[BenderBends]

but again...whats the need for strength in 4 months? is their a fight on the playground planned?

[TDG]

Ill be off to university in about 4 months.

So i need to get some weights then?

What size? Where do i get them from?

I dont want to gain any weight really, im not skinny at all, in fact im a little chubbier than most, i just want my arms to be more muscly, or muscly even, cos they arent right now.

My protein intake is fine, i just think i need the correct tools. A weight and doing curls should be fine. Could someone clarify how to clearly do these curls as i am really unsure about this.

Swimming is more of a cardio workout than a muscle building one right?

Thanks for the help you guys.

[jayinhongkong]

figured you were a little chubby based on your weight. if you can afford it, i can train you....just till you get the hang of what you need to be doing. pm me...we can work out a deal if you're dedicated there's a lot you can do in 4 months. swimming is good for cardio but it also limits how much fat you can lose...fat helps you with buoyancy...

[nation]

.. and it's a good target - saying 4 months or whatever timeframe gives you a goal to work towards.

As for the curls form is critical. Jay touched on some points before but I'm sure you've seen on tv or pictures various types of arm excercises. Whatever type of arm excercise you do your upper arm (shoulder to elbow) must remain rigid and your elbow should be locked into place. Apart from the pivot of your elbow there should be no movement in your upper arm. The only movement should be your forearm. With your back straight practice this with no weights either standing or sitting in a straight backed chair. Alternatively sitting you can crouch forward with your elbow resting just behind your knee to emphasise the no movement in your upper arm concept. Do this with no weights to get the form right and then move onto weights.

[jayinhongkong]

good advice there nation, form is very, very important. if your form is off, you risk working the wrong muscles or even injury.

[gt1]

Originally Posted by mattstewart

ohh...and i know cause i did swimming and running for 10 years...ran about 10 or more miles every day and swam a good deal every other day....

i was pretty damn fit and toned during those years of my life....

then i turned on my TV....havent looked back since

Swimming is good admittedly for toning as it is both a CV and resistance exercise. However, this is not good for bulking since CV will inevitably burn muscle mass. Thus, if you want to bulk up, then i would recommend you leave CV altogether.

In terms of pull ups....it will be very hard to start off with. When i first started, i did max of 3 on a good day!! But do it week in week out and you will soon improve. Now i can easily do 10 pull ups....and thats with a very wide overhand grip

[gt1]

oh forgot....

once you are familiar with the exercise, lift as heavy as you can.

I prefer low rep high weight.
e.g. 5 X 5

this is a good compromise btw strength and size.

....busting out a million bicept curls isn't going to give you 26'' guns

[TDG]

So where can i obtain these weights and for how much? How many should i get ?

All this stuff is aprpeicated guys.

[kirlex]

Hi TDG. I would recommend signing up at a gym as opposed to buying weights. You will quickly lose motivation working out at home by yourself.

If you really want to get strong fast, stick to the compound exercises: squats, bench press, bent-over rows, and tri-cep presses. Don't bother using machines, they are should only be used my women and metrosexuals. You mentioned that you want big/strong arms, then I would concentrate on triceps. They can really make the arms look big and you will be able to walk around in confidence in your wife-beater shirt.

Don't forget to eat properly, eat frequently and fill up on meat and fish rather than rice and bread. But at your age is not so important yet.

[dropdedfwed]

interesting thread...

i'm no expert here, but I think a few generalisations have been made. on the whole the advice has been great, but a few things...

CV exercise will not necessarily burn muscle. it is much better at burning fat as the aerobic metabolism utilises fat as an energy source far, far better than anaerobic. anaerobic activity (such as weight/resistance training) will burn muscle glycogen, then muscle. this is why you need to eat a good amount of carbs and high protein foods especially after a work out - to replace the energy deficit before too much catabolism takes place, and to restock the muscle glycogen. any energy floating around after that goes into tissue repair (in this case, muscle hypertrophy), then anything excess then goes into fat. in saying that, if you do not eat enough food after (and during) aerobic exercise, the body WILL catabolise muscle in order to get energy to repair muscle and replenish glycogen reserves used in the exercise. so, yes, CV exercise has the potential to burn more protein and energy than resistance training, but if you're replacing the energy efficiently, it should not burn muscle.

to gain muscle requires a HUGE amount of energy. having a little fat reserves will help you, as once the fat is mobilised, it will be a handy energy source for muscle building. just bear in mind, the reason you build muscle is because you are pushing muscles beyond their current capacity. this "damages" them, and in recovering, they also grow bigger, to cope with the new loads.

another important thing is which muscle fibres you train, and your genetic make up. essentially there are 2 muscle fibre types, called fast twitch (for strength, anaerobic work - the ones that arnie worked on) and slow twitch (endurance/aerobic fibres). to grow muscle you want to train the fast twitch fibres. the guys on this thread have already told you how above (low repititions, high weight/resistance). some people have a high ratio of fast twitch fibres, so they bulk up comparitavely easier than other people.

as far as protein intake goes, you'd be suprised how little you need. you need good quality protein sources with all essential amino acids, but you dont need more than 1.5g/kg bodyweight. in fact, from memory endurance athletes have a heavier protein demand than weight trainers. don't be sucked in by magic dietry supplements. listen to guys who train, not the guy in the shop. nothing beats a good balanced diet and some wise training. but don't forget, as your body is building up the muscle fibres, it needs all the essential amino acids, otherwise it has no so-called "muscle builiding blocks" - if you don't have the right proteins, your body cannot build muscle.

also very important, as already mentioned by the guys that are in the know, form is important, and building up from a basic light weight but lifting it correctly is much safer and much more profitable than jumping straight into hurling big weights around incorrectly, causing damage and building little muscle

hope i haven't confused things too much, or said too much crap. good luck have fun.