a few months back. odd, how i can bench 275 one week, then the next week i tear a pec muscle warming up... some people suggested that maybe my grip was too wide... i just use the width thats comfortable to me. the last thing i want to do is tear that pec again 
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What are your goals? keep my strength in all areas, bigger arms, and bulk up all around. I recommend "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippetoe. You''ll be doing lots of squats, deadlifts, presses, and power cleans. You will get stronger doing that and you will bulk up so long as you eat enough. |
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some of you might give me a thumbs up, some of you might rip me to shreds but here is my current routine, and i am open to ideas to make it better. first off- im not doing any cardio. ive spent my life trying to bulk up, and have finally done it this winter. i also cant run, im dealing with Plantar Fasciitis <––- spell check in my right foot. im 6'1" 220-223 pounds now. Tuesday- curls like a MR'er. 4 sets of "21s" with the short straight bar + 50 pounds = 85 pounds. then did 3 sets of hammer curls with 60 pound dumb bells, 2 sets of narrow grip curls with the straight bar + 40 pounds, then forearm curls and crunches to finish off the workout. Thursday- i did Squats, deadlifts, over head press, then 4 sets of pull ups. Saturday will be- dips, tricep extensions, rows, lat pull downs, crunches and pushups im not as motivated or hard core as some people are, but i think this routine weekly will give me a pretty well rounded excersize. i will try to keep this up even when work starts up again. Prefaced by saying that opinions are like assholes... First, Save the energy with all the bicep crap, work your back. Deadlifts, T bar rows, Seated rows, bent over rows, Lat pull downs. Curl if you wish, but isolation exercises never really work out how you plan. Overall strength/size of all the muscles will grow. Keep the pull ups, but maybe switch to chins to incorporate the biceps more. Second, Split the deads/squats. Dedicate a leg day. Squats will build EVERYTHING, including your arms. Squats, Romanian deadlifts, farmer walks(forearms will BURN) etc. Third, Can you start off light with dumbells and work your way back up in chest? Utilizing all the stabilization muscles and building from the ground up will go a long way to prevent injury, and assist in size without benching 315. Hypothetically- Day 1-Focus on chest, follow with tri's Day 2-Focus on back, follow with biceps Day 3-Focus on legs, add shoulders, traps etc. Hope this helps... |
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some of you might give me a thumbs up, some of you might rip me to shreds but here is my current routine, and i am open to ideas to make it better. first off- im not doing any cardio. ive spent my life trying to bulk up, and have finally done it this winter. i also cant run, im dealing with Plantar Fasciitis <––- spell check in my right foot. im 6'1" 220-223 pounds now. Tuesday- curls like a MR'er. 4 sets of "21s" with the short straight bar + 50 pounds = 85 pounds. then did 3 sets of hammer curls with 60 pound dumb bells, 2 sets of narrow grip curls with the straight bar + 40 pounds, then forearm curls and crunches to finish off the workout. Thursday- i did Squats, deadlifts, over head press, then 4 sets of pull ups. Saturday will be- dips, tricep extensions, rows, lat pull downs, crunches and pushups im not as motivated or hard core as some people are, but i think this routine weekly will give me a pretty well rounded excersize. i will try to keep this up even when work starts up again. Prefaced by saying that opinions are like assholes... First, Save the energy with all the bicep crap, work your back. Deadlifts, T bar rows, Seated rows, bent over rows, Lat pull downs. Curl if you wish, but isolation exercises never really work out how you plan. Overall strength/size of all the muscles will grow. Keep the pull ups, but maybe switch to chins to incorporate the biceps more. Second, Split the deads/squats. Dedicate a leg day. Squats will build EVERYTHING, including your arms. Squats, Romanian deadlifts, farmer walks(forearms will BURN) etc. Third, Can you start off light with dumbells and work your way back up in chest? Utilizing all the stabilization muscles and building from the ground up will go a long way to prevent injury, and assist in size without benching 315. Hypothetically- Day 1-Focus on chest, follow with tri's Day 2-Focus on back, follow with biceps Day 3-Focus on legs, add shoulders, traps etc. Hope this helps... ive torn the pec muscle twice. after the first time, i only did pushups, eventually i was doing 75 pushups for my first set, which was huge for me, followed by sets of 25-40 pushups. then i worked my way up slow with the bench press, obviously not slow enough though, on my 5th week of bench press, was 275 pounds, then week 6 is the second injury. again, alot of people have suggested that maybe my grip on the bar was too wide. does this sound possible ? |
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Can you swim with that issue? No cardio at all is a bad idea... the gym i go to doesnt have a pool, the local gym that does BLOWS big time, and its a full time job to keep track of their pool schedule so you know when you can use it or not. I hear that..my local gym has kids all in it after 3:00. |
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Starting Strength would meet your goals nicely. You could also think about some sort of body weight stuff (burpees, air squats etc...) for cardio. An entire day dedicated to biceps? Personally I'd ditch all that stuff and do more pullups for biceps. Also second the suggestion to split deadlifts and squats...whichever you do second WILL suffer. Also, how about some front squats? Cleans? Shoulder press/ push press? My suggestion is to quit wasting so much time with biceps and spend more time with the big lifts like I mentioned previously. |
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Starting Strength would meet your goals nicely. You could also think about some sort of body weight stuff (burpees, air squats etc...) for cardio.
An entire day dedicated to biceps? Personally I'd ditch all that stuff and do more pullups for biceps. Also second the suggestion to split deadlifts and squats...whichever you do second WILL suffer. Also, how about some front squats? Cleans? Shoulder press/ push press? My suggestion is to quit wasting so much time with biceps and spend more time with the big lifts like I mentioned previously.
This. Single joint exercises wont help your arms get bigger...need more multi joint exercises. |
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Get back on benchpressing. Start on dumbbell bench lighter weight and work your way up! but, but... but my ego wont let me go with light weight ! i know... i really need to get back into it... scary though, since i tore the pec so easily last time... it just didnt make sense... |
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In relation to the rings on the bar, where are your hands? I can't see that causing a tear, just working the outer edge of the pec more. How's your form? Shitty? Strict? you know on an olympic bar- you have those two skinny little rings that are NOT checkered- my thumbs are usually lined up to the outside edge of those rings. ive seen people bench with their hands INSIDE those rings, and thought " that doesnt look comfortable " 
i dont wrap my thumbs around the the bottom of the bar. they go over the top, like the rest of my fingers do. my downward rep is nice and slow, controlled. i use my muscles to keep the bar coming down at a slow steady pace- not gravity. i go back up in the same speed as i come down. no jerking / slop. i stop the bar an inch or two above my chest. ive heard 2 theories on this- some say you have to touch your chest- some say that is over extending the elbows too far past 90 degrees. someone at my gym who is a huge fitness nut, and it shows cause he's built like a mini Arnold Schwarzenegger, complemented me on my form and reps years ago when i was doing bench press, and i havent changed my form. today i did chest flies on the cable machine, tricep extensions ( 4 sets of 10-12 over head, 180 pounds ) 4 sets of dips, shoulder shrugs, dumb bell rows leaning over a bench pulling the dumb bells up towards my chest, and 1 set of 30 pushups. i did a set of dump bell press laying on my back on a bench. i was using 55 pounders, and i still got the pain in my right shoulder, just right of my collar bone, and at the top of my armpit. i dont know how long im going to have this pain, but its been too long already 
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Copy. That is a fairly wide grip, but I've never seen that cause problems. For reference, I am 6' 195 and I put my ring finger on the ring. Where did it tear, at the deltoid joint? I wonder if shoulder stabilization work would help out. yeah, my friend who is a personal trainer thinks i tore the anterior deltoid. |
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That sounds like a wide grip but who knows until it's actually measured. Are the rings spaced for powerlifting (32") or olympic lifting or just a cheap bar with random spacing? Personally, I use a full grip, suicide grip (thumbless) is asking for trouble. Not touching your chest is a partial bench and does not count (unless you are doing board presses because you're hyooge). Lose the ego and drop the weight and perform your lifts correctly. It took me years to master the ego and learn to lift correctly. If I knew then what I know now...
This may be BS but who knows... I'd place the blame for the torn pec on form; specifically, not having the shoulder blades tight. If you're trying to bench high numbers you've got to have tight form. Shoulder blades should be pulled in and tight to provide support and to allow the lats and tris contribute to the lift, back arched (natural arch at least, big arch if powerlfting) with only the butt in contact with the bench (at all times), and stable foot placement to allow you to drive with the legs without lifting your ass off the bench. Tuck your elbows and make sure you contact your chest (not impact your chest) and explode upwards. I think you can rehab the pec and learn to bench correctly and avoid future injuries. Your routine isn't the most efficient way to achieve overall strength and size. You will get discouraged and demotivated when you don't see the results when you think you should. I highly recommend Starting Strength as mentioned above. At the very least, check out Stronglifts.com and wannabebig.com for knowledge. A good diet and a solid routine (like SS) will net you benefits in no time. |