Thanks Browner. So far I’ve only been trying the Barbell Curl but even with that I can’t use much weight and didn’t feel I was getting good results. I was thinking a Dumbbell curl might work better by giving me more of a stretch since I’m getting better results from using Dumbbell Rows over Barbell Rows IMO because of the greater ROM.
Getting Massive
- Thread starter OzMullet
- Start date
Browner
Well-Known Member
The key to any bicep excercise is good form and technique. I see so many guys in the gym swinging their bodies to lift a heavier weight than they can handle. All this is doing is risking injury and using other muscles other than your biceps. So dont be affraid to use a lighter weight and perform the reps slow and controlled, making sure that all the effort is focused in your bicep. I also recomend standing hammer curls for an isolation excercise, as you can use your other hand to spot if needed.
Hope this helps
i agree with browner, i do standing DB Curls for convenience only. i simply dont have enough time to stuff around as i only have an hour to do my workout. i just try and get the best form with the heaviest weight - sometimes my form isnt great but i make sure i dont swing my body and keep my elbows in at least. they do seem to work though, i can never get my arms to grow and last cycle they did.
Browner
Well-Known Member
Form is also key. I also find that if you realy focus and use strict form on other back excercises such as chin ups, lat pull downs, BO row etc.... This really helps to grow the biceps, as they are the secondary muscle used in these excercises. The stricter you can perform the sets, the more you focus the energy on the primary and secondary muscle.
5s DAY 4
LegPress 150*8, 200*5, 240*5, 240*5, 240*5 - easy
Dips BW*8, BW20*5, BW20*5, BW20*5 - easy
RowsDB 40*5, 40*5, 40*5 - good
MilPress 55*5, 55*5, 55*5 - hard
CalfRaise 150*5, 150*5, 150*5 - good
Deads 90*5, 115*5, 115*5, 115*5 - good
Skulls 40*10, 55*4, 55*4, 55*3 - too hard. forgot my log book - was only supposed to do 52.5.
DBCurls 22*5, 22*5, 22*5 - good
almost found out first hand why they called skull crushers!
looking a lot more solid, although the gut is getting too big. might have to think about a cut next cycle. any suggestions?
LegPress 150*8, 200*5, 240*5, 240*5, 240*5 - easy
Dips BW*8, BW20*5, BW20*5, BW20*5 - easy
RowsDB 40*5, 40*5, 40*5 - good
MilPress 55*5, 55*5, 55*5 - hard
CalfRaise 150*5, 150*5, 150*5 - good
Deads 90*5, 115*5, 115*5, 115*5 - good
Skulls 40*10, 55*4, 55*4, 55*3 - too hard. forgot my log book - was only supposed to do 52.5.
DBCurls 22*5, 22*5, 22*5 - good
almost found out first hand why they called skull crushers!
looking a lot more solid, although the gut is getting too big. might have to think about a cut next cycle. any suggestions?
Browner
Well-Known Member
Getting rid of the stubborn body fat is all in the diet. Lots of people think that bulking out is all about just consuming calories, but if you dont consume the correct calories, it well just bulk out the belly rather than the guns.
Here is the cutting diet I follow to get rid of all that stubborn fat, I find that I dont lose any muscle on this diet either: I also do 45 mins of low intensity cardio before breakfast if im on a real fat burning mission
07:45am :40g Whey Protein in water,40g Oats 1 Cup green tea1 Small Grapefruit10:30am:100g Tuna in Olive Oil with a small salad (tomatoes, leuttice, cucumber)Handful of Almonds1 Cup green tea15ml Flaxseed Oil01:30pm:100g Mackerel or Salmon100g Fibrous Vegetables1 Tablespoon Peanut Butter04:30pm:1 Large Chicken Breast2 Slices Wholemeal bread05:00pm: Training (weights)06:00pm:40g Whey in water20g maltodextrin20g dextroseCreatineVitamin C06:45pm:75g wholemeal pasta or brown rice150g chicken breast or 150g lean beefLoads of vegetablesSome fish oils (O3 epa,dha)1 Cup green tea09:30pm:200g cottage cheese25g Almonds
thanks mate, yeah it's all down to diet, i know. been pretty slack this cycle - last cycle i used fitday.com to track what i ate, i am eating pretty much the same stuff this cycle but not tracking. i think i'll track again next cycle and keep an eye on the fats and cals. maybe chuck in a bit of light cardio (as much as i hate it!) what sort of cardio do you do? i was thinking maybe a slow jog or some intervals. is it better to do it before breaky? i would but it's too cold!
whistledixie
New Member
You and I both were on a weight gain mission last cycle. And it sounds like both of us ended up with more mid-section fat than we would like!
This cycle, I decided to thoroughly examine my diet and clean it up. I used caloriecount.com (similar to fitday) to evaluate the staples of my diet. I then used a spreadsheet to imagine a weekly menu and entered everything in to caloriecount to see how it all stacked up (protein, fats, carbs, other nutrients). After much tweaking of the menu, I set up a weekly meal plan that cut out most processsed foods, kept me at maintainance calories, and followed a sort of carb-cycle formula where I go low carb on Sunday, Monday, moderate carb on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and higher carb on Friday, Saturday.
The hard part was figuring out how to keep it realistic. If it required too much food prep, I knew I couldn't keep it up.
After 1 week following the diet, my weight plummeted. I lost 7 lbs. I sort of freaked out, thinking my calories weren't high enough. I increased the calories by upping my meat portions and continued on. 4 weeks later and I've lost a few lbs, but I don't measure any smaller across the chest/shoulders or thighs. I have slimmed down around the waist, though. And I'm not cutting - just eating maintainence, but way cleaner than last cycle. The cardio days probably helped, too.
TunnelRat
Active Member
Have you tried Power PB peanut butter? It has nearly twice the calories and half the fat.
Browner
Well-Known Member
If im trying to "cut" I'll go for a 45 minute jog before breakfast, at a nice steady pace. Before breakfast is the best time to burn fat. I'll also do interval training in the gym on non weight days. Another good tip is to drink lots and lots of water.
For logging my food/calorie intake I have an app on my iphone (myfitnesspal) where I can track calories/protein/carbs etc.
Good luck and let us know how you get on.
Browner
Well-Known Member
No I havent TR, But I might give it a go. Thanks for the tip!
5s DAY 5
IncBenchDB 38*8, 46*5, 46*5, 46*5 - hard
legCurl - no time
Chins BW*5, BW10*5, BW10*5, BW10*5 - hard
CalfRaise 155*5, 155*5, 155*5- good
ShldrPrsDB 32*5, 32*5, 32*5 - good
Squats 80*6, 110*5, 110*5, 110*5 - hard
DBCurls 24*5, 24*5, 24*5 - hard
Skulls 52.5*5, 52.5*4 - too hard - elbow hurting too much
a couple of points -
my elbows and lower triceps are starting to really hurt. i think its from pushing the skulls too much. is it worth lowering the weight or dropping them all together? i dont really have time to do them anyway.
with squats i feel my lower back is letting me down. i get enormous pressure there and it feels like it cant support the weight when i drive up. it means i cant get as low as i would like. should i maybe do some core strengthening exercises to strengthen it?
IncBenchDB 38*8, 46*5, 46*5, 46*5 - hard
legCurl - no time
Chins BW*5, BW10*5, BW10*5, BW10*5 - hard
CalfRaise 155*5, 155*5, 155*5- good
ShldrPrsDB 32*5, 32*5, 32*5 - good
Squats 80*6, 110*5, 110*5, 110*5 - hard
DBCurls 24*5, 24*5, 24*5 - hard
Skulls 52.5*5, 52.5*4 - too hard - elbow hurting too much
a couple of points -
my elbows and lower triceps are starting to really hurt. i think its from pushing the skulls too much. is it worth lowering the weight or dropping them all together? i dont really have time to do them anyway.
with squats i feel my lower back is letting me down. i get enormous pressure there and it feels like it cant support the weight when i drive up. it means i cant get as low as i would like. should i maybe do some core strengthening exercises to strengthen it?
whistledixie
New Member
At this point in my last cycle, I dropped all isolation stuff and focused on just the main compound stuff - deads, squats, bench, dips, pullups, overhead press
1 reason was time. The heavier loads were making my sessions long with the longer rests between sets. The other reason was that I just didn't see the point in maxing out on super heavy isolation lifts. I'm just a novice lifter, but I felt like the iso work was really just to supplement the major compounds anyways - so I dropped 'em.
Do you squat oly-style high bar or powerlift-style low bar? High bar will take some of the work off your lower back. Put the bar up high, just below your neck - keep your torso upright. Your knees will drift a little outwards over past the toes, but don't worry about that, it won't hurt your knees like some say.
Have you tried doing Front Squats? I don’t use them but my understanding is they allow a more upright posture making it easier on the lower back.
I avoid them for that very reason. I find they lock my arms in a range of motion that places to much strain on my elbows and lower triceps. As a triceps exercise I prefer Overhead Triceps Extensions with Dumbbells. I feel I get a better stretch and non-restricted range of motion. I also feel it gives both my arms a more equal workout since my dominant right arm isn’t compensating for my weaker left.
TunnelRat
Active Member
from what you describe i must be doing oly squats - high bar, knees apart over toes. i watched one of rippetoe's vids on hip-drive and have been trying to emulate that. maybe i need to watch it a few more times.
i dont like the sound of front squats. is that where you put the bar in front of you? no thanks. i'm not sure where all this pain and pressure is coming from - could just be all the heavy squatting and deadlifting, and maybe my form isn't that great. i'll have to work on it.
5s DAY 6
LegPress 200*5, 230*5, 260*5, 260*5, 260*5 - good
Dips BW*8, BW25*5, BW25*5, BW25*5 - good
RowsDB 42*5, 42*5, 42*5 - hard - hand slipped on last rep
MilPress 60*4, 57.5*5, 57.5*4 - very hard
Deads 60*5, 100*5, 125*5, 125*5, 125*5 - hard - hand slipped on last rep
good hard sesh today. feeling at least as strong as last cycle, maybe a bit stronger, disappointed with Mil Press tho, was hoping to get 3 sets of 60KGs. also may need to work on grip strength.
LegPress 200*5, 230*5, 260*5, 260*5, 260*5 - good
Dips BW*8, BW25*5, BW25*5, BW25*5 - good
RowsDB 42*5, 42*5, 42*5 - hard - hand slipped on last rep
MilPress 60*4, 57.5*5, 57.5*4 - very hard
Deads 60*5, 100*5, 125*5, 125*5, 125*5 - hard - hand slipped on last rep
good hard sesh today. feeling at least as strong as last cycle, maybe a bit stronger, disappointed with Mil Press tho, was hoping to get 3 sets of 60KGs. also may need to work on grip strength.
5s DAY 7
IncBenchDB 38*8, 44*5, 48*5, 48*5, 48*4 - v hard - just missed last rep
Chins BW*5, BW15*5, BW15*5, BW15*5 - hard, felt good tho
ShldrPrsDB 26*8, 34*5, 34*5, 34*4 - v hard - just missed last rep
Squats 80*5, 100*5, 115*5, 115*5, 115*5 - hard - working on hip drive, felt better than last time
good hard workout. i was absolutely stuffed! good feeling. bit pissed off about missing the last rep on bench and shoulders, i thought i would have nailed them, but chins felt really good. comparing to my last cycle - i have added 15Kgs to my squats which is awesome, but i still have a lot of work to do to beat my maxes for my other lifts.
IncBenchDB 38*8, 44*5, 48*5, 48*5, 48*4 - v hard - just missed last rep
Chins BW*5, BW15*5, BW15*5, BW15*5 - hard, felt good tho
ShldrPrsDB 26*8, 34*5, 34*5, 34*4 - v hard - just missed last rep
Squats 80*5, 100*5, 115*5, 115*5, 115*5 - hard - working on hip drive, felt better than last time
good hard workout. i was absolutely stuffed! good feeling. bit pissed off about missing the last rep on bench and shoulders, i thought i would have nailed them, but chins felt really good. comparing to my last cycle - i have added 15Kgs to my squats which is awesome, but i still have a lot of work to do to beat my maxes for my other lifts.
TunnelRat
Active Member
Looks like good work. Don't mind missing an occasional rep; it only serves to remind us that there is more to do.