# Help!



## Guest (May 15, 2006)

I'm new to the site and was pleased to find a ladies section as I need some advice!

I've been training seriously for about a year now and am struggling with my upper body - especially arms. It probably has nothing to do with it but I find it hard to build muscles on my arms as they're really long and several people have told me I have problems because the muscles are stretched out further between the shoulder and elbow joints...?!

My biceps are coming on very slowly but I have hardly any shoulder or tricep size/definition and it's frustrating coz my legs are quite toned so I don't match up!

After some experimenting I found that pyramid sets or high reps with medium-heavy weights seem to work best for me but although I change my programme regularly and take different approaches to training nothing seems to be improving.

I also eat every few hours coz I always seem to feel hungry altho I have a very healthy diet with lots of fruit, vegetables and protein (bars, shakes and chicken/turkey/tuna as I don't eat red meat.)

I put quite a bit of weight on a few years ago and while I have slimmed down a lot I would still like to lose some more fat and gain muscle. I know it takes patience coz results don't suddenly happen overnite but any advice on training/diet or where I'm going wrong would be much appreciated!

PS: I've seen the pictures of bettyboo 6 weeks out and think she looks amazing! I would like to try and achieve something similar but I have a totally different body shape and build to work with so realistically I can only do so much but something close to her upper body definition is what I would like to aim for.


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## EXTREME (Aug 5, 2005)

Mrs, where do you live about? It may be worth a trip to train with someone from the site who can be constructively critical about your training and may be able to keep you on the right track.

www.extremenutrition.co.uk

www.gasp-uk.com


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## Guest (May 17, 2006)

I live in Newcastle upon Tyne so if there's anyone in/near the area that could help that would be great!


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## LeeB (Oct 5, 2011)

whereabouts in toon do you train?


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## Guest (May 17, 2006)

I train at the JJB gym in Byker.

Do you live/train in the area or know anyone that does?


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## LeeB (Oct 5, 2011)

unfortunately not no... never been to the JJB gym either so not sure whet the staff are like.. but if they are the usual type fitness trainers they wont be able to give much constructive criticism.. its hard to say without having a proper look at your physique.. but usually if one body part isnt as toned as another its usually not down to muscle development but a bodyfat deposit in that area, we all hold fat in different areas and with women it is usually back of triceps where they hold it!

if you feel your conditioning is about the same all over (i.e. is your skin thicker on your arms??) and it simply is just that yuor muscles dont develop as much then you need to prioritise them in your training routines. what would a typical example of a training session for you which includes arms be?


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## Guest (May 18, 2006)

The staff aren't great! I would never really ask any of them for advice coz they don't look very helpful and only seem to talk to certain members.

I don't really store much fat on my arms - if I put weight on the majority of it seems to go straight on my back and stomach so I do quite a bit of cardio to try and keep it under control.

I split my training into 2 bodyparts per day:

Legs and Shoulders

(I seem to be making good progress with my legs so I'll miss them out)

upright rows 5x8

dumbbell lateral raises 1x12

seated dumbbell shoulder presses 3x10

shrugs 12/10/8/10/12 - increasing weight up to 25kg then back down

Chest and Triceps

flat bench press (dumbbells) 3x8

incline machine presses 1x12

pec dec 8/10/12/10/8

decline hammer strength presses 1x15

cable pushdowns (rope) 3x10

lying triceps extension 1x20

overhead extensions (dumbbell/weight plate) 3x6

Back and Biceps

assisted pull-ups 1x12

t-bar row 3x10

deadlifts 1x15

single arm rows 1x15

hammer curls 3x8

cable curls (bar) 1x12

21's

I think my main problem areas are my triceps and shoulders because they never seem to grow! I also find I run out of exercises which makes it hard to change my program and include different things and then I get frustrated coz I'm not seeing results so if you have any advice it would be helpful.


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## LeeB (Oct 5, 2011)

ok, im just being quick and critical here... so i may miss things and please dont take anything wrong way...

arms... you seem to do power exercises for the triceps but mainly shaping exercises for the biceps... its hard to tell what your form is like but on your triceps workout it looks like your not doing much to target the outer head... so your triceps might look chunky from behind but flat and shpeless from the side...??

biceps i would personally swap at least one exercise for biceb/ez bar curls and do them heavy... also i always find to get a good pump ith hammer curls you have to squeeze the hell out of your biceps... which takes it out of them so i like to leave this exercise till last! but everyone is different!

shoulders... lots of shaping going on but not much mass building (if thats what your looking for) and doing them after legs?? your one brave girl!!!!


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## Guest (May 22, 2006)

Me triceps haven't got a good shape from any angle!! I would like to add a bit more mass and definition to my shoulders but when I run out of exercises I just use the same ones from a couple of months ago and change the order.

I'll try adding ez bar curls to my bicep routine and see how I get on with those so thank you very much for giving up your time to offer advice...I really appreciate it and no offence taken so don't worry.

(Why is it brave doing shoulders after legs...?!)


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## crazycal1 (Sep 21, 2005)

> although I change my programme regularly and take different approaches to training nothing seems to be improving.


perhaps you should stick to the same routine for at least 3 months(to see if it works)-

personally i think changing you routine all the time is the worst thing you can do-

dont worry about hitting muscles from all the different angles-

concentrate on poundage or rep progression-

i also think youre doing to many exercises per body part-basically over training :idea:

[email protected]


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## LeeB (Oct 5, 2011)

legs is a BIG muscle group that to get any kind of growth/progress from really need to be hit hard.... after a leg session all i usually want to do is sit down...

one other point i will make is that if as you mention earlier you have long arms etc. then "correct form" may not fully apply to you... you may need to adjust range of motion/grip/angle of pressing etc. so that you feel the stretch and contraction of your arm exercises all the way through the movement.

and id agree you should have a routine and keep it for at least 2 months.. obviously within those two months you would stick to the same exercises in order to asses your progress and be able to fully push and motivate yourself to progress with each exercise, but theres no reason you cant change the order you do them in or apply some intensity techniques (drop sets/forced reps etc. etc.) every few weeks to shock the muscle and keep the workout interesting.


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## Guest (May 22, 2006)

I usually stick with the same programme for between 3-5 months depending on how I feel I'm getting on and then change it...not completely but I'll add in a few different exercises and maybe change some reps/sets and the order I do them in.

I only train my legs once a week as I do a lot of cycling so I tend to do one heavy session (which is probably the wrong approach) but it seems to work for me.

As I also have quite long legs I have to adjust my foot position for deadlifts and squats but will have a look at changing some upper body ROM's and grips etc. so thank you for pointing that out!

Sorry for all the questions but...should I be cutting out some chest/back exercises to make sure my tri's and bi's aren't too tired at the end of my workouts? Or would it be best to train each bodypart on its own separate day?


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## LeeB (Oct 5, 2011)

whatever works best for you... experiment over a few weeks... i.e. try training tri's or bi's firs in your workout... or even on one session together on their own so your totally focussed... and see whether this effects how far you can push the muscle groups whilst your training... different people respond in different ways to this... for instance i had excellent results training chest and back together.. it was one long harsh heavy session... but i found it worked well.. i also have lagging arms... so now train my triceps before my back to prioritise them.. and found they responded very well indeed.

i wouldnt neccesarily say to cut out exercises from other body parts - because then youll not be training them hard enough.... unless you specifically want to bring down that body part! its about making your arm training more effective not making the rest of your training less effective if you see what i mean!


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## Guest (May 23, 2006)

I was told to train chest/tri's and back/bi's together but do arms second so they've already been pre-fatigued but the problem is that my tri's seem to get tired quite quickly when I'm pressing (especially with dumbbells) so I feel that I can't work them as hard afterwards.

I did try training each bodypart on its own separate day for a bit which actually worked quite well coz I could concentrate on each area individually and try out different set/rep combinations to find out what worked best. But then someone told me that it's a pointless way to train coz the muscles are totally fatigued by the time you've finished which I thought was the whole point?!

I'll try prioritising arms and maybe giving them their own separate day(s) again which should hopefully allow me to make a bit of progress so thank you again for your help.


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## LeeB (Oct 5, 2011)

all advice is good advice.. and theres nothing wrong with training as you are... the key is picking out the correct routines etc. at the correct times... i.e. in th past you want to focus on your major parts so train them first... now you want to prioritise arms.. so hit them first.

one other point.. going back to what i was saying about range of motion/hand position etc. your triceps are probably failing on pressing movements because they are long - i.e. you might need to consider moving hand position etc to accomodate this.... so that when your pressing yuo feel it through the chest... im guessing at the moment you will find theres one point in the rep where all the pressure is going through the triceps.


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## Guest (May 23, 2006)

When I'm pressing I seem to feel it in my tri's the most just before my arms are (almost) at the top of the movement so I'll def have a look at altering my position to try and place more emphasis on my chest.

I suppose training is just a case of experimenting to find what suits you but I sometimes feel like I'm doing it wrong.


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## LeeB (Oct 5, 2011)

lol.. we all do..

its worse when people who think they know it all tell you your doing it wrong... i had people tell me for years i was shoulder pressing wrongly... i told them tough cos i could feel it all the way through the movement and got a deep burn inside the muscle... then when i first dieted down for a show i had everyone tell me how great my shoulders were!!!!!

moral of the story if your feeling the muscle pump and flex then your doing it right! no matter what people say!


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## Guest (May 23, 2006)

I'll happily take advice but you have to learn who to ignore coz some people think that just coz they've been training for years (usually with shocking technique) that they can correct you even tho they don't really know what they're talking about.

Everyone is different and not everyone responds the same to certain training techniques so I'll carry on trying new things and listening to the right people and hopefully I'll get there one day.


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