workout question

[[xeno]Julios]

Yeah, bicep curls are a staple, but they don't do shit compared to a preacher curl or chin up.

preacher curls may have advantages, but one disadvantage is that on the latter half of the range of movement, gravity is no longer working against you, so there are a set of muscle fibres that don't experience the same strain that other fibres do during the early portion of the motion.

that's why preacher curls feel easier toward the end of the motion.

spider curls may be more effective:

http://www.shapefit.com/biceps-exercise ... curls.html

[tnf]

You may easily be overtraining your biceps.

[mik0rs]

I always took the main sign of overtraining biceps that it actually hurt (not DOMS aching) to straighten my arms the next day, so much that I could barely do it. Dyou think there are any other cues on the training day to look out for?

BTW, never thought it was smart to train arms twice in one week unless there was no ache whatsoever (which has never happened), especially only 2 days after the last arm session.

[[xeno]Julios]

from what I understand, you can also overtrain your CNS (central nervous system). This leads to systemic health problems though like weakened immune system, tiredness, etc

(not sure how accurate this is, but I've heard it from many sources).

[tnf]

What other workouts did you do earlier in the week?

I follow the basic workout scheme that tnf suggested:

day1: chest / triceps / front delts
day2: back / biceps/ traps + rear delts
day3: off
day4: legs
day5: off
day6: -cycle repeats-

so Sunday was day4 "legs" workout day, but I felt like doing some chinups afterwards. Day2 was 2 days before it, so I did biceps / back.

Ahhh, I didn't read that closely the first time -

I know that, at times, you might be doing legs and think - "my arms feel pretty good, I think I am going to burn out with a set of chins" - but that is a no-no, especially for chins, since they are a demanding bicep exercise. If you just want to get a good arm pump, bust out some really light preachers or something...but nothing to the point of straining your arms.

If you do back and biceps on the same day, I would alternate between doing back first and doing biceps first and I would never do more than 6 sets of bicep work after or before back.

You can vary your bicep exercises, but always make sure you get one basic movement in there - something heavy and moderate in rep range.

It is hard for people to stop after 5 or 6 sets of bicep work, but you have to remember how much work your biceps do with the back.
If you are going heavy enough, you will be surprised at how much strength you can gain in your arms with those low set, heavy arm workouts 1 time a week.

And remember, if you aren't noticing ANY progress, you need to take a hard look at your diet and your rest.

Because, the bottom line - if you aren't overtraining, and you are eating enough and resting enough, almost any workout that is sufficiently stressing your muscles will result in gains - unless you are on a plateau - those suck, and they happen to everyone...and I was stuck in one for almost 2 years strengthwise until I radically increased my protein intake and actually worked out less.

[tnf]

from what I understand, you can also overtrain your CNS (central nervous system). This leads to systemic health problems though like weakened immune system, tiredness, etc

(not sure how accurate this is, but I've heard it from many sources).

I've heard the same thing - and I think we all experience it, even if wee aren't training, but dealing with lots of stressors in our everyday life.

[tnf]

I always took the main sign of overtraining biceps that it actually hurt (not DOMS aching) to straighten my arms the next day, so much that I could barely do it. Dyou think there are any other cues on the training day to look out for?

BTW, never thought it was smart to train arms twice in one week unless there was no ache whatsoever (which has never happened), especially only 2 days after the last arm session.

I don't know about specific cues to look out for, other than more than normal fatigue. The thing I always looked for was whether or not my arms got a good pump. I don't know if there is any scientific basis to it, but I used it as a rule of thumb - if I wasn't getting a good arm pump after a couple sets, I skipped the bicep work for that day, and hit them moderately the following day (yes, even after back, but just moderate work to get a pump and get blood in there).

[[xeno]Julios]

and I was stuck in one for almost 2 years strengthwise until I radically increased my protein intake and actually worked out less.

how much did you increase your intake by? (from how many grams to how many)

[tnf]

and I was stuck in one for almost 2 years strengthwise until I radically increased my protein intake and actually worked out less.

how much did you increase your intake by? (from how many grams to how many)

I went to a consistent 1.5 g per pound of bodyweight, and at the time I weighed about 187 lbs, so about 281 g per day.

As for what I was at - probably under 1 g per pound of bodyweight...

I would say that the extra amount was at least 50g per day - I wasn't extremely exact about it...

[[xeno]Julios]

cool.

Man i've lost so much weight since I've started cycling and playing volleyball. I look and feel healthy, but the scales don't lie.

Oh well - summer's a good time to get the heart healthy - i'll start bulking again in the fall.