Building Muscle The
Wrong Way
#2 - Overtraining The Biceps And Triceps
I'll bet any money that you would do
almost anything for a set of
sleeve-stretching
set of arms. Any money that you would do
almost anything for a pair
of bulging biceps and rock-hard triceps!
Interestingly, every time I 'm at my gym, I see small and weak dudes spending a
full hour doing every bicep and tricep exercise imaginable. They do set-after-set,
week-after-week with nothing to show but the same skinny noodle arms. What they
fail to realize is that
for maximum muscle growth and strength, the biceps and triceps
require very little direct stimulation!
Do me a favour and take a close close at the size of your thigh. Now compare the
size of your thigh to the size of your bicep. Does it make sense to spend the same
amount of time training arms versus your legs when your legs are over 4x as big?
Of course not! Now compare the overall size of your back to the overall size of
your arms. Now compare the size of your overall chest to the size of your overall
arms. You should now realize that a larger muscle group should be trained differently
than a smaller muscle group.
Focus the majority of your training on the large muscle groups - that is
chest,
back, shoulders and legs. Focus on increasing the strength and size in
these big muscle groups and rest assured,
building muscle in your arms will become
easier.
Now hear me out. I'm not saying that direct arm training is a waste. I'm simply
leading you to discover that
less is often more when training small muscle
groups such as your bi's and tri's.
Building Muscle The
Wrong Way
#3 - Not Focusing On Getting Stronger
I can't count how many times I have down a fitness consultation with a young new
trainee and bring up the idea of including a strength cycle early in the program
and he instantly fires back, "But I don't care about how much I can lift, I
just want to get ripped and muscular."
I get his short attention span back by stating, "Building muscle will almost
always follow if you simply focus on getting stronger, I mean getting
really
stronger." Unfortunately, training to get stronger seems to no longer be apart
of the average trainees training regime.
Since the fitness industry has become more commercialized with balls, balance pads,
fancy selectorized equipment and ridiculous infomercials, people have neglected
the necessary time building requirements to build a solid foundation for long term
success. Including bodybuilders.
Consider that the stronger you become the more sets and reps you will be able to
lift for more specialized movements. The better your technique. The faster your
recovery. The longer and harder you will be able to train. And rest assured, when
you get stronger from week to week, the muscle mass will follow!
Don't believe me? Next time you go to your gym check out who the biggest guys are.
Don't be surprised if they are also the strongest. Have you ever seen anybody will
a small frame who can deadlift four plates, squat three plates, bench press two
plates or curl 1 plate (per side respectively). I didn't think so.