Bi Strength not improving and left/right problems...please help

[brandonb]

Hey everyone, I just started working out a week and a half ago after being off for a year and a half. I wasn't that built to begin with, I think I'm about a 14" bicep. I've been doing all dumbbell free weight exercises from my house. My 4 day split starts with Chest/Tri, Shoulder/Calves, Back/Bi, and then Legs/Traps/Forearms.

Here is my Back/Bi routine.
Incline Curl, Bent Over Row, Preacher Curl, Lying Arm Row, Concentration Curl, (Deciding on a final back exercise).

Anyway, here is what I lifted the first day I did Back/Bi. I try to lift the same with my right and left, but my left just gives up early in the set.
Incline Curl
Right - 10 x 20 Left - 10 x 20
Right - 10 x 20 Left - 8 x 20
Right - 10 x 20 Left - 5 x 20

Preacher Curl (One arm at a time)
Right - 6 x 20 Left - 2 x 20
Right - 8 x 15 Left - 4 x 15
Right - 7 x 15 Left - 10 x 10

Concentration Curl
Right - 4 x 20 Left 4 x 15
Right - 4 x 15 Left 8 x 10
Right - 10 x 10 Left 5 x 10


Second Back/Bi Work out - 7 days later
Incline Curl
Right - 10 x 20 Left - 10 x 20
Right - 10 x 20 Left - 3 x 20
Right - 8 x 15 Left - 8 x 15

Preacher Curl (One arm at a time)
Right - 10 x 15 Left - 8 x 15
Right - 10 x 15 Left - 8 x 10
Right - 6 x 15 Left - 8 x 10

Concentration Curl
Right - 7 x 15 Left 5 x 15
Right - 10 x 10 Left 7 x 10
Right - 10 x 10 Left 6 x 10


My strength changes just seemed random and I wanted to make sure that this workout was good, or maybe I could change a few exercises. The only supplement I am taking is Glutamine with my post-workout protein shake. My diet is pretty good consisting of oatmeal for breakfast, turkey sandwhich for lunch, tuna for an afternoon snack, and then chicken, rice and vegetables for dinner.

Even with only 2 workouts for my chest and tris, I noticed an increase in strength. I want to build my left bicep up to make it equal(or close to) my right bicep but I would like to keep working out my right at the same time as well. I'm really just not sure what the best solution is here. Or if I'm doing it right and just need to be patient. If you have any advice or comments, please feel free to post.

Thanks,
-Brandon

[scott_donald]

what are all those number for the excercises...

[THe WeapoN]

wow

[ironlung]

Sorry to say, but you have "missed the boat".
You want your arms to grow, DROP everyone of those arm exercises and concentrate on squats, deads, rows, dips, chins, bench and then exercise each lift no more than 2 times a week and get plenty of protein and nutrient dense foods and I guarantee you they will grow along with the rest of your body.

And btw, your biceps are not 14", triceps make up 2/3 of your upper arm mass.

[XPumperX]

Originally posted by ironlung
Sorry to say, but you have "missed the boat".
You want your arms to grow, DROP everyone of those arm exercises and concentrate on squats, deads, rows, dips, chins, bench and then exercise each lift no more than 2 times a week and get plenty of protein and nutrient dense foods and I guarantee you they will grow along with the rest of your body.

And btw, your biceps are not 14", triceps make up 2/3 of your upper arm mass.

I agree, but you won't get huge arms only from doing squats and pull ups. Do some sets of compound movements for your arms and they are guaranteed to grow.

[brandonb]

I'm somewhat confused on some of the replies.

I am still working out every other muscle too during the week, I just listed my bicep exercise.

The numbers are REPS x Weight. I did measure my armss

XPumperX, what do you mean by compound movements?

I don't think it's a strength problem, but more of a fatigue problem. I am able to curl more weight, my arms just don't last long at all while doing it.

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
-Brandon

[brandonb]

Also, should I think about doing fewer reps? I've been trying to do 10 with all my exercises(even for chest stuff too).

Thanks,
-Brandon

[Flying Knight]

Originally posted by brandonb
Also, should I think about doing fewer reps? I've been trying to do 10 with all my exercises(even for chest stuff too).

Thanks,
-Brandon

Okay, after proper warm up, throw in a few heavy sets of your 2-4 rep max.

[brandonb]

Are you saying do 3 sets with 10 reps and then one set with only 2-4 reps? Or just doing 3 sets of 2-4 reps? Either way, it doesn't make sense. Care to clarify?

[Nick666]

Try 1 set close to failure 3x/week for the biceps and the triceps.

If they don't grow, let them rest for 7-9 days and try again.

[brandonb]

Nick, are you saying do my biceps and triceps on the same workout?

What kind of weight should I used when doing that 1 set to failure?

Thanks,
-Brandon

[Nick666]

Do one set for the bis, one set for the tris. Do that 3x/week. Close to failure. 10-12 reps. That's enough to grow- in my experience at least.

But it works only if you're not overtrained, which often happens with the arms. Before you try, take 9 days of rest for your arms. That will garantee that they are not overtrained.

If it works and they grow, increase the load every 2-3 w/os. When they stop working, take 9 days off and try again.

That's what has worked best for me at least.

IMO.

[Overload]

If you're just starting out again, I say forget about the arms. Meaning forget about doing any isolation exercises for them. Focus on compound movements.

For best gains the minimum amount of training that can be done and still cover all body-parts will result in the fastest gains. So how to best accomplish the task? Use compound movements that hit many muscle groups at once.

Once you can do chins with your palms facing you with body-weight + 50 - 75 pounds strapped to your waist for 6-8 reps you will have big biceps. Once you can dip body-weight + 75 - 100 pounds for 6-8 reps or do close grip bench presses with about 150% of body-weight for 6-8 strict, you will indeed have big triceps. This is one of the best ways to get big arms IMO for those that have a hard time building arms. The 12 sets for biceps 12 for triceps routines are the fast-track to failure for all but the most gifted.

Compound/Major Movements to focus on. Not all at once of course.

Squat
Leg Press
Deadlift
Trap Bar Deadlift
Sumo Deadlift
Stiff Leg Deadlift
Bench Press
Dumbbell Bench Press
Incline Press
Incline Dumbbell Press
Parallel bar Dip
Close Grip bench Press
Pullup/Chinup
Bent Row
Dumbbell Row
T-Bar Row
Seated/Military Press
Dumbbell Overhead Press

and so on...

[brandonb]

Overload...so what kind of split do you think I should be doing then?

Here is what I am currently doing:
(All dumbbells)

Chest/Tri
Flat Bench
Tri Kickbacks
Incline Bench
Skull Crushers
Decline Bench
Tricep Extentions

Shoulder/Calves
Overhead Press
Single Leg Raise
Lateral Raises
Seated Calf Press
Reverse Flies
Standing Calf Raises

Back/Bi
Incline Curl
Bent Over Row
Preacher Curl
Lying Arm Row
Concentration Curl

Traps/Legs/Forearms
Squats
Shrugs
Lunges
Upright Rows
Forearm Curls


Thanks,
-Brandon

[Overload]

I'd start with something like this. It's one of my favorites.

Workout one:
Squats
Leg Press
SLDL or Leg Curls
Calf Raises

Rest

Workout two:
Bench Press or incline press
Chest Dips
Military or dumbbell press
Close grip bench press

Rest

Workout three:
Deadlifts
Bent over row or T-Bar row or 1 arm DB row
Wide Grip Pull-ups (Palms facing out) - Shoulder width/slightly wider
Close Grip Chin-ups (Palms facing in) - A little closer than shoulder width

Rest
Rest


Do 2 sets for each to start with after warming up of course. You can always add a 3rd set if you feel the need. Give the 2 sets full intensity, no holding back and it should be enough IMO. I feel if you master these and keep getting stronger, your arms will follow right along.

The order is up to you basically. For example, if you wanted to do pullups and chinups first because they might be harder, that's fine.

Just my 2 cents. Not the only way to do it of course.

[brandonb]

Thanks Overload. One thing, I am using dumbbells and a bench at my house so I don't have access to all of that. What are some subsititions that I could use for some of those other exercises?

Thanks again,
-Brandon

[Overload]

What can't you do? Let's start there and see if we can find alternatives. If you have a regular bench with no safeties, squatting could an issue but I have an idea.

[Fatporker]

make sure ur strict form on bicep work ..keep it slow..so ur bicep exercises dont turn into other muscle exercises

[brandonb]

Well, I have powerblocks, so basically any dumbbell exercise. My bench can do flat, incline and decline. I can do squats with the dumbbells. I just stand upright with one db in each hand and act like I am doing a squat, it sure feels like it works.

Thanks,
-Brandon

[Overload]

That changes things. Ok, see if you can do all this with what you have. I'm assuming you have a barbell also? If not, use the DB's. Try 3 sets for everything for starters.

Workout one:
Squats
Lunges
SLDL
Calf Raises

Rest

Workout two:
Bench press
Incline press
Dumbbell shoulder press
Do some kind of tricep exercise with DB's like DB extensions

Rest

Workout three:
Deadlifts
Bent over row
1 arm DB row
Bicep curls


Rest
Rest

You really need to try and add to your home gym when you can. Need a barbell and something to work lats with. A squat rack or power cage would be ideal. Do what you can for now with what you have. Any exercise is better than no exercise.

Also check this link for other ideas and alternatives for the exercises you can't do.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hreadid=143006