Biceps and Triceps?

[T-Man007]

TweetThis being probably my worst feature, well biceps that is, it's difficult for me to get on the right program. I constantly read conflicting info all the time abotu arm training. For instance, Dorian use to do 1 working set of incline DB curls, 1 set of E-Z bar curls, and 1 set of Nautilus curls. Ronnie, on the other hand does all cables for biceps. As a matter of fact he claims BB curls never did anything for him. He does 4 working sets of one arm cable curls, 4 sets of cable curls with the bar, and 4 sets of cable curls it the front double bi position. That's 12 damn sets! How the hell was Dorian able to get sooo huge with 3 working sets once a week and Ronnie uses 12 sets twice a week?

I met this dude at the gym today, by far the biggest dude I've seen there ever. He trains pretty similar to me with supersets and stuff but I got to talk with him for a second and his program breaks down like this: (today) superset BB presses with lateral raises for 3 sets, then a tri-set of close grip, ez bar preacher curls and swiss ball tricep extensions (two DB's at a time, basically the opposite of the hammer curl). He said that's it for today. I said three sets for biceps, that's it? He said he just changes the exercises ever workout. Next week might be DB presses with cable laterals, dips, alternate db curls and skull crushers.

Then there is the whole pre-exhaust theory. Do your isolation first then the compounds second. Dorian did this alot. Squats came after extensions, deads came at the end of his back workout and so on. However, there is the flip side, do your compound and two hand exercises first so you can use more weight. Then finish with isolation. I have seen guys with 20 inch arms who do no 15 reps on everything. I have the same with guys who do 6 reps on everything. I have seen guys who only do isolation and I have seen the opposite.

WTF? In YOUR personal opinons have you found it to be more beneficial to use two hand, one hand or a combination in your training? AND, do you stick with the same exercises? Ronnie and Dorian have both been quoted saying "find what works and stick with it". It seems like I just can't find that magical bicep exercise. I can do the same 3 exercises for delts and they will grow without a problem, I can also get my tris to grow pretty well, but my bi's are just stubborn as hell. Also, I should state, I have one of those LONG biceps. There is no gap between the end of the bicep and the elbow joint. I have been told that longer bicpes are harder to build because of their length. Look at Ronnie, his biceps have huge peaks, but they also have that gap between the end of the bicep and the elbow. The shorter the belly, the easier to make it look big, IMO.

[Skarhead]

Tweetimo, you want your arms bigger gain weight,,, I believe like 10 lbs usually puts like a half inch or so on the arms. focuos getting the squats/deads and bench up , keep packing on the wegiht and i really dont see how you can't grow...

also extreme stretching to stretch out the muscle fascia (kinda like a natty way of doing synthol) can help....

stop quoting the pros too

[T-Man007]

Tweet

imo, you want your arms bigger gain weight,,, I believe like 10 lbs usually puts like a half inch or so on the arms. focuos getting the squats/deads and bench up , keep packing on the wegiht and i really dont see how you can't grow...

also extreme stretching to stretch out the muscle fascia (kinda like a natty way of doing synthol) can help....

stop quoting the pros too

Yeah, maybe I do need to stretch more. I stretch now but maybe it's not 'extreme' as you put it.

[Skarhead]

TweetYou're probably not extreme stretching it... This stuff hurts and is way hc... theres a link floating around on the dogg lb and IAs board w/ pics on how to do it... I use it for my chest

[Skarhead]

Tweetsomehow i feel this thread is going to be a buncha bicep routines straight out of a magazie that aint gonna work lol... thats just what im callin

[jamescb77]

Tweetfor me i just focus on using a lot of weight and going heavy then i use an isolatioins movement on the end usually around 10-12 sets. Also one time i heard a great man say that if you want big arms you have to push and pull heavy weights. your body has no reason to give you bigger arms if you can already pull or push the weight your working at. sometime i won't even work arms when im going superheavy on chest and back and my arms will still grow

[youngN]

Tweeti usally do 7-8 sets per triceps and biceps, 2-3 different exercises doing main mass movements first and hitting failure on the last set of each exercise. i never have the same workout and every once in a while ill do all cables. the rep range i use for tris are 6-8, and the rep range for bis are 6-12. i only work out arms once a week (directly)

[Evil Ryu]

TweetT-man Which bicep exercises can you really feel? I also have a long bicep head and I have found that any exercise in which I can position my elbow slightly elevated or in front of me allows for a much stronger contraction. That was the key to getting a good workout because I would do like 10-12 sets and have a hard time feeling it and now I can do like 4-6 sets and have a great bicep workout

[Evil Ryu]

TweetI also do what dorian advices in his book and that is to find a few exercises you like and stick with those until progress stops and then change to something else.

[mick-G]

TweetMaybe you are overtraining them 007.?

[Fit2bLarge]

Tweetpullups!

[Evil Ryu]

Tweet[QUOTE=T-Man007] How the hell was Dorian able to get sooo huge with 3 working sets once a week and Ronnie uses 12 sets twice a week?

If you watch Blood and Guts video (Dorian Yates) and Redemption video (Ronnie) you can see why. Dorian goes all out for those 3 sets. Ronnie just pumps away after his back workout. Thats probably why he can do them twice a week. It's like Mike Mentzer wrote, " you can train hard or you can train long, but you can't do both."

[T-Man007]

Tweet

T-man Which bicep exercises can you really feel? I also have a long bicep head and I have found that any exercise in which I can position my elbow slightly elevated or in front of me allows for a much stronger contraction. That was the key to getting a good workout because I would do like 10-12 sets and have a hard time feeling it and now I can do like 4-6 sets and have a great bicep workout

Well, I 'feel' it on any of them if I use good form and concentrate. Maybe I need to get my arms in different positions. For instance, one exercise with incline db's to lengthen the bicep, one exercise of normal ROM and one with the elbows elevated to shorten the bicep. To be honest, I don't do much preacher stuff at all. Maybe I need to focus on that more. Thanks for the input.

[T-Man007]

Tweet

for me i just focus on using a lot of weight and going heavy then i use an isolatioins movement on the end usually around 10-12 sets. Also one time i heard a great man say that if you want big arms you have to push and pull heavy weights. your body has no reason to give you bigger arms if you can already pull or push the weight your working at. sometime i won't even work arms when im going superheavy on chest and back and my arms will still grow

Good point! It's hard to expect to have big arms if you are weak at chest and back, but I'm not that weak on those. I'm not super strong, but I'm not weak either. I usually hit 275 for 6 good slow reps on bench. Now, on back, I do my pull downs with about 160 for 8 and I do bent over rows with 225 for 6. I don't know, is that weak, average, or what?

[T-Man007]

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Maybe you are overtraining them 007.?

I do very minimal for them. Max is 6 working sets for biceps once a week. It's high intensity, but low volume.

It's always been this way as long as I can remember. You know how some people just can't build calves, that how I feel about my biceps. Two of my strongest muscles are delts and calves and they used to grow like weeds from drop sets. Maybe I should hit drop sets on my biceps for several weeks and see if that will do the job.