Calves Question... a few more.. :D

[imported_hangi24-7]

Hey I'm currently in my 15's trying to bulk up and I have some questions:

1) What should I do for calves when I start my 10's? I workout at home and all I have is a barbell to do calves with and I only have enough weight for my 15RM, plus it's a real big hassle to carry 90+kg on your back for my 10 reps What can I do for this? Extra sets, static holds...?

2) I workout 6x a week alternating full body workouts but they seem to be taking only about 30 mins each (for 15's). Is this too short or should I attempt to rest more and add more volume? I'm currently doing enough sets as I feel I can do, but if I rest longer, perhaps I can fit in extra sets if necessary.

3) How much weight should a 18 year old be realistically looking to gain per week on a 9 week HST cycle (extended 5's plus negs)? My bf% is a bit high (13%) so I want to keep fat gain to a minimum, so as a beginner I was wondering what I should be shooting for?

4) What do most people do for their abs, and what would you guys recommend I do given I only have dumbells, a barbell, and a bench to work with?

 

[Jester]

30mins is a great time for work outs Do not push the volume if you're still growing. HST avoids burnout/CNS fatigue. It's the devil

Don't be discouraged that you're spending less time pumping iron, HST is not a gym-sleepover way to train

Re: weight gain. You'll have to gain some fat if you want to gain any muscle. That's the reality for 99% of natural lifters.

How much fat you gain can be controlled to a degree - cardio, high protein intake making up those extra cals..the more you eat, the more weight (muscle and fat) you will gain.

 

[imported_hangi24-7]

I know I will gain fat, I mearly meant that I wanted to gain as much weight as possible with minimum fat gain as possible as well. For example, if 5kg per week with only 1 kg of fat were possible, I would take it

What I was really asking is how much weight is realistic for someone with (below) average genetics to gain per week as such for decent muscle gain and acceptable fat gain?

Oh, and BTW, extra question:

5) Can I do anything extra if I specifically want to add mass to my arms as they are lagging hard. I'm doing all of the big compound exercises of course - Military Press, Bench Press, CG Bench, Rows, Chins, and Dips. I even do 1 isolation (curls), would more isolation such as side laterals, tricep extensions, etc.. be helpful in adding arm mass or should I just add more volume with the current compound ones?

 

[Jester]

Realistically I think 1-1.5kgs per week of good proportion is about as much as one will gain. This would be my guess for the 5s and post 5s, the 15s are designed for joint preparation rather than muscle growth, and maybe you'll gain a bit during the 10s too

Your genetics likely aren't bad, you probably just need to eat more calories.

Use stretch point movement for your isolations:

Incline DB curls (seated) - bis
Skullcrushers - tris

Another to use is over-under grip deadlifts (one hand over the bar, one hand under when gripping, alternate sets).

There's a debate/discussion about compounds vs. isolations for arm growth over in the General Training forum.

My view of thinking is that compounds put the most tension by far on the smaller muscles. If this isn't enough or you get to the point at which this is no longer enough, then you add in the stretch point isolations.

Eat enough. This is key.

For your calves, you could try using loaded stretches, or holding the weight in the stretched position for each rep longer. You can also work them out individually remember.

 

[imported_hangi24-7]

Thanks for the advice, but what exactly is "stretch point movement", and by "loaded stretches" do you mean static holds, or is this sometihng different?

Excuse my newbiness

 

[Jester]

A loaded stretch is a stretch of whichever muscle, but loaded by holding weights as well.

Imagine yourself in a flat flyes position, lying on the bench arms spread...you're stretching your pecs right?

Now imagine you're holding a 15kg DB in each hand - it's a loaded stretch


Stretch point isolations are isolation exercises, that in the 'base'/start position are stretching the targeted muscle.

Lie back on the incline bench set at ~ 30 degrees above flat, drop your arms - your biceps are stretched now, and then do your curls. As opposed to upright seated.