Dumbbells Only Training Not All It's Cracked Up to Be
Q: "Hi James, I was reading up on some info you had about the three different body types, and how they should workout and eat. Well, I am an ectomorph, and I was wondering if you could give me a specific workout routine?
"I'm 16. My bicep muscle size is about 13.2 inches, and I want my muscles to get bigger quicker. Now what I normally do is workout the upper body one day and legs the next.
"I have some weights I use at home that are only 40 pounds all together, so the muscles I workout the most are my biceps, triceps and shoulders. What I do in my workout routine is pretty intense. It's like this: using a 25 pound weight I do one set of 12 reps. Then without rest I do my triceps with the whole 40 pounds and do 1 set of 12 reps. Then without rest I use a 30 pound weight and do 7 bicep curls. Then without rest I do the same triceps exercise. Then without rest I use a 35 pound weight and do 4-5 curls and then the same triceps exercise.
"I try to repeat this 5 times and before all of this I do my shoulders which for them I use 24 pounds for each shoulder. My workout for shoulders include doing 17-15-13-12-10 reps of shoulder press. Then without rest after doing each set I pull the weights up to almost chin level, hold it for a second, then let it down. With this exerise my reps are 15-15-12-10-8.
"Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope you can e-mail me back a workout routine to help my muscles get bigger quicker with the weights that I have. I was also thinking of working out 3 days a week and resting 2 days inbetween my workout days.
"Well anyways so thanks again for reading this, and I hope you can send me a routine and more info on this stuff. Thanks!"
-Adam P.
My Answer- Adam, I'm not sending you a routine. People pay for that. But you really should consider buying some more equipment (barbell, weight, bench, etc.) if you want to get bigger: Setting up a Home Gym.
Q: "Hi I'm a 25 year old male from Ohio who just graduated the police academy. I'm looking for a new routine that incorporates all the elements necessary to be a productive cop. I'm strong but not very big. I'm 5'9" 180 pounds with a 32 inch waist and 44 inch chest, but only 13 1/2 to 14 inch arms. Any help in adding arm size would be appreciated. Thanks for your time."
-Heath B.
My Answer- Congratulations on making it through the academy, Heath. Your time in hell is just beginning. If you haven't read them already, then check out two of my articles: Return to Copland and Arm Training Assault, which is an excerpt from my first book Strength and Physique: The Articles.
"I'm 16. My bicep muscle size is about 13.2 inches, and I want my muscles to get bigger quicker. Now what I normally do is workout the upper body one day and legs the next.
"I have some weights I use at home that are only 40 pounds all together, so the muscles I workout the most are my biceps, triceps and shoulders. What I do in my workout routine is pretty intense. It's like this: using a 25 pound weight I do one set of 12 reps. Then without rest I do my triceps with the whole 40 pounds and do 1 set of 12 reps. Then without rest I use a 30 pound weight and do 7 bicep curls. Then without rest I do the same triceps exercise. Then without rest I use a 35 pound weight and do 4-5 curls and then the same triceps exercise.
"I try to repeat this 5 times and before all of this I do my shoulders which for them I use 24 pounds for each shoulder. My workout for shoulders include doing 17-15-13-12-10 reps of shoulder press. Then without rest after doing each set I pull the weights up to almost chin level, hold it for a second, then let it down. With this exerise my reps are 15-15-12-10-8.
"Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope you can e-mail me back a workout routine to help my muscles get bigger quicker with the weights that I have. I was also thinking of working out 3 days a week and resting 2 days inbetween my workout days.
"Well anyways so thanks again for reading this, and I hope you can send me a routine and more info on this stuff. Thanks!"
-Adam P.
My Answer- Adam, I'm not sending you a routine. People pay for that. But you really should consider buying some more equipment (barbell, weight, bench, etc.) if you want to get bigger: Setting up a Home Gym.
Q: "Hi James, love the blog. I've been following your 10-8-6-15 routine for a couple of weeks. Yesterday, I felt some forearm pain while doing bicep curls. I had forearm splints last summer that took a couple of months to recover from. How can I minimize the risk of developing forearm splints while continuing the routine and increasing the weight? Should I just drop the weight that I'm lifting or are there exercises, stretches or equipment that can prevent them from developing?"
Thanks and all the best.
-Alex H.
My Answer- I'm curious as to how you're performing biceps curls. If your starting position in the dumbbell curl is to have the palms forward (supinated), then that will aggravate any sort of dysfunction in your arms, resulting in pain. Instead of dumbbell or barbell curls, try hammer curls instead. If it still hurts, then lay off the biceps for a few weeks. Whether or not you take a break from biceps training, take some fish oil to control the inflammation.
Thanks and all the best.
-Alex H.
My Answer- I'm curious as to how you're performing biceps curls. If your starting position in the dumbbell curl is to have the palms forward (supinated), then that will aggravate any sort of dysfunction in your arms, resulting in pain. Instead of dumbbell or barbell curls, try hammer curls instead. If it still hurts, then lay off the biceps for a few weeks. Whether or not you take a break from biceps training, take some fish oil to control the inflammation.
Q: "Hi I'm a 25 year old male from Ohio who just graduated the police academy. I'm looking for a new routine that incorporates all the elements necessary to be a productive cop. I'm strong but not very big. I'm 5'9" 180 pounds with a 32 inch waist and 44 inch chest, but only 13 1/2 to 14 inch arms. Any help in adding arm size would be appreciated. Thanks for your time."
-Heath B.
My Answer- Congratulations on making it through the academy, Heath. Your time in hell is just beginning. If you haven't read them already, then check out two of my articles: Return to Copland and Arm Training Assault, which is an excerpt from my first book Strength and Physique: The Articles.
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