Unlike sooo many other videos, this guy has solid form with very little rock. He’s not perfectly straight but it’s damn near impossible to stay completely rigid when you start getting into the really heavy weights. The amount of weight is going to pull you a little bit but I think as long as you’ve got it under control without using your back to pull it up, you’re good.

You can see from some of the videos I have labeled below the form on so many videos goes from bad to just straight horrible. Even the two huge guys below the first two videos put a ton of rock in. One guy got a few reps at 100+ but they were basically snatches. He is undoubtedly very strong, but I can’t tell how much because I never try to turn the weight up so quickly – you’ll notice his curls aren’t nearly as much about the biceps than the top lifter.

The first lifters main problem is he doesn’t breathe. Look what he posted on his YouTube info:

Just a solid set. I felt form was on point too. I will tell you that on the last rep, I almost blacked out (lost some vision) because I was literally on fumes.

The reason why he almost blacked out is because he isn’t breathing on the way up.  You’ve got to breathe.  He could improve even more if he did this.

I’m going to be really hitting the big weight with curls and bench press.  If I can get high enough, I’ll post to YouTube.

The bottom video is rediculous.  Enough said.

Top

Best

Snatch

Rocka

Horrible

Post from: EveryJoe

Biggest Curl Weight on YouTube

I ran 30 and change before lifting weights.

The weight lifting today consisted of curls and legs.

wikimedia.org

The first exercise was split into two different exercises.  For one set I was doing step-ups with 40s but I was curling as I stepped up.  Then, I would alternate that with 1 legged squats off an elevated bench.

To do curl-step ups, just grab a dumbell in each hand with a platform in front of you.  The platform can be as high as you want, but I like to add 4 to 6 pegs depending on how amitious I feel.  Next, step up onto the platform with one foot and curl after you drive your available knee into the air.  Step down and repeat, alternating legs.

This will push your balance to the test so I recommend taking a few trial runs before taking it on with the full weight you will use on the dumbells.  Give yourself plenty of space around the area in case you do lose your balance and step through or come backwards.

The one legged squats are just that.  I can’t use a regular bench though as I can only go down so far.  If you can touch a regular bench with your butt, that shows very good coordination, balance, and leg strength.  For one legged squats just lower yourself down until you touch the bench and then raise back up as soon as you feel contact.

These were my first two exercises and I interweave them back-to-back with 1 minute rest after completion of both sets of exercises.

I also incorporated a squat-curl combo with 25 lb dumbells later on.  I would squat down on to a bench and then rise up while curling the weight with my knuckles pointed east and west rather than straight ahead.

The rest of my workout was composed  of several curl variations, spiderman crawls, sitting jumps with 8 lb medicine ball, reverse pull ups, forearm curls and forearm reverse curls, and a few more exercises I can’t remember.

Tomorrow I’ll get back into sprints with back and shoulder muscle group concentration for the weight training portion.

Post from: EveryJoe

2 Muscle Group Weight Training

Very bad form shown in this video.  The first thing I noticed is his arm motions aren’t the same for his left and his right arms.  When lifting weights, you want to have both of your arms do the exact same exercises.  In other words, strive for symmetry.  Along these lines, he also appears to change his intentions on whether this exercise is for regular curls or hammer curls.  The line is blurred but I think he thought he was going to perform regular dumbell curls but because of the weight, he tried turning his arms to perhaps a better range of motion (ROM) for him.

Of course, you can also see a nice rock in his lifts but its actually not as bad as some other YouTubers.  I think he was consciously aware of bad form from rocking so he was trying to avoid it.  The next infraction was how much his shoulders came into the lift.  Once he started turning his shoulders, the exercise was no longer about his biceps.  You’ll also see that as he tires, the weight really starts jerking his body around.  You should never let the weight control you.  You should always control where the weight goes.  One more thing is his breathing patterns were non-existant and he started holding his breath.

50 lbs is a heavy curl and this video goes to show how much compensation and leverage the lifter needed to get each rep up.  A better, more effective weight for this user would have been 35 lbs at 3×12.

Yesterday was a brief, only bicep day for me.

2×12 dumbell curls, 25 lbs

2×8 (maybe it was 12 can’t remember) hammer curls, 45 lbs

3×12 smith machine, EZ bar curls 67 lbs

I can’t remember the last two.  I’ll have to try to start writing my workout down.

Post from: EveryJoe

Better Form, Better Biceps

SXC.hu

In my chest and tricep workouts here was the exercises:

• bench press 3×12, 1 set of 135, 1 set of 155, 1 set of 175

• suspended ring flies (see last blog) 2×6

• pushup fly off exercise ball (put your elbows on the inside of two medicine balls while you take a pushup position and squeeze yourself up and two a fly position and back) 3×10

• tricep rope pulldown 3×8 plate 8

• tricep dumbell press 1×10, 25 lbs

• side bench tricep pull over (explanation last blog) 2×12 50 lbs

Today

• 3×12 dumbell curls, 1 set of 30 lbs, 1 set of 35 lbs, 1 set of 40 lbs

• 3×8 pull up curls, outside grip, overhand plate 10

• 3×8 smith machine, iso hammer curls 25 lbs

Obviously, I’d like to add more exercises and muscle groups to the workout days, but if you’re up against the clock, remember you can still get in an effective workout by taking less reps, less weight, and running between sets.

Post from: EveryJoe

The 45 Minute Workout

Here was my workout post basketball:

• Smith machine EZ bar curl 3×10 67 lbs
• regular dumbell curls 1×10 12 lbs
• inside grip lat pulldowns 3×10 plate 10
• reverse dumbell curls 1×10 25 lbs, 2×10 30 lbs
• deadlift w/ dumbells 3×10 60 lbs
• incline bench side curls (from fly position with knuckles pointed away from the body) 3×10 25 lbs
• dumbell curls with slight twist 2×10 25 lbs

What to take away from this workout was how you can be completely exhausted, but still muster up strength in other parts of your body. After 4 full court basketball games, I had no more in me. I was so done I walked away from a 5th game because I just couldn’t run up and down the court anymore. Still, I knew if I gathered myself I could get in a good weight session in because my biceps and back weren’t put to the test in basketball.

One activity I do need to increase is my abs/crunches. A strong core is essential to building the rest of your body.

SXC.hu

Post from: EveryJoe

Working Out Until Absolute Exhaustion

First, I want to clarify that when I’m talking about monster pythons, I’m referring to strong, defined, big arms.  This is the big three you want to go after.  Huge arms are fine and dandy, but if they aren’t defined they can end up looking like lumps of fat falling out of your sleeves rather than the gun show you’d like to portray.  Furthermore, having a great physique can lead to a huge letdown if your arms are all show and none of the lift.

So with that said, we’re looking for the big three.  Strong.  Defined.  And Huge.

The workout schedule I propose is a 2-1 ratio for heavy/less reps to medium/more reps.  This is going to get your arms big, able to handle a ton of weight, and cut your arms.  On your heavy days, you’ll focus on the basic curl movements and on the medium day, you’ll add more dynamics to your curling motion.

For heavy day 1, here is an example workout:

3×6 dumbell curls, weight = 70% max 1 rep

3×8 smith machine EZ bar curl, weight = 65% max 1 rep

3×8 hammer curls, weight = 65% max 1 rep

3×12 cross body curls, weight = 35% max 1 rep (we’re trying to take everything out of your arms here)

For medium day, here is an example workout:

3×12 pull up machine, weight = if you can do these with no weight to help you do that, otherwise add what you think you need to complete these 3 sets without failing (if you fail that’s ok)

3×10 twist dumbell curls, weight = 45% max 1 rep (the twist curl is where you twist your arms while curling up towards your shoulder – this helps give you a better cut)

3×12 reverse dumbell curls, weight = test out the weight on this one as this might be new to you

3×16 side dumbell curl flies, weight = test out weight again (this exercise involves keeping your elbows at your sides and lifting hammer curls in a different direction – your thumbs should be facing away from you and the dumbell’s face should come towards the side of your head

heavy day 3

same basic exercises but incorporate barbell(s)

These days are subject of course to your strength and styles and whatever other muscles you work on your curl day, if any.  If you’re physically hurting (not as in it’s challenging) when doing any of these exercises, just stop and try an exercise you feel more comfortable doing.  However, if you want bigger bi’s, the basic premise underlying these regimens won’t steer you wrong.  These exercises offer bigger peaks and circumference, giving you a nice well-rounded arm.

SXC.hu

Post from: EveryJoe

Exercises For Bigger Biceps

First, you’ve got to start off with what you have.  If you can’t rep out the 30 lb dumbells yet, you can’t do it.  That’s fine – everybody starts somewhere.  So you’ll start with 3×10 dumbell curls as a means to find out where you’re at.  You want to pick a weight that is very challenging to complete the first 10 reps and that you can barely complete your second set with.  Your third set should be a failure with you having to drop the weights before picking them up to finish off the set.

Whatever that weight is, that’s your base weight.  Every curl day for the next 6 weeks, you’ll begin with dumbell curls and build off your first base weight.  For example, in your second curl day you’ll probably be at the same weight but by your third day you’ll want to add another 5 lbs on each dumbell.  You’re probably not ready to handle this weight, but that’s the idea.

Pushing yourself on curls is the foundation to building bigger bi’s.  You should constantly be reaching failure on your curl exercises and having to complete them after a rest on the third set and possibly even second set.  Apply this philosophy of third set failure and exhaustion on all of your curl exercises.  One caveat is to always accept a failed set before you cheat on your form.

Next blog we will continue the bigger bicep discussion with different types of exercises that build the height and circumference of your bicep.

SXC.hu

Post from: EveryJoe

How To Get Huge Biceps

I have lifted weights consistently for 13 years now. I started when I was 15 and I am now 28. My peak performance came at the age of 24. If you want an indicator, my bench press (the standard almost everybody goes by) was 3×8 265 lbs at one point. I weighed around 215 at the time. Thinking back, even I find that hard to imagine myself doing.

I have tapered off since that fateful day at Bally’s (still remember it well). The real reason I not only haven’t improved but have regressed is a lack of dedication. On the surface, I was in graduate school so weight lifting got put off more than it used to and as the days grew further apart, so did the gap between my peak and my status at the time. Graduate school is not an excuse though. I believe you have to find a way to workout if you really want to accomplish your physical goals.

In December of 2007, I had ballooned to 252. I still had a base amount of strength from all my years and a trip or two to the gym every week, but this was embarrassingly far from where I had been. My lowest weight after the age of 20 was 183 while still maintaining a high level of strength. I am in still in grad school now, but my intervals between workouts has become much better and I am noticing a difference in strength and appearance.

Currently, I weigh 229 (up from 223 during the summer) and am steadfastly trying to lower my weight and improve my strength, speed, endurance, and lean muscle mass with size. (Yes, I want it all.) In this blog, I’ll be giving weight lifting advice and tips on how to achieve these levels of fitness efficiently while putting my workout on full display. I’ll give you a break down of everything I do and why I do it. I’ll also provide my recommended meals (while minimizing price) along with my eating habits.

If you have stopped lifting weights, currently lift weights, or never touched a barbell in your life, I encourage you to add resistance/strength training to your workout (whether you are a girl or guy). The benefits will empower you and take your lifestyle to the next level.

Tomorrow, I’m hitting the iron. Come join me. If you’re ready to start, I’m working back and biceps tomorrow to go along with some cardio. Take it easy on the weight and focus on getting the exercises done.

Here is a sample workout:

12 minutes cardio
3×10 dumbell curls
3×10 lat pull downs
3×10 pull ups
3×10 back extensions
10 minutes cardio

I’ll see you back here tomorrow.

Image: sxc.hu

Post from: EveryJoe

Do You Know Where the Weight Room Is?