Biceps/triceps

C

cian

0
I've been doing pushups since the summer and finally got a barbell. However, I find I can do rougly 2/3 times as many bench presses than I can curls. I heard the tricep is for 'pushing' and the bicep for ;pulling', this might explain why this happened as I can do bench presses no problem but curls tire me out incessantly. When my arm is outstreched and relaxed my biceps are invisible though my triceps are visible.
I was wondering if there is a reason why this happened, I've started doing 3 sets of 20-25 benchpresses 3 times with things like bootstraps and crunches in between. And also the same thing later with 10 curls replacing the bench presses.THis is using a 20kg barbell(including weight)
Was wondering if someone could help me out to get my biceps the same size as it looks pretty strange with my triceps sticking out more than my biceps.
Thanks
 
curls are a much harder exersice than bench press, curls uses only the biceps, a small muscle. bench press uses the chest, triceps and shoulders (basicly) so that you cant do as many curls with the same weight as you can bench press is only natrual.

The triceps is a bigger muscle than the biceps. When you're arm is straight, the biceps is stretched so it doesnt show as well, but the triceps is not stretched, so it shows well. its the same with me.

And you should really get some upper back work inn.. if you only do bench press and no rows, you're setting youreself up for injury.
 
Bendt over rows? Is there anything that will use my barbell as that was fairly expensive so would like to use it.
 
bendt over rows will use you're barbell.
Barbell Bent-over Row

Shoulderblades retracted. upper body parallell with floor, without bending the lower back. Keep the hips steady, the only thing moving should be you're arms, lifting the weight.
 
bent over rows are excellent, plus you can hit your back and arms by varying the angle your bent over at.

upright rows are good

Barbell Upright Row

although some people have trouble with painful forearms so change your grip and the distance between your hands until its comfortble.

curls are still a great exercise for your arms; but they should not be the only thing you do. do a couple of compounds (bent overs, rows etc) and then throw in isolation work at the end.

the body is not designed to use a muscle such as the bicep singularly, it wants to use as many movements as possible to work as effectively as possible. there is no real life situation where you will 'curl', you'll always use your back and/or shoulders to lift. a curl should just be a way of fatiguing the bicep muscle after do the more natural compounds. switch up the curls and make sure form is right, no back curving or torso twisting and dont feel guilty if you dont feel like doing them at all.
 
listen to Karky, he's got this one covered.

first off, the triceps make up 2/3 of your upper arm...they're meant to be bigger in the first place.
secondly, the meat and potatoes of your bicep workout should come from working the upper back...namely pull ups, chin ups, seated rows, and bent over rows. this also his the forearms.

so if compound back exercises are the main course, that means curls are just dessert...a few sets of one curling exercise at teh end of your routine should be sufficient.

when curling, the upper arm should NOT MOVE. keep the elbows frozen in place...that's where you pivot the joint. if the upper arm moves, you're using shoulder muscles to move the weight...cheating yourself.

Some people don't even use curls....they get huge biceps from back work alone.
 
I used to curl dumbbells, curl straight bars, do preacher curls, yada yada yada. Finally I researched, learned, and discovered what you have to do. These guys are all dead on. Since really getting a solid back workout, I do maybe 1 or 2 isolated biceps/tricep lifts. Yet, my biceps, triceps, and especially forearms are bigger and stronger than ever in my life! Ya just gotta do the right things in the gym...
 
plus if you don't focus on the back and chest first, you end up with an undersized torso, and thick arms...almost cartoonish. these guys usually have toothpick legs too.
 
So doing the bent over row will help my torso?
Thanks, is there any other barbell exercise that you would reccomend.
Would 3*10bent over rows/lower body exercise/3*10bench presses/crunches/3*10 curls.
Would that be allright for building up my torso?
thanks
 
bent over row is a horizontal pull.. you still need a vertical pull, like pull ups, or lat pulldowns if you have the eqiupment or a place to mount a pullup bar.

and if you're only doing 3 sets for the back, you'd better not do that many for biceps! big muscles need more work, little muscles need less work. plus you already worked biceps when you worked the back...how much isolation do you think a tiny bicep REALLY needs? (answer: not all that much)
 
Hmm I don't think I could get a pullup bar at the moment. Bought a barbell with christmas money,money is pretty tight.
What routine would you reccomend with a barbell?
 
the closest you'll get is barbell or dumbbell pull overs. doesn't exactly target just the lats, but it'll help until you can find a way to do pull ups.
 
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