Looking For a Seasoned Expertise

Training Beginners
1

I figured where else to go, but the source.

I’m “new” to the world of lifting in the respects that I’m just now doing it steadily. And that never before, or even really now, have I done so with an aim at bodybuilding. I was always physically active, and until I quit football and baseball had a metabolism that anorexics dreamed of. It was unfortunate for me, but at the same time…kept me lean.

Then I put on a lot of weight, the cheet-o, video game, beer kinda weight. Well, after a few sessions of gut-wrenching financial and family stress and other unhealthy eating habits, I’m a decent 163 lb 22 year old.

Now, I’ve decided recently that I’d like to get to a point where I can have a lean core with appropriate levels of definition and a somewhat sizeable upper body. However, for some reason I’m impervious to weight-lifting and my arms haven’t changed size since I was four.

For whatever record, I did keep a pretty stable system of curls going even when I wasn’t doing anything in a gym or to any other part of my body. (I guess you could say to see if it would ever make a difference).

Ok, now that I got that ramble out of the way, I was wondering if any of you have any advice on how to solidify my upper body, increase arm size, and lean out my core. I was thinking about going on a 2-4 week cycle of Clenbuterol for the leaning out, but as far as promoting muscle gain (especially in my biceps), are there any tips?

Oh, and also…if I understand it correctly, your base metabolic rate is attached to your heart rate (which I assume is why cardio is best for trimming down), but my genetics faulted me with a whopping 45 bpm heart rate. The normal heart rate is 60 bpm and 45 when your body is sleeping and doing the bare minimum to not be dead.

In other words, even when I’m awake, there is no spike in my metabolism…or even an increase. I just exist at the bare minimum level of existance. Could that be hindering the muscle gain? Is there any way to change/work around that?

2

Read the stickies for beginners.
Curls will not make you bigger.
Do heavy compounds and eat.

3

Pick a routine. Then ask for clarifications where you have doubts.
Pick a diet plan. Then ask for clarifications where you have doubts.

Except where special genetics are concerned arm size is pretty parallel to overall body mass. Get bigger overall. 163lbs is pretty small in my book unless your 5’4’'.

I doubt your heart rate is affecting your muscle gains.

4

You weigh 163 fucking pounds don’t take a fucking drug. ou haven’t even learned to lift or eat obviously so read something on this website before posting.

5

Slow your roll Zephead. Nothing wrong with asking questions, but I do highly recommend reading as many of the articles on this site as you can.

6

[quote]yasser wrote:

so read something on this website before posting.

Slow your roll Zephead. Nothing wrong with asking questions, but I do highly recommend reading as many of the articles on this site as you can.
[/quote]

He’s got a steady system of curls going and he wants to start using drugs? What kind of weights is this guy lifting, it appears to be next to none. Why this thread exists is beyond me.

7

No need to rip the newbie. It exists because he has questions. This post is located in the beginners section.

8

Eat,Eat,Eat,Eat,Lift,Eat,Eat,Sleep/Repeat

If you have trouble gaining any muscle, it is probably your diet. Try eating frequent good solid meals while hitting the big compound movements.

Do that for 3 months, then report back.

Also, read alot, and learn the basics.

9

Read the stickies.

I hope you’re kidding about the Clenbuterol.

Do not even think about minutia like your resting HR until your diet and training have been rock-solid for 3 months. Actually you will never need to worry about it. Eating well and training has a huge effect on metabolism, no matter what it was like to start with.

10

Not that my experience is very seasoned, since I am somewhat new to lifting myself, but I accidentally came across a method that helped my arms bigger and more defined and later read about it in one of the articles on here too. I had been doing a 5 day body part split doing with arms having their own day. As I started to realize being an ecto required a little more planning than just tossing heavy weights around I started to get into more of the compound moves such as deadlifts, pull-ups, bench press, and dips.

I stopped doing any direct arm work and just used the compound lifts to work my arms in directly. When I went back to working arms directly they grew and became more defined than they ever had been (which is still small and not very defined but I’m working on it!)

Just something that worked for me…

11

[quote]Krazy13 wrote:
Not that my experience is very seasoned, since I am somewhat new to lifting myself, but I accidentally came across a method that helped my arms bigger and more defined and later read about it in one of the articles on here too. I had been doing a 5 day body part split doing with arms having their own day. As I started to realize being an ecto required a little more planning than just tossing heavy weights around I started to get into more of the compound moves such as deadlifts, pull-ups, bench press, and dips.

I stopped doing any direct arm work and just used the compound lifts to work my arms in directly. When I went back to working arms directly they grew and became more defined than they ever had been (which is still small and not very defined but I’m working on it!)

Just something that worked for me… [/quote]

I haven’t doen a bodypart split in agees (didn’t do it for me). But last time I said something of the same magnitude, I got flamed for it.

12

My theory follows:
You stopped doing compounds and thus gave your body more time to recuperate thus giving it the ability to grow.

My belief follows:
Arm size is a correllation of overrall body mass.
Article that supports said belief.
http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=459760
“Genetic factors play a big part in arm potential”

13

Ok, so maybe there was a little bit of a vaguness.

I appreciate (almost)all the responses so far.

I should probably say that my work out consists of five hour and a half work outs a week. Bi’s/Tri’s, Chest/Back, Shoulders/Legs, Bi’s/Tri’s, Chest/Back…with cardio and abs incorporated in every work out. We try to do about two muscle-specific work outs per muscle that day, and two/three work outs that incorporate other muslces. I heard that the more repairs your body has to make, the higher your metabolism is and the longer it stays that way. We also try to keep our heart-rates up and steady the whole work out.

I’m not really trying to necessarily gain mass. The main reason I started working out to begin with was purely to remove fat. I’m naturally a skinny individual, so this 21% body fat isn’t really sitting well. It just turns out that the guy I partner up with at the gym daily is somewhat jacked.

My thoughts for clenbuterol were not to go on some 6 week cycle or even 4 weeks…just 2 to see if I couldn’t cut out what muscle I do/do not have. I understand that for gains, lots of food…lots of certain kinda food, etc. However, above strength and “gaining,” I really just want lean. I don’t care if it’s lean muscle…or lean skinny…just…lean.

If that makes sense.

However, for the arms…if they’re supposed to be at all indicative of overall body mass, mine would suggest a MUCH smaller person. Even when I was 195lb of no muscle, my arms looked like I stole them from a crack-addict. So…maybe they’re a parallel to the overall MUSCLE mass of a person? I don’t know. They’re a slight concern, but not nearly as much so as the lean factor.

Which, I suppose might not be something you all support/have a lot of advice for, and that’s fine. I just figured I’d ask.

But, while we’re on the subject of food…would it be better to trim down the fat…and build from there? Or better to just start eating now and hopefully one day it’ll cut itself out anyway? (You know…were I to go the “gain” route, to whatever degree)

14

The workout doesn’t make sense to me. The 5-day split sounds like it’s geared for hypertrophy for an advanced bodybuilder with excellent (enhanced?) recovery. But the elevated heart rate aspect doesn’t go well with that purpose.

Listen, think about what you’re trying to achieve: you’re trying to get your body to burn fat out of the fat cells on your torso, while simultaneously building muscle fibers solely in your arms. Does that sound achievable?

The answer is no, it’s not.

15

[quote]Krazy13 wrote:
As I started to realize being an ecto required a little more planning than just tossing heavy weights around I started to get into more of the compound moves such as deadlifts, pull-ups, bench press, and dips.

I stopped doing any direct arm work and just used the compound lifts to work my arms in directly.
Just something that worked for me… [/quote]

Deads and squats- these crush you. You want them inside you! Not only do they raise metabolism but they are available as large muscle groups to add weight on. Do plenty of rows and pullups. This with a healthy benching routine will work out your arms and also give you a contoured figure which will look leaner.

Def no drugs man. It just won’t help, you gotta be crushing it to see gains- drugs or not. Remember this isn’t easy- its called working out for a reason.

16

Read the Stickies. They are some of the best, most concentrated, and useful information on the net I’ve found. I agree about the workout split looking like it belongs to a pro bodybuilder. Bi/tri days are usually a bad idea for just starting to lift consistently.

Oh… and BTW, squats and milk seem to solve most problems. I gained 4 inches on my arms in 30 days!*

*Claims not evaluated by the FDA or anybody, really.

17

Didn’t mean for it to sound like I was saying body part splits would be the best thing to do. Thats just what I did when I first started lifting and didn’t know any better. Now I focus on the multi muscle compound lifts and Olympic lifts.

Was just saying that I noticed a faster than normal improvement in my arms once I stopped doing direct arm work and than added a couple arm exercises at the end of my normal workouts