Am i over-training my biceps (reps will be given)

[RelentlessChaos]

REPS if you read and help.

So for the past few years ive switched up the order, and a few new exercises here and there.....it goes like this.

usually 2-3 sets of 5 reps in each arm with 50lb DB's
3 sets with the 45's, 5 reps each arm.
2 sets of 6 reps with 70 on ex bar(+bar=95lbs.)
then 3 sets of 8 reps with 50 on bar(75 lbs. with bar)
Then some 21's maybe with 15 on each side
Then one arm curls one rope machine(whatever it is) with 60lbs. a set on each arm. Then a set each arm with 55lbs.

usually about it. I get this done within 30-35 MAYBE 40 minutes. I dont faigue easy on my arms. Then a do a bit of tri's, cuz i also do tries on chest shoulder day.

Then i do back for 15-20 minutes. I was thinking about changing it to this amount of time.

biceps 25 minutes. Tri's 5 minutes. Back 30. I get my back done fast to, but i was thinking about doing more deads. I dont do deadlifts. I want to build my core a lot.

edit: And my biceps are never sore with that workout above. I kill them. But i want my arms to get bigger, not only stronger. What do you think i should do, anyone have a routine?

Thank You for your time

[microrahsheen]

I don't get sore in my bi's either. You will probably never overtrain them unless you're hitting them everyday or something. As long as you eat and rest, you should be fine.

The only way I get my bi's a little sore is with incline hammer curls or reverse BB curls.

You probably don't want to do back and bi's on the same day, though. The bi's are used for all your pulling exercises, so if they are fatigued, that could have an affect on the quality of your back workout.

[LungeManiac]

I think your biceps have gotten accustomed to your workout routine. If you are not sore after all of that then you're not progressing. You are simply doing maintenance.

If your goal is to increase the size of the biceps then reduce the over number of sets and intensify each set with heavier weights. This will shock the muscle fibers into creating new muscle tissue to cope with the new stress. Do no more than 9 sets per week (IMO) to avoid over training. Use heavy weights to make your muscles work enough to force them to be sore. Remember, muscles will not grow unless you force them to. They have to have a reason to get bigger and stronger. Heavier weights that generate more intensity will give them that reason. Good luck.

[lcash]

I believe you should do your back routine prior to your bicep work. This will eliminate having to do so many warm-up sets and will give you an incredible pump on your biceps. My routine is to do warm-ups and a full back workout using Lat puldowns, t-bar rows, Deadlifts or rack Deads, high rows and low rows. Then do a max set of cable curls using an EZ bar with about 190lbs and do 3 x 8 then drop the weight to 110lbs and do a set of widowmakers 1 X 20. After a few minutes of rest I then finish with hammer curls. This works great.

Lcash

[TheGunShowMane]

Yep my bis are rarely sore, maybe a bit at the top where the muscle starts to turn to tendon, but don't get me wrong got big arms.

Is your routine for bis carried out once a week?

I would try supersetting bis with tris.

I would do probably about 12 working sets for bis, and 12 for tris in an arm workout.
I would do say 4 sets of 3 different exercises for both so It would look like this:

tricep bar curls
Skull crushers
tri..
skull..
tri..
skull
tri...
skull..

then would do

column curls
tricep pushdowns on column
col..
tri..
col..
tri..
col..
tri..

Then would do

Bicep dumbell curls
Tricep 1 arm extensions
bi..
tri..
bi..
tri..
bi...
tri..

so 24 sets in total, no pauses inbetween sets, I think this is a good way to superset, your arms after a month or two will be massive.
Reps normally around 8, but at then end of a workout you can go light and do loads of reps with a light weight.

That is what I do, hope that helps.

Peace

[DJAuto]

Triceps are 2/3 of your arm.

[LungeManiac]

I believe you should do your back routine prior to your bicep work. This will eliminate having to do so many warm-up sets and will give you an incredible pump on your biceps. My routine is to do warm-ups and a full back workout using Lat puldowns, t-bar rows, Deadlifts or rack Deads, high rows and low rows. Then do a max set of cable curls using an EZ bar with about 190lbs and do 3 x 8 then drop the weight to 110lbs and do a set of widowmakers 1 X 20. After a few minutes of rest I then finish with hammer curls. This works great.

Lcash

That's a very good point. A good back routine will pre-exhaust the biceps. Hitting the biceps very hard and directly after a back routine should cook the biceps completely.

[microrahsheen]

I think your biceps have gotten accustomed to your workout routine. If you are not sore after all of that then you're not progressing. You are simply doing maintenance.
...

No.

Cliffs:
Lack of soreness is NOT an indication of lack of progress

[TheGunShowMane]

I think soreness is varied amongst different muscles.
I find it v hard to make my bis sore whereas I can easily rip my calves to shreds and they will be red hot the next day.
Don't worry too much about soreness but I like to have it after a workout, for me there does seem to be a correlation between soreness and muscles gains.

[Porthos]

Then a do a bit of tri's, cuz i also do tries on chest shoulder day.

A bit of tri's? Impressive arms need a lot of tri's and even though you may be hitting them on your chest day...you should be working on the tri's more.

As for your routine, it's not overtraining, but I'm wondering, at what pace are you lifting? Try lightening the weight a bit and slowing the tempo down and keeping strict form.

One final thing, your body weight is 150lbs? There's just a limit to how big your arms are going to get at that weight.

[LungeManiac]

No.

Cliffs:
Lack of soreness is NOT an indication of lack of progress

In the OPs case it is. He is looking for tips/workout routine that will make his arms bigger. What he is currently doing is no longer working for him (according to him). That's where my point was leading. In many situations lack of soreness does not correlate to progress but in advanced individuals who have hit the wall it may. I apologize for the misunderstanding.

Also, the person who mentioned the triceps was point on!

[RelentlessChaos]

ok guys. you have found my issue. Thanks SO much. This is one thread i have made where i found all perfect answers. Reps given in order of posts. I promise ill get yah.

So, basically ive kinda had the same routine for a LONG time, that may be why. It also may be why i dont fatigue either. So, i fell im getting stronger too, because the more and more i do this workout, it becomes easier.

Here is what im going to change

1) back before arms
2) less biceps
3) more triceps

so, in #1 its self-explanitory. Ive always done arms before back, so ill switch. #2 i was always doing like 20-25 sets maybe. I think ill keep reps to 4, and my total sets at 15. Then #3 triceps, im still not sure. Im thinking a few sets on rope pulldowns, then switch the rope to a bar. Then maybe some DB kickbacks, or where you just put your arms at the edge of a bench, and feet on a chair or something, and lift yourself up and down. Dont know what its called.

Thanks guys. My arms have gotten bigger in the past 2 weeks or so that i have been on SP250 and sizeon. I cant wait to see my progress jump even more.

Thanks again,

-RC

[BreakingPoint8]

REPS if you read and help.

So for the past few years ive switched up the order, and a few new exercises here and there.....it goes like this.

usually 2-3 sets of 5 reps in each arm with 50lb DB's
3 sets with the 45's, 5 reps each arm.
2 sets of 6 reps with 70 on ex bar(+bar=95lbs.)
then 3 sets of 8 reps with 50 on bar(75 lbs. with bar)
Then some 21's maybe with 15 on each side
Then one arm curls one rope machine(whatever it is) with 60lbs. a set on each arm. Then a set each arm with 55lbs.

usually about it. I get this done within 30-35 MAYBE 40 minutes. I dont faigue easy on my arms. Then a do a bit of tri's, cuz i also do tries on chest shoulder day.

Then i do back for 15-20 minutes. I was thinking about changing it to this amount of time.

biceps 25 minutes. Tri's 5 minutes. Back 30. I get my back done fast to, but i was thinking about doing more deads. I dont do deadlifts. I want to build my core a lot.

edit: And my biceps are never sore with that workout above. I kill them. But i want my arms to get bigger, not only stronger. What do you think i should do, anyone have a routine?

Thank You for your time

Why so many biceps exercises? Hence the name Bi (Two-headed muscle). Your doing 5 exercises for a muscle with 2 heads lol. Seems a bit much to me.

[USMARINE8152]

Soreness is not the only thing you should go off of to see if you had a good lift or workout, as long as numbers increase or what you see in the mirror looks better thats all that should matter. I can say that I only do two exercises for biceps, they seem to respond better to less is more. I use a 12 day rotation I got off of here and its not to bad go check it out if you want.

[RelentlessChaos]

Soreness is not the only thing you should go off of to see if you had a good lift or workout, as long as numbers increase or what you see in the mirror looks better thats all that should matter. I can say that I only do two exercises for biceps, they seem to respond better to less is more. I use a 12 day rotation I got off of here and its not to bad go check it out if you want.

hmmm

I try to do this. Depends on school and work though

mon: chest shoulders
tues: arms back
wed: legs stomach
thurs: repeat monday
fri:repeat tuesday
sat: repeat wed
sun: off

sometimes i miss a day so i lift on sunday. sometimes i only lift 3 times a week, or 4. I am very dedicated. The only days i dont go, is when i dont have time. Never because "im tired"

[81Ort]

I would have to agree that back first is a good idea. Then stick with 2 bi exercises but hit them really hard plus add in a super set on the last exercise. You mentioned that you were going to add in deadlifts; this is a REALLY good idea. Full body exercises like this cause your body to release a lot of GH, testosterone, and other hormones neccessary for muscle growth when you do them intensely. This will cause your biceps to grow even more than hitting them hard all the time. Here's a perfect example of what I am talking about. Ernie Taylor (bodybuilder from England) had huge arms that overpowered his physique. He was advised by Dorian Yates' wife to stop doing arms and concentrate on legs more. He did squats (the other full body exercise) relentlessly and still his arms grew an inch. Your body will not grow too out of proportion to itself.
This comes back around to working the triceps more too.

[MuscleTroll]

it all depends on your intensity and how wore out your system is

[Hard Drive]

There is no such thing as overtraining as long as enough food is eaten and you take atleast one day off a week.
For growth purposes, a good idea to follow is that for every 5 sets done, add a day of rest for that muscle group. If you do 15 sets, AT LEAST 3 days, 25 sets, AT LEAST a week, etc.

[MuscleTroll]

There is no such thing as overtraining as long as enough food is eaten and you take atleast one day off a week.
For growth purposes, a good idea to follow is that for every 5 sets done, add a day of rest for that muscle group. If you do 15 sets, AT LEAST 3 days, 25 sets, AT LEAST a week, etc.

You say alot for not having impressive lifts or stats, you can overtrain easy, one set intense enough can be too much if your always working out too intense. Thats like saying you cant be killed. If you sustain too much muscle damage from lifting, your overtrained. If you dont know how to damage your muscle, you dont know how to workout.

[MuscleTroll]

Saying "if you do 5 sets take so many days off" is ridiculous, what about the reps in the sets and how you do the reps? you could do 100 nonintense reps and never gain and never get overtrained. Theres such a giant span between 0% and 100% intensity that you have to be specific.

[Hola Bola]

biceps 25 minutes. Tri's 5 minutes. Back 30.

lmao... read the post below this...

Triceps are 2/3 of your arm.

[RIKTER]

hmmm

I try to do this. Depends on school and work though

mon: chest shoulders
tues: arms back
wed: legs stomach
thurs: repeat monday
fri:repeat tuesday
sat: repeat wed
sun: off

Keeping with you theme, I would make some minor changes such as...

Mon: chest/shoulders
Tues: legs/abs
Wed: back/arms
Thurs: rest
Fri: repeat

[Hard Drive]

You say alot for not having impressive lifts or stats

This is when I realized the rest of your post is bull****.

[LungeManiac]

There is no such thing as overtraining as long as enough food is eaten and you take atleast one day off a week.
For growth purposes, a good idea to follow is that for every 5 sets done, add a day of rest for that muscle group. If you do 15 sets, AT LEAST 3 days, 25 sets, AT LEAST a week, etc.

Your entire post is without merit. Stop spreading mis-information. People come here to get helpful beneficial tips for improving themselves.

[Hard Drive]

Your entire post is without merit. Stop spreading mis-information. People come here to get helpful beneficial tips for improving themselves.

I'm combating misinformation.
Do you even know what overtraining is?

[christopher a]

50lb db's are just ridiculous for someone that's 150 lbs. How is your form? Why do I get the feeling that you would get more out of dropping the weight by 20 lbs and concentrating on good form....

Chris

[battousai216]

didn't read any of the other post, but your arms being sore the next day is not a sign of a good workout. Also you do seem to be doing high volume but contrary to populaur belief that does not cause over training for most people as long as they have enough time to recover before your next workout and your diet is on.

Really no one here can tell you for sure if you are overtraining but there are ways to tell. One indicator is a lack of pump during your workout. Also, if your gains have come to a stop for weeks, or even months, you a probobly overtraining.

Also make sure your form is in check on all the exercises to get the best results and prevent injury.

[LungeManiac]

I'm combating misinformation.
Do you even know what overtraining is?

You are so full of **** you little twirpy 115 lb drag queen EYES ARE TURNING F**UCKING BROWN !!!

[battousai216]

There is no such thing as overtraining as long as enough food is eaten and you take atleast one day off a week.
For growth purposes, a good idea to follow is that for every 5 sets done, add a day of rest for that muscle group. If you do 15 sets, AT LEAST 3 days, 25 sets, AT LEAST a week, etc.

i agree for the most part, unless you are training the same muscle everyday you should be more worried about fixing your diet rather then lower the volume of your routine.

[Big Arm Big Pay]

21's are garbage drop that high school football ****