i hate cardio. i know it needs to be done...but damn i hate it.

 

I go to the gym 4-5 days a week, I do biceps, triceps, abs, and for my cardio I play basketball.

Triceps have 3 heads!? What's the best way to bulk your arms/chest up? Right now I just do the basics trying to build mass... I've only been going regularly for about 2 months now, I take creatine and a multi-vitamin too. I've noticed gains, but I want more. I think I need to mix up my routines, I do the same thing like every day..
standing barbell curls (close grip and wide grip both)
dumbell curls
tricep pull downs
tricep push ups
bench press
curls
"six inchers"
incline sit ups (sometimes with medicine ball)

sometimes I just lift, sometimes I play bball for 1-2 hours, sometimes both. depends how I'm feeling and how much time I have to spend..

can anyone reccomend a better tricep program? I don't feel like I'm getting the full effect.
or how about an "improve your vertical" routine? My lower back is so weak, even after 2 months I still get very sore from playing basketball and doing abs, my back hurts bad..

I've checked out some bodybuilding forums and they all suck, I'm betting I'll get better responses and more help from you guys, lol.

thx

 

triceps have 3 heads, biceps have 2... hence the names wink1.gif

 

How you doing guys...good to see tibby drivers are modyfying their bodies as well as their cars!....but from my experience, programs as such help you because you shock your body into a different routine and so you gain strength and build power, but you should always adapt each programm to suite your own goals, training your whole body in one work out is really tough...it will burn loads of calories not just in the gym but after when your muscles are repairing....its better then doing cardio if your on a weight loss programme.......so if your trying to gain mass it's not a good idea.

Do some reasearch at www.bodybuilding.com, enter the super site and see what other guys are doing. Then see what works for you and is best suited to your goals, use a mix of programmes, like cut and paste.

I own a nutrition store in the UK that only sells body building supplements, so I have plenty of experience in training and diet. I wouldn't say im a body builder as I have not been to compete but im not far off....next year hopefully!!

I now change my workouts every time I go to gym so no body part can get used to the same routine, not totally just a little e.g the same excersises in different order, this tricks your mind by thinking my lift last week on this excersise was say 40kg...so i can do 40kg this week too. But this week it was the last thing you trained and last week it was the first! muscle pre-exhaustion...mind over matter! This helps increase your strength...the size is all about the food and maintaining calories while having a hard workout.

I would suggest eating very well, good quality foods not fast food...it's hard but you will be amazed how much strength and size can be gained by eating good quality food! Its like being on natural steroids! Seriously big time gains...look it up on the website, educate yourselves.

Try taking a protien shake (slow release preferably) mixed with oats right before you sleep. this will provide your muscles with protein and good quality carbs through the night so they will recover better and you will see gains quicker. smile.gif Hope I didn't bore the hell out of you all!

 

Too much bro. You were overworking them, that's why you didn't see the gain you were looking for. You should give at least 24hrs. between working specific muscles. They need time to repair. Remember when you work tri's you also work bi's so try to space them out. I was doing the same thing. I didn't start seeing gains until I broke up the workout. It took me a couple of months before I finally got my routine sorted out.


5'10". I was about as wide as I was tall. Down to 230 now, but I've been slacking at the gym. The goal is still 220.


Hellz ya!!

 

Zoned..I found that for the best result for triceps is to do it on a different day than chest. Even though your triceps are a secondary muscle for most chest exercises, that still tires them enough that you can't lift and strengthen them effectively. There are a lot of different ways to work muscles and it's best to rotate... For example

First workout you can do your triceps with 3 sets of 10 with whatever weight is possible for 3-5 tricep specific exercises. Do this seperate from chest day because the chest workout won't have an affect on your tricep workout, and vice versa. For triceps there are quite a few exercises available but the two you have up there are very good. I would say the best tricep exercise is weighted dips, but you can also do skull crushers, arm kickbacks, overhead dumbell press, bench pullovers, cable pullovers, skull crusher-pullover-close grip bench combo, close grip bench....there might be more but those are what came off the top of my head. If you do 3 sets of 10 on monday, the next time (say thursday) you work triceps, do 3 sets but with reps of 5 and use heavier weight to get the same exhaustion effect. Then the next time you work them go back to the first version of reps, and rotate the exercises you do too. That's generally a good concept for any muscle group to build their strength and size, it's just important to learn multiple exercises so you can change up.

As far as the back strength, you should begin doing lower back strengthening exercises. You'll notice a stronger back, less soreness, and improved posture. You can do deadlifts, back extensions, or "superman's" on the floor where you lay on your stomach arms extended and then contract and hold your back then release.

 

my problem now is lack of time. School (21 credit hours) and work (30 hours a week) plus leading a Bible Study class on Wednesday nights and sunday mornings, plus planning my wedding (and other people's weddings on the side - fiance is event planner)... I lost all time to go to the gym. My biggest problem when I do have time to go to the gym is figuring out what the right foods to eat are. I love steak and burgers, but with my hectic schedule, fast food is sometimes my only option. I'll check out that website, thanks for posting Bal

 

I have not eaten fast food or drank soda (unless mixed with alcohol wink1.gif) in about 6 months. fing02.gif

 

It's good to see someone else doing the 5x5 routine. I have made great progress with it. Check out the book "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippetoe. It has good advice on technique for all of the exercises you are doing. Also, why all the extra exercises? The 5x5 should be kept very simple. As madcow says, don't get ADD and start f*cking with the program! Here is what I do:

Monday:
squat 5x5
bench 5x5
row 5x5

Wednesday:
squat 4x5
push press 4x5
deadlift 4x5

Friday:
squat 5x5
bench 5x5
row 5x5

Squats on Wednesday are done at about 75% of Monday's weight. Also sometimes I like to do power cleans instead of rows, when I do that I will do 5 sets of 3 reps each. Overall it's a great program and it's good to see people are starting to wake up to this kind of stuff.

 

yeah i altered the plan even though it says not to. its just hard going from a full force 2 hour day at the gym to an under one hour full body workout with less weight than you can do.

even though i added more stuff. it still worked out great for me.

yeah ive read so much on their site. says pretty much what youre saying too. its a lot to take in and adjust but it is worth trying different ones to suit your needs.

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