Biceps, Triceps, Shoulders, hand weights & Water polo...

[retroborg]

Good day,
I play water polo / swimming 4 times a week, running 2-3 times a week and work out at home 3-4 times a week (various sets of Push-ups, pull-ups & ab crunches).
Overall I'm well built and in good health.

I recently bought a pair of adjustable hand weights that can be a Min of 3kg to a Max of 15kg.
My goal is to increase the muscle mass and volume of my biceps, triceps, shoulders & chest without having to go to the Gym or use steroids & other extras...

What is the best strategy that I should follow:

1.Increase the weight of the hand weights and do less repeats for each set of specialized exercises for the biceps, triceps & shoulders 3 times a week?

Or..

2.Decrease the weight of the hand weights and do more repeats for each set of specialized exercises for the biceps, triceps & shoulders 3 times a week?

Do I have to increase the amount of daily protein / meat that I consume? At the moment I eat red meat 1-2 times a week and the rest of the week, I have a balanced Mediterranean diet, dairy products, carbohydrates, salads, seafood, etc...

I have little experience with weights so any help or other suggestions will be highly appreciated!

Thanks in advance

[Barakka]

How many days a week are you wanting to do weights, and for how long per session ?

Also, do you have a bench or a ball ?

[retroborg]

3 times a week 30-45minutes each session.
I don't have a bench, I'll do the exercises either while standing or sitting on a chair.

A ball?

[Stringent]

Girl extra

[Hawklan]

Hi

To increase size and strength
You need to increase the weights and reduce the reps

I'd try 5 set's of each exercise starting with only being able to do 12 reps on the first set
Then increase the weights with the goal to force yourself to reduce to 10,8,6,4 reps for the subsequent sets

Don't try any fancy exercises just the basics (curls for biceps, extensions for triceps, presses and raises for shoulders)

[Hawklan]

Hi

This may be really hard at first - So you can start of for the first couple of weeks with 3 sets per exercise

I'd limit myself initially to one exercise per target muscle
Once you start blowing them away - try the reducing method I mentioned earlier

[Barakka]

3 times a week 30-45minutes each session.
I don't have a bench, I'll do the exercises either while standing or sitting on a chair.

A ball?

OK 3 times a week is ideal, my sugestion would be to break it down and isolate 1/2 muscle groups per session, but combine the right ones and leave a day of rest between sessions, e.g.

Day 1 - Chest & Triceps & Abs
Day 2 - CV
Day 3 - Shoulders & Legs & Abs
Day 4 - CV
Day 5 - Back & Biceps & Abs

I know you didn't talk about chest, back or legs, but to get the best results you need a balanced program, so many of the muscle groups are interconnected you would end up with a serious imbalance if you just do biceps, triceps and shoulders. Also I know you said you already do pull ups, press-ups and crunches, but these are best combined with the weights - pull-ups are back, press-ups are chest, and cruches for abs you can put on the end of each session (along with weighted side dips, plank, side plank etc.)

The use of an "ab ball" as they're often known serves many purposes;

• Allows you to add some variety and do excercises you would normally need a bench for without needing the room for a bench
• Engages your core while excercising
• Makes the weights go further as you can generally lift less doing the same excercise on the ball so don't hit your max weight as quickly.

By isolating the muscle groups like this you can get maybe 3 different exercises per muscle group, per session, always starting with the biggest muscles and working down, e.g.
Example Day 1 -
Chest Press - lying on a ball (knees at right angles - shoulders on the ball)
Chest lying Fly's - lying on a ball
Press-ups
Tricep Extensions
Tricep Kickbacks using two chairs ? (one to put your knee on, and one to rest your hand on)
Tricep dips on the chair

Best thing may be to get a copy of a magazine (men's health or similar) or a couple even to get soime ideas of what excercises you can adapt to use, then come up with a program with 2-3 excercises per muscle group to combine as above.

As for the number of reps and weight to use, if you're new to weights you need to let your body get used to it so maybe start with doing reps of 12,10,8 increasing the weight a little each set if you feel you can, keeping the program the same for about 4 weeks. Once you've done this for 4 weeks your body will be used to it and you can start getting more adventurous and think about building mass.

As for food the whole mass protein, raw eggs, red meat diet is rubbish - I do weights 3 days a week and have been gaining lean muscle mass for most of this year without any problem and i'm vegan. You will probably find you need something after training and it's advisable to eat something, go for something with a decent amount of protein and carbs (I have a banana or a Trek bar) but you need to eat it within 15-30 mins of training - within 15 mins is ideal.

Have fun, take it easy, and remember lifting less weight and keeping good form is much more important than how much you can lift.

[Stringent]

Also concentrate on your workout. Don't get taken up with the big guys in the gym lifting loads. You will only be put off. When you have been there a while though watch what others are doing to pick up tips how to do things and how not to ...

The first two weeks are normally novelty, the third and fourth are the hardest. Keep going for 6 and then it will sit into your routine. If you can get someone to go with you to help train the better.

[GSte]

I'd keep it simple at first, just do 3 sets of 8-10 per body part and concentrate on maintaining good form and pushing your muscles to failure..... if you make it overly complex at first it will be much harder to keep up imo.

Increasing your protein intake helps build muscle, it's well documented in scientific studies..... aim for about 80-100g per day if possible. Protein powder is good for that, and most contain a blend of rapidly absorbed, and slower absorbed proteins, so drinking it within a few hours of your workout is advised, some say quite soon after.

[Hawklan]

Hi

Amino acid supplements would also be a good idea

RON

[SammEl]

I'd keep it simple at first, just do 3 sets of 8-10 per body part and concentrate on maintaining good form and pushing your muscles to failure..... if you make it overly complex at first it will be much harder to keep up imo.

Increasing your protein intake helps build muscle, it's well documented in scientific studies..... aim for about 80-100g per day if possible. Protein powder is good for that, and most contain a blend of rapidly absorbed, and slower absorbed proteins, so drinking it within a few hours of your workout is advised, some say quite soon after.

Protein doesn't build muscle, lifting weights that rips them apart does.

Protein helps in the fixing process of the "scarring" (muscles get bigger through wear and tear, then they fix themselves by "scarring" themselves to put it simply, the more scarring, the bigger the muscle gets).

If you eat no protein, it will be hard for your muscles to repair after a workout.

@ HAWKLAN - Amino Acids are in Whey.

[GSte]

Protein doesn't build muscle, lifting weights that rips them apart does.

Protein helps in the fixing process of the "scarring" (muscles get bigger through wear and tear, then they fix themselves by "scarring" themselves to put it simply, the more scarring, the bigger the muscle gets).

If you eat no protein, it will be hard for your muscles to repair after a workout.

@ HAWKLAN - Amino Acids are in Whey.

If you want to get technical about it, the exercise causes damage to the fibres which stimulates growth, but without the protein the re-building wouldn't be able to take place, or at a much reduced rate. So neither one is solely responsible for muscle growth. And the protein doesn't just help the muscles repair themselves, but also to increase the size of the individual fibres (hypertrophy).

The point I was making was that an increase in good quality protein is needed for muscle growth. I wasn't disputing that lifting weights was necessary too!?!

[retroborg]

Thank you all so much for all the info!
I think these will do just fine for the moment...

A few more queries:

Also, when I do chin-ups, is it best for the biceps work-out, to have the palms close to each other (facing my face), wider apart on the same vertical axis as my shoulders, or even wider, when I'm pulling up?

When they say that I have to work & train on my "core" (which is the part of my body that stabilizes the rest of my body), do they mean the muscles around my spinal column or the chest?

Two bodybuilders that own the shop I buy my weights from, suggested that in order to gain muscle mass/volume much faster, I should also consume daily for 1.5 months, 160gr (80gr before lunch & 80gr after my evening workout before going to bed) of the following protein supplement and combined with 3gr of creatine powder (daily) before my workout, to increase strength and to be able to workout more time.

All Stars Whey-Plex WPC-80
http://www.bodybuildingwarehouse.co....7kg-2548-p.asp

All-Stars Creatin Pur
http://www.sport-tiedje.com/allstars...creatinpur.htm

So are these products any good?

I’ve never used any protein supplements or creatine before. Are there any health risks involved? Generally I don’t have any health problems, but should I ask physician before I start using them?

Also, there seems to be a confusion of whether more kilos / less reps is ideal for increasing muscle mass/volume and less kilos / more reps is ideal for definition / toning your muscles or the exact opposite:

High Reps for "Muscle Tone" BAD Advice!

http://fitnessblackbook.com/muscle_t...ne-bad-advice/

I’ve asked 10 different people who have been doing weights for years (all very well built-up) and surprisingly, they had 2 different opinions on the matter. Half said that more kilos / less reps is ideal to increase muscle mass / volume & the other half said that less kilos / more reps is the best way to increase muscle mass / volume.

So what is the case then?

Thanks in advance

[santa claus]

More weight/less reps for muscle mass. You won't do it with just a pair of dumbells though. The weight you can handle with hand weights is only good for 'shaping' after the muscle is built on a bench or through squats.

[jordan427]

Do dips for triceps, if they're too easy use a belt + plate. Use heavy weights and low reps. Two sets of 5 is enough. Follow a hypertrophy training plan to promote growth. DO NOT forget your legs! Increase your calorie and protein intake.

[jordan427]

Thank you all so much for all the info!
I think these will do just fine for the moment...

A few more queries:

Also, when I do chin-ups, is it best for the biceps work-out, to have the palms close to each other (facing my face), wider apart on the same vertical axis as my shoulders, or even wider, when I'm pulling up?

I believe close grip is better for biceps and wide grip is more for lats and shoulder.

When they say that I have to work & train on my "core" (which is the part of my body that stabilizes the rest of my body), do they mean the muscles around my spinal column or the chest?

Your core is around your lower back through to abs area.

Two bodybuilders that own the shop I buy my weights from, suggested that in order to gain muscle mass/volume much faster, I should also consume daily for 1.5 months, 160gr (80gr before lunch & 80gr after my evening workout before going to bed) of the following protein supplement and combined with 3gr of creatine powder (daily) before my workout, to increase strength and to be able to workout more time.

All Stars Whey-Plex WPC-80
http://www.bodybuildingwarehouse.co....7kg-2548-p.asp

All-Stars Creatin Pur
http://www.sport-tiedje.com/allstars...creatinpur.htm

So are these products any good?

I’ve never used any protein supplements or creatine before. Are there any health risks involved? Generally I don’t have any health problems, but should I ask physician before I start using them?

You can go to myprotein.co.uk and get quality whey protein for a fraction of the cost. They're better quality too. There are generally no health risks involved, usually the worst that can happen is if you're lactose intolerant and end up running to the loo!

Also, there seems to be a confusion of whether more kilos / less reps is ideal for increasing muscle mass/volume and less kilos / more reps is ideal for definition / toning your muscles or the exact opposite:

High Reps for "Muscle Tone" BAD Advice!

High weight and low reps are for building muscle. Fact.