Arms are stuck in a rut, need help!!!

[PainforGain]

Ok heres the deal, I realized I have been overtraining my shoulders and chest so I have made changes and am seeing improvements. My big problem is my arms. These damn things wont grow. Heres my routine:
bis:
-standing preacher curls: 10-8-6
-Seated preacher curls: 10-8-6
-Hammer curls: 10-8-6

tris:
-pushdowns: 10-8-6
-overhead dumbbell extension: 10-8-6
-rope extensions: 10-8-6

forearms:
-reverse curls: 12-10-8
-behind the back wrist curls: 12-10-8

I usually end up doing them at the end of the day due to school. And i eat a meal afterwards and go to bed. Maybe that could be the problem?? I drink a protein shake during the workout. am I doing too little? I really want my arms to grow, especially my forearms. Is it because im not eating after my workout, well just a meal, then sleeping? What suggestions do you have? I was thinking of using Needsize's 5x5 workout. what do you think?

 

[Griz]

Pain,

O.K. I'm no expert but I had the same problem as you. What worked for me (and I've started to see my arms actually start to grow again! Aaaand they my arms actually have DOMS for the first time in 6 months after my arm day!) is this:

Biceps:
5X5 Standing EZ bar curls (Once I set my base weight and increased it, it took me 3 weeks to hit 5x5 and move up 5 lbs!!)
2X8-10 Seated incline DB curls (Heavy!)
2X8-10 Hammer curls, or Reverse Preacher curls w/ EZ bar.

Triceps:
5X5 Cable pushdowns
2X8-10 Narrow grip bench press, or skull crushers
2X8-10 heavilly weighted bench dips, or overhead presses.

Forearms (if your so inclined):
3 sets of heavy, heavy, heavy reverse wrist curls
3 sets of heavy, heavy, heavy wrist curls


Or alternately you can use this "shock method" which I'm not really comfortable with where you basically spend a day on the hour, every hour doing 2 sets of DB curls to failure combined with 2 sets of DB tricep excersises to failure for ONE DAY ONLY every 3 months to, supposedly "shock" the muscle into growing.

I'll get lashed for even mentioning the above on this board but some people believe in it. I'm skeptical.

I'd stick to the 5x5 routine (not necessarily mine though). Give it a month and you'll notice that it's working. The first few weeks I was thinking "This is $hit!" but once I got "in the groove" and set some good weight levels to work on......WOW!!!! It even works for my shoulders and I was POUNDING my shoulders on my last routine (4 triple supersets on each delt). The 5X5 on the shoulders is far less volume than I was doing but has equitable, or better results!

But what works, or doesn't work for me, might not, or might work for someone else.

Luck to you!

G

**maybe I should have posted some bull$hit as a reply, then you would get some experts responding with better advice in response to my b.s. It seems if your new here asking advice doesn't always get a response.**

 

[louden_swain]

Its time for DC training my friend. . . several guys including myself have experienced phenomenal gains. Check into it. . .a great program for attacking the muscles with extreme intensity, as well as preventing overtraining. Rest and recovery is enhanced as well.

 

[casualbb]

That's way too much volume for two relatively little muscles groups.

Don't have whole days devoted to them. That's not an efficient use of your time if you're looking to build the most muscle possible as fast as possible.

My recommendation would be to pick your favorite exercise of each three and cut your current 9 sets of each down to 2, and do each at least twice a week.

-casualbb

 

[R CRUSHER]

you say you big guns.....who doesn't.

but pressdowns/dbs/ropes aint gettin'it
preacher this and that is fine, but what about chin-ups/standing bb curls?

do you do heavy rows?

 

[guldukat]

Ok heres the deal, I realized I have been overtraining my shoulders and chest so I have made changes and am seeing improvements. My big problem is my arms. These damn things wont grow. Heres my routine:
bis:
-standing preacher curls: 10-8-6
-Seated preacher curls: 10-8-6
-Hammer curls: 10-8-6

Let me stop you right there. It's apparent that you're overtraining your arms given this information alone. 9 sets for biceps, all presumably hard sets?

It's too much volume. Try this instead for a few workouts:

Do seated preacher curls with about 10% less weight than you ordinarily do. Slow the negatives down to the point that it takes you at least 5 seconds to lower the weight, and be wary of the stretched position--it can be dangerous--but move the weight up hard on the positive.

Take that set to total failure, then take a breather of maybe 20-30 seconds. As DC says, take lots of deep breaths. Get back on the bench and tackle the weight again.

After you fail the second time, have your training partner help you with a forced rep, assisting you as little as possible to get the weight up. Lower it down for a very nasty negative. Take another breather of about 20 seconds.

Next have your training partner hand you the weight at the top of the ROM. You lower it roughly half-way down, maybe slightly less, then curl it back to the top. Keep doing these partial half-reps until you're shot; you might want your partner stand by so you don't drop the weight suddenly and rip your biceps.

If you want more work for your biceps after that, do one set of hammer curls, just to failure. But you should be totally wiped if this is done correctly.

The next time you train biceps, do another exercise in this manner; don't do the same exercise in consecutive bodypart workouts. Your biceps problem will disappear.

tris:
-pushdowns: 10-8-6
-overhead dumbbell extension: 10-8-6
-rope extensions: 10-8-6

You're doing 6 sets of essentially the same exercise again (seated preachers, standing preachers). Drop one of them.

I'd just concentrate on working one heavy triceps movement very hard, a'la the set I described above, per workout. If you have anything left, you might do a "fluff" set of pushdowns afterwards.

For example, you could do weighted dips (remain upright). Take a set to failure, rest-pause more reps, do a negative, then do partials...your tris would be fried.

forearms:
-reverse curls: 12-10-8
-behind the back wrist curls: 12-10-8

I usually end up doing them at the end of the day due to school. And i eat a meal afterwards and go to bed. Maybe that could be the problem?? I drink a protein shake during the workout. am I doing too little? I really want my arms to grow, especially my forearms. Is it because im not eating after my workout, well just a meal, then sleeping? What suggestions do you have? I was thinking of using Needsize's 5x5 workout. what do you think?

I think Needsize's sounds like a good program, but I myself prefer extreme beyond-failure training methods for the most part. They're the only methods that allow me to get a lot stronger.

As far as not eating after your workout, sleeping, etc. (and the query are you doing too little?! Dude, you're not, no way! ),
I think you should shift all your energies toward trying to move progressively heavier poundages on a few sets/workout. You can workout a given bodypart more frequently when you're not doing quite so much work...depending on the rest of your training schedule, you could probably train biceps and triceps roughly once every five days. Just be sure to use different exercises for a workout or two in a row.

Work those basics for the rest of your body hard, keep striving for big strength gains, and your arms will have no choice [/i]but[/i] to grow.