Why 3x8 and not 3x5 or 3x3?

[oso0960]

I'm talking about Madcow's 5x5. Why does it recommend 3x8 for curls and tris? I care much more about reaching my goal of curling 135 strictly (of course with equal tricep strength so to not create an imbalance). So would 3x5 or 3x3 have any benefit over 3x8 for strength or is the volume much too low for such a small group of muscles?

 

[musketeer]

pretty sure it's to do with the fact that they are single joint movements. 4-6 is a good rep range for strength and size whereas 8-10 is closer to hypertrophy.

 

[StoneOfFire]

i have wondered this myself.

maybe its because 3x8 will limit you to a lighter weight than 3x5 or 3x3
3x3 could get heavy and you might not recover from this by monday.


or maybe since these muscle groups are so small,
you can't really directly improve their strength
so might as well get some swole with added volume?


i too have been struggling with adding weight to my barbell curl on top of my 5x5 program.
ive tried it on mon and fri,
wed..

what has been helping is i replaced bb row with chins
a no-no to change anything, right?
but im finally growing some baby biceps

ive seen a rippetoe program where mon is chins
and fri is pull-ups
maybe i could do that with some curls after the pulls


just cause i like the starr/rippetoe/madcow program i have to suck at barbell curl?

NO!!

help, anyone.

 

[gjohnson5]

I'm talking about Madcow's 5x5. Why does it recommend 3x8 for curls and tris? I care much more about reaching my goal of curling 135 strictly (of course with equal tricep strength so to not create an imbalance). So would 3x5 or 3x3 have any benefit over 3x8 for strength or is the volume much too low for such a small group of muscles?

IMHO longevity is the key to bigger arms then heavy weights. Lifting heavy curls to the point you get bicep tendonitis is not kewl nor is it the way to add inches to your arms.

Secondly based on the most people workout split , I would save heavy workouts for chest and back. Hitting arms heavy multiple time s a week will be counter productive in the long run

I agree with the 3x8. But I would superset or giant set to keep blood flowing into the arm muscles. I believe adding inchest to arms IS all about volume.

 

[WiggyWild]

I was wondering the exact same thing the other day and I was about to write something about it.

He says don't fuck with the lifts, but I don't see the harm in adding pullups on mondays, dips and power shrugs on wednesdays.

Don't fuck with the program seems geared towards people who don't know their ownm body or understand weight lifting.

I put 25 lbs on my bench today. I just felt like I could do it and I was right, and the assistance exercises helped me I'm convinced.

Of course they will have to be stopped when gains slow down, but I'm on cruise control right now!

 

[ceo]

IMHO longevity is the key to bigger arms then heavy weights. Lifting heavy curls to the point you get bicep tendonitis is not kewl nor is it the way to add inches to your arms.

Secondly based on the most people workout split , I would save heavy workouts for chest and back. Hitting arms heavy multiple time s a week will be counter productive in the long run

I agree with the 3x8. But I would superset or giant set to keep blood flowing into the arm muscles. I believe adding inchest to arms IS all about volume.

Yeah, you'll want to go higher on reps on bicep/tricep exercises. You'll appreciate this when you're older and feeling the effects of age. A little higher on the reps forces you to go a little lighter on the weight lifted, which hopefully saves your tendons in the long run.

Also, since the 5x5 is geared towards progression and lifting heavy, and bis/tris are already incorproated in other heavy compound lifts, why demolish them again?

madcow's been at it a while and is a student of this game/sport/lifestyle. He knows his shit and he set that up the way he did for a reason. Hell, he may even go into "why" on his site somewhere. Probably does, I haven't read it in a long time.

You want bigger arms? Get a bigger squat/bench/deadlift!