Tips for Building Great Bi's & Tri's

Show me a man who says doesn't want or need great looking arms, and I'll show you a f'n' liar. Sleeve-busting biceps and triceps will turn heads anytime, anywhere, no matter who you are or what the rest of you looks like. I mean, we can all use that little bit of ego-stroking extra attetion from time to time, especially if it's coming from the female persuasion. I don't know about you fellas, but it's always nice to walk into a room and immediately get eye-humped by something in a size 2 with big booty and a smile...

(By the way, a wise man once told me to NEVER trust a big booty and a smile. I wholeheartedly trust that advice. You should too.) So I've compiled a list of rules that will put you on the path to building fantastic biceps and triceps so that you can wear your skin one size too small and start getting some of that well-deserved attention.

1. Keep your elbows in. This is HUGE. No matter if you're training biceps or triceps, refrain from allowing your elbows to stick out. For example, while performing standing dumbbell curls, instead of letting your elbows move laterally away from your body as you lift the weight, keep them "glued" to your sides. This allows for better isolation of the biceps due to the strictness of the movement. The same principles apply for all triceps exercises as well.

2. Don't swing or use momentum to lift the weight. This sort of goes hand-in-hand with the tucked elbows rule. How many times have you ever seen the guy in the gym attempting to do heavy barbell curls by swinging his hips forward to give the weight a jumpstart upward? It's as if he's trying to hump the bar! If you've never seen that guy, then you've either never been to a gym or you ARE that guy. Don't be that guy. As said before, strict movements will make for better isolation for the specific muscle or muscle groups that you're trying to emphasize. Remember, it's all about quality, not quantity.

3. Use a full range of motion. This is another common mistake that I see from novice lifters and gym "experts" alike. Stay strict and move the weight with a full range of motion with full extension and full flexion at the elbows. Frankly, this rule should actually be applied to ALL exercises.

4. Build your biceps/triceps training routine around heavy barbell curls and close-grip bench presses. These two exercises should be the meat and potatoes of your arms training. Everything else is just details. Barbell curls should always be performed with a straight bar, and NOT an cambered bar. Straight bars allow for a better, harder contraction of the biceps during full flexion due to the fixed supinated (palms up) hand positioning it forces. Cambered bars put the hands in a near half-supinated position which decreases the stress placed upon the biceps during elbow flexion. Close-grip bench presses are, without question, the backbone exercise for great triceps development. Grip the bar with about 6 to 8 inches between your hands, and remember rule number one--keep your elbows in. Once your elbows move outward, you begin to place more stress on your pecs and less on your triceps. Keep 'em in, and watch your tris blow up! Close-grip bench presses (along with dips) are also one of the best exercises for increasing your bench press one-rep max. And, like always, train heavy.

5. Emphasize triceps over biceps. Another common mistake. All anyone wants to do is bench press and do curls for the girls, because they think that huge biceps are the cornerstone of great arms. But they've got it backwards. If you want some decent guns you've gotta hit the triceps first and foremost. It's common sense, guys: Your triceps take up two-thirds of your upper arms. Just break down the words 'triceps' and 'biceps'. Tri- means three, meaning your triceps have three heads. Meanwhile, bi- means two, meaning your biceps have two heads. Simple mathematics...don't neglect your triceps. Train them first.

These five quick and easy tips for upper arm development will quickly get you moving in the right direction towards turning a few heads and raising a few eyebrows.

Now, what are you going to do?

CAS

Want Strength AND Size? Go 5 x 5.

Well, it's been a while since I last made a blog entry. The ol' work schedule has got me stretched a little thin these days, making it quite difficult to research and put together good information for you all. Thank you for being patient.


Now that that's out of the way, let's get down to business. So you wanna be big and strong, huh? Well, as you gentlemen know, there's more than one way to skin a cat. No doubt about it, somewhere along the lines you've probably had what you thought was a productive conversation or two at your local Gold's Gym with someone who might be referred to as a "gym expert". Surveys say that that expert probably is NOT truly educated in the health & fitness industry and is NOT a ceritfied fitness professional of any kind. But in the end, you listened to him anyway, because the guy is kinda jacked and he reads a LOT of Flex Magazine. A word of advice: GET THE HELL AWAY FROM THAT GUY!!! He will get you nowhere fast. And worse, he can get you injured. Sorry, those guys really piss me off, and I went on a little tangent there. It had to be said though. In regards to putting on some size and coupling it with solid strength, there's an old fashioned program that has stood the test of time: the 5 x 5 program.

The good ol' 5 x 5 program is an old school program that has been recommended and popularized by world renowned strength training professionals such as Reg Park, Bill Star, Dr. Lon Kilgore (my college professor), Glenn Pendlay (my collegiate Olympic weightlifting coach), and Mark Rippetoe (one of my weightlifting mentors). These guys aren't exactly like that "gym expert" you've been chatting it up with by the pec-deck machine at 24-Hour Fitness. The concept behind the 5 x 5 routine is to train your core exercises (bench press, deadlift, squat, & overhead press) for five sets of five reps at 80-85% of your one rep max (1rm). I'm not going to sugarcoat it guys, the 5 x 5 program is tough! If your idea of a good workout involves spending the majority of your time in the gym chit-chatting, screwing around, and eye-humping every chick in the aerobic kickboxing class, then this program is definitely NOT for you!

Here's a couple of things to expect from using the 5 x 5 routine:

• Size & Strength. You can lift faster & lift more weight using 5 reps. Lifting fast recruits more muscle fibers and allows you use heavier weights. Lifting heavy stresses your body more, thus increasing hypertrophy (building more muscle).
• Shorter, More Efficient Workouts. The 5 x 5 method utilizes multi-joint, compound exercises that hit several body parts at the same time. This keeps the workouts brief, but extremely intense. Great if you’re short on time like me.

This particular program can be implimented on a three-day split (Mon., Wed., and Fri., for example). As mentioned before, use the 5 x 5 @ 80-85% intensity for your major exercises such as squats, deadlifts, bench press (or incline press if you prefer), and overhead press. For your auxillary exercises, I suggest keeping the rep range at 10 to 6. As an example, this is one way I would structure my own program:

Monday

Bench Press (or Incline Press), 5 x 5 @ 80-85% 1rm

Barbell Row, 3 x 10, 8, 6

Incline Dumbbell Press, 3 x 10, 8, 6

Weighted Pull-ups (or Lat Pulldowns), 3 x 10, 8, 6

Crunch, 3 x 15-25

Wednesday

Back Squat, 5 x 5 @ 80-85% 1rm

Romanian Deadlift, 5x5 @ 80-85% 1rm

Lunges (or Step-ups), 3 x 10, 8, 6

Glute Ham Raise (or Leg Curl), 3 x 10, 8, 6

Hyperextension, 3 x 15-25

Friday

Standing Overhead Press, 5 x 5 @ 80-85% 1rm

Close-grip Bench Press (or Weighted Dip), 3 x 10, 8, 6

Barbell Curl, 3 x 10, 8, 6

Triceps Rope Pushdown, 3 x 10, 8, 6

Dumbbell Curl, 3 x 10, 8, 6

Reverse Crunch, 3 x 15-25

(I like to superset triceps and biceps exercises with one another in order to increase the intensity of the workout. Not to mention, it helps me save a little bit of time as well.)

I can tell you from my own experience that you can expect to see some outstanding results using this program, provided that you remain consistent and eat properly. I can also say that this program is not for the weak at heart. Each repetition during each set feels as though it will be your last. But you have to grind it out and overcome your own mental obstacles if you want to thrive. This would also be a good time to mention the importance of having a willing training partner or spotter available. For anyone who decides to use this routine, hit me up. I'd love to hear of your progress.

Now, what are you going to do?

CAS

"Dude, what do you bench?"

Ahh, the question never gets old. When you start putting on some serious muscle mass, it's the question that will never escape you. Have a conversation in any gym with any meathead or so-called meathead, for that matter, and you're sure to get asked, "So how much can you bench press?" Me, personally, I usually respond with my squat, snatch, clean & jerk, and deadlift numbers before I disclose my bench press max. Not to boast or be a pompous d-bag or anything like that, it's just that I want people to know that I emphasize the importance of those other exercises over the bench press. One day, when I'm a dirty old man (approx. 6 months from now) I would much rather have stronger legs and lower back than strong pectorals. Think "functionality". But for the sake of satisfying the masses, this blog entry is dedicated to the brother who one day wants to reveal his one-rep bench press max with a sense of pride.

My baby girl chillin' between sets. We breed baby gorillas in our household!

Before we get to the training program, you must first understand a few things about strength training (training to get stronger...for the GED readers out there). In order to max out on heavy weights, you must TRAIN with heavy weights. Period. No one ever acheived a huge bench press max by doing light pec-deck flyes and pushups alone. Getting stronger is all about a neurological adaptation to your muscles handling heavy loads. Also understand that strength training is not about gaining muscle mass. Strength training routines consist of training in the 1 to 6 repetition range, while using 75 to 100% of your one-rep max (1rm) for exercises. A couple of things happen with this type of training: 1. Minimal micro-trauma occurs to the muscle fibers in order to stimulate hypertrophy (muscular growth); 2. The body secretes minimal levels of testosterone for hypertrophic activities to occur. In other words, you can get strong without getting big. Using myself as an example, I'm only 6'0", 190lbs, but I carry a 355lbs bench press and a 440lbs Olympic back squat. I choose to train for strength, and not for size. Get the point? We'll chat it up about how to train for muscular gain on a later date...

Over the years, I've used many different training programs in order to increase bench press totals for both myself, as well as clients. But this 5-week program is my absolute favorite. I've been using the blueprints of this program for a few years now, and have experienced nothing but success with it. The training principles of this routine come straight from that of Westside Barbell fame (Westside Barbell Club is an elite powerlifting club based out of Columbus, OH that is at the forefront of innovative powerlifting training techniques.). This particular program calls for training the bench press twice per week utilizing a maximum effort day (ME, heavy day) and a dynamic effort day (DE, light/speed day). The ME day is exactly that: training with maximum or near maximum poundages. The DE day is the complete opposite. It's about training with lighter weights for the sake of increasing bar speed (power/force production). The bottom line is that you have to be explosive in order to move a bunch of weight off of your chest. The basic blueprint of the bench press program goes as follows:

Monday (Max Effort - Bench Press):
Set 1 - 5 reps @ 50%1rm
Set 2 - 5 reps @ 60%1rm
Set 3 - 3 reps @ 70%1rm
Set 4 - 2 reps @ 80%1rm
Set 5 - 1 rep @ 90%1rm
*90 seconds to 5 minutes rest between sets

Thursday (Dynamic Effort - Speed Bench Press)
8 sets of 3 reps @ 50%1rm
*30-45 seconds of rest between sets

Increase ALL of the percentages by 2.5% for every set each week, so that by week 5 your first set on ME day will be at 60% and your last set will be at 100%. Your 8 sets of 3 on DE day will also be at 60%. At the end of week 5, reconfigure your percentages to accommodate a new 1rm and start the program over from scratch.

Train your upper back on the same days that you bench press. A great method is to alternate between chest and back exercises to maximize strength development. It's also important to note that rest and recovery is essential when using a program like this, as joint wear & can and will occur if you don't listen to your body. Use the routine for ten weeks followed by a week or two of active rest.

Follow this blueprint to a "T", and I guarantee you'll have a new bench press max every five weeks!

Now... What are going to do?

CAS