Can’t do chin ups do to arm/wrist ROM 
Well I guess you’ll just have to stick with curls…
Maybe look at what you have tried so far or are doing now. As it doesn’t seem to be working then do the opposite for a few months.
1 Like
That’s the plan. I’m gonna try and use more weight for triceps and biceps.
Just make sure it’s something you can control, or your elbows and even shoulders will be displeased
2 Likes
This is honestly why I’m pretty big into pre-fatigue with bicep training. I’ll run the rack up on curls and burnout on lighter weights. Seems to keep things feeling less beat up.
1 Like
I like this idea
If you like pre fatigue maybe try some FST-7. The pumps hurt like hell but if a good pump means growth then these are worth a try.
2 Likes
Completely agree, and that’s a solid idea. You hit your heavy stuff (my heavy is obviously less heavy than your heavy) on other stuff, so just get some fatigue in there.
I do a whopping 3 sets of hammer curls per week on ME upper as a final exercise. 3x15 45 lbs DBs. I only do it to keep the elbow flexors healthy, for chins I use a neutral grip.
Headed to google this now! Thanks for the tip.
Ever consider a palms up grip instead? Keeping the grip neutral can mean letting that mobility regress.
You really just need an arm blaster and some weight gainer.
1 Like
Deadlifts won’t train the biceps but they will train the forearms and grip strength if you lift with an overhand grip. Similar to triceps, they are two thirds of the arm muscle and training the long head will increase overall arm size.
ANY basic exercise involving elbow extension, you’ll always be hitting all three heads of the triceps to a certain degree and ANY basic row that involves contraction of the arms will train the biceps.
If you look at the Layne Norton PHAT routine, Layne Norton does high volume rows and presses with only four curl exercises per week and he has good arm development for a natural.
Let me quote Stuart Mc-Roberts best selling author of Brawn, Beyond Brawn:
“If you want to add 3 inches on arms, for example you’ll need to build around 30 to 40 pounds (14 to 18 kg) of muscle over your whole physique. You can’t do that by focusing on your arms.
About two thirds of your body’s total muscle mass in your thighs, buttocks and back. Your shoulders, chest, abs, arms, forearms and calves made up one third of your total muscle mass.
Working your thigh-hip-back structure through squats/deadlifts, yields substantial growth in that large area. But the same movements also produces growth elsewhere.
To build yourself up substantially, focus on big exercises, not detail exercises.
I’m gonna give some of my thoughts on FST-7 since it’s THE ONE program I would recommend if someone wants to train for muscle growth. If you’ve trained OLD SCHOOL, you’ll recognize that most people did something like it in the past and it’s not really a “high volume” program.
I’ll illustrate this while describing how to manage volume and intensity:
Main Exercise
I would suggest that you use the 531 progression model with an optional FSL set for max reps for ONE exercise per muscle group.
For the rest of the exercises, you ramp the weight up to 1-2 top sets.
Ramping For Secondary Exercises
E.g
Incline Dumbell Bench
Let’s say the program states: 4 sets of 8-10 reps
Set 1: 60lbs x 10 reps (Sort of a heavy warm up. Do it in a controlled manner. Focus on making sure all target muscles are being activated. A one count(not one second) pause to feel the stretch at the bottom, accelerate the weight on the concentric by flexing the target muscles HARD, squeeze at the top for a one count.)
Set 2: 80lbs x10 reps (One count pause at bottom, Max acceleration)
Set 3: 90lbs x10 reps (No pause you should have gotten in the groove by now; Max acceleration; Set is challenging; 2-3 reps in the tank)
Set 4: *90-100lbs x 10 reps (Max acceleration; technical failure)
*If you’re confident of getting at least 8 reps when you increase the weight, go for it.
If not, do max reps with 90lbs. If you can do more 10+ with 90lbs, do it. Don’t stop at 10. Go to technical failure.
None of this is set in stone. You can do your own variation. You can even do straight sets with the same weight but I’ve personally found it causes too much systemic fatigue without an increase in gainz if you’re gonna do this for 2-3 exercises.
7s Sets
E.g,
Tricep Extensions 7 sets x 8-12 reps
This is where you want to train your mmc and build body awareness for the indivual muscles.
When I’m doing something like rope extensions, for example, I just start with a light weight and increase the weight by 1-3 plates on the machine on each set. The 5-6 set should be heavy enough to fail at 12 reps when doing normal reps.
I can probably get 20 reps on the first set if I do normal reps.
What I do is for the first set is squeeze my triceps very hard on the contraction for a 2-3 count, lower slowly and feel the stretch, then contract explosively on the positive.
I gradually start doing normal reps when the weight gets more challenging. I may do some controlled cheating while lowering the weight under control on the 6-7 set.
The objective of this “controlled cheating” is to maintain tension on the triceps when the weight gets too heavy to do a good rep. It is supposed to prevent you from getting your shoulders out of position and making your chest do the work. Imagine someone assisting you by helping you push the weight down.
Conclusion
These are just some suggestions for managing volume and intensity when doing FST-7. NOTHING is really set in stone and you can try different things to figure out what works for you as you progress. The key to muscle growth is forcing the muscles to adapt to a given amount of stress, and then increasing the amount of this stress to force further adaptation. Stressing a muscle requires the body awareness to fully activate and contract the muscle fibers of the target muscle.
It’s all very simple in writing. The execution is what matters.
Just don’t change that ONE exercise with the 531 progression model. It’s there so you can quantify progress in weight lifted.
4 Likes
I agree that Deadlifts put tension on the forearm muscles, but my statement was that I disagree they train the biceps. During a Deadlift, there is no flexion of either the shoulder or elbow, or supination of the wrist.
2 Likes
40-60kgs on ez bar curls…my arms are quite strong but far from impressive in terms of size.
Wait, what? Curls while holding a chin-up? Isn’t that a chinup? I can’t quite picture this.
1 Like
He was going into a sort of front lever instead of dropping down
OK I think I can envision it now.