Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I simply don't believe that. I don't believe that squatting works biceps more than curling.
Believe it or not, there is good science behind it. You're talking about much higher levels of hormonal release resulting from doing the heavy duty lifts, actually squatting in the squat rack instead of doing bicep curls there. Unless there's some form of drug intervention, the body prefers to grow in balance. Focusing on one bodypart almost exclusively is never a good idea. A. it makes you look ridiculous, guys with bigger arms, narrow backs and chicken legs just look really goofy, not "buff" and B. it opens you up to a whole host of potential injuries rising from various imbalances in the body.
If you're looking to get stronger or to build muscle, concentrate on the key lifts, deadlifts, squats, rows, bench presses....etc, you'll see growth all across your whole body and a much more balanced physique overall. As a rule the guys who spend the most time in the gym doing isolation exercises also consistently are the guys who never seem to make any actual progress, its pretty much spinning your wheels.
Goodness gracious! Those guys in the vids look like frogs, not men! Anyway guys, take it from a girl who knows. You have to throw some cardio in the mix. I know most guys hate cardio but it helps you build muscle in ways strength training alone can't. !
Not necessarily. It all depends on your goals, if your main goal is to build muscle, the wrong type of cardio can actually hinder that to a large degree. This is coming from someone who went from a pretty competitive 160 pound long distance runner to weighing in around 220 pounds and doing powerlifting and bodybuilding. In college I used to run close to 100 miles a week at in the offseason and yet I never really ended up getting "ripped" until I had pretty much eschewed steady state cardio and was doing only high-paced weight workouts and short 5-10 minute interval workouts, running hills or doing sprints. If you cut your rest breaks in between sets while lifting, that alone turns it into a cardio workout.
Quote:
I run just a little, and it has made my upper arms look much better in those sleeveless dresses.
This has nothing to do with building muscle and instead dropping overall bodyfat which of course results in an increasingly toned body.
Quote:
Prioritize cardio and you will never be satisfied with your physique. Instead, prioritize strength training for optimal leanness. By increasing muscle mass, you ratchet up the amount of energy your body uses every day, giving you a chiseled, lean physique.
Sprint sessions can be added to your training program to burn fat, but don't make the mistake of concurrently doing aerobic-based cardio and lifting at the same time if you want to get results. You've probably heard of the interference phenomenon in which athletes who lift weights and do steady aerobic exercise don't see the strength, muscle, or fat loss results that they'd expect. Here are three reasons to prioritize strength training over conditioning to achieve the best body and perform at your best.
Reason #1: Avoid Steady-State Cardio Because It Inhibits Muscle Building
Prioritize strength training to build muscle that will work in your favor for a faster metabolism. An elegant Norwegian study shows that unless you are training for an endurance competition, you should avoid aerobic conditioning because it impairs muscle development. Scientists used two groups of young men in a 12-week trial:
One group of recreationally active men without weight training experience was assigned to do lower body weight training (Strength group) only and no endurance exercise.
A second group of competitive cyclists performed their regular cycling training in addition to the same lower body weight training program (Strength-Endurance group). The cyclists had not previously been lifting before the start of the study.
At baseline both groups weighed the same and had similar markers in body composition, thigh muscle cross-sectional area (a measure of muscle development), strength, and squat jump height.
The weight training program for both groups included squats, leg press, hip flexion, and calf raises following a periodized model that increased the load and decreased the repetitions every 4 weeks.
Results showed superior outcomes for all measurements in the Strength group compared to the Strength-Endurance group:
The Strength group gained about 1 kg of muscle, whereas the Strength-Endurance group gained no muscle. The Strength group increased quad and hamstring cross-sectional area by 50 percent more than the Strength-Endurance group, which had a very minor 4 percent increase in leg muscle development.
The Strength group increased 1RM in the squat by 35 percent compared to only a 25 percent increase in the Strength-Endurance group. The Strength group also had superior jump squat performance, improving by 13 percent compared to a 6 percent increase in the Strength-Endurance group.
The Strength group increased rate of force development by 15 percent, whereas the Strength-Endurance group did not improve in this test at all.
Why is it that the athletes in this study gained less muscle, strength, and power than the everyday folks?
This is a classic example of how endurance exercise inhibits strength, power, and body composition improvements. Researchers suggest muscle hypertrophy is impaired for a couple of reasons:
1) Endurance exercise "turns off" muscle building pathways and promotes catabolism, inhibiting muscle development. In this study we saw an insignificant increase in Type II muscle in the Strength-Endurance, but the increase was so small that muscle mass remained unchanged.
2) The high volume of exercise in the Strength-Endurance group may have elevated the hormone cortisol, inhibiting muscle gains. Previous studies with less than two days of endurance exercise a week do not show such a poor outcome.
Reason #2: Aerobic Exercise Is Ineffective For Fat Loss—Replace It Anaerobic Training
Aerobic exercise is ineffective for fat loss. Opt for anaerobic training modes if your goal is to get lean. Both strength training and sprint intervals are incredibly effective for burning fat if you train with adequate volume and intensity.
A review of all previous studies that tested the effect of concurrent training showed the following:
• Body fat percentage decreased the most in athletes when concurrent strength and high-intensity training were performed. The high-intensity training included near maximal sprints that were repeated in interval fashion with rest in between repetitions.
• Very high-intensity endurance training in the form of repeated sprints doesn't lead to a decrease in muscle mass but they do increase metabolic rate after exercise to a degree that corresponds with the intensity of the training.
• Muscle building (hypertrophy) is most significantly compromised in response to steady-state endurance exercise—the greatest effect was seen when endurance training was performed more than three times a week for more than 20 minutes.
• Strength training performed concurrently with running produced a greater decrease in hypertrophy and strength gains than lifting in conjunction with cycling, which likely has to do with the eccentric component of running.
Reason #3: Strength Training Builds Fast-Twitch Muscles That Raise Metabolism
Doing cardio with strength training will improve endurance capacity and may build the Type I slow-twitch fibers, but this is not favorable for strength, power, or body composition. Sure, it's better to do cardio and strength training than just cardio, assuming you don't overtrain, but a better plan is to ditch the cardio and go after the powerful Type II fibers.
For instance, a recent study from Sweden found that active college students with no strength training experience who did aerobic exercise and strength training for five weeks had greater muscle development in the Type I muscle fibers than a strength training-only group.
Researchers were surprised to find nearly two times as much muscle development in the Type I fibers of the concurrent group compared to that of the strength group, particularly since the concurrent group didn't develop greater strength. The lack of strength gain is a glaring contradiction that indicates that an increase in Type I fibers is functionally useless when it comes to producing force or power.
What you want is to build the Type II fibers because they are powerful, produce force, and have the highest metabolic cost. Researchers from Boston University explain that "the Type II muscle fibers have a previously unappreciated role in regulating whole-body metabolism through their ability to accelerate the energy burning processes in remote tissues."
Remember, due to the size principle of muscle fiber recruitment, working the most powerful Type II fibers requires that all the lesser fibers be trained in a cascade fashion, making heavy load training all the more beneficial.
Take Away Points: If your goal is fat loss or muscle building, avoid endurance exercise completely. Focus on putting all your energy into strength training. If you have time for more than 4 training sessions a week, do interval training in the form of sprints or strongman exercises like sled work.
Goodness gracious! Those guys in the vids look like frogs, not men! Anyway guys, take it from a girl who knows. You have to throw some cardio in the mix. I know most guys hate cardio but it helps you build muscle in ways strength training alone can't. OP, you won't have to work out as much or as long if you do cardio in addition to all the strength training because it will help you trim your fat percentage and gain that muscle mass you want. So assuming you want this and fast, you should go for some very effective high intensity cardio: running, lap swimming, basketball, raquetball, boxing/kickboxing, or tennis. 30 minutes 2 or 3 times a week can make a big difference. I run just a little, and it has made my upper arms look much better in those sleeveless dresses. Good luck!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Juram
Not necessarily. It all depends on your goals, if your main goal is to build muscle, the wrong type of cardio can actually hinder that to a large degree. This is coming from someone who went from a pretty competitive 160 pound long distance runner to weighing in around 220 pounds and doing powerlifting and bodybuilding. In college I used to run close to 100 miles a week at in the offseason and yet I never really ended up getting "ripped" until I had pretty much eschewed steady state cardio and was doing only high-paced weight workouts and short 5-10 minute interval workouts, running hills or doing sprints. If you cut your rest breaks in between sets while lifting, that alone turns it into a cardio workout.
Of course running 100 miles a week won't bulk you up. I didn't suggest that. Long distance runners often look like they are on the verge of starvation and have little muscle tone because they are extremely lean. As a matter of fact, I said limited cardio. I'm not a workout pro, but when I first started working out, I used two personal trainers who were ripped from head to toe. They did the protein shakes and I told them my goal was to build strength, increase muscle tone, and cut body fat. They had me do both strength and cardio. I get that women aren't men. However, mixing up your workouts and mixing in both things does help with the goal of building muscle. Swimming may not look as macho as doing chest presses, but it's effective for building muscle.
Of course running 100 miles a week won't bulk you up. I didn't suggest that. Long distance runners often look like they are on the verge of starvation and have little muscle tone because they are extremely lean. As a matter of fact, I said limited cardio. I'm not a workout pro, but when I first started working out, I used two personal trainers who were ripped from head to toe. They did the protein shakes and I told them my goal was to build strength, increase muscle tone, and cut body fat. They had me do both strength and cardio. I get that women aren't men. However, mixing up your workouts and mixing in both things does help with the goal of building muscle. Swimming may not look as macho as doing chest presses, but it's effective for building muscle.
As effective as strength training? Not a chance. If that were accurate you'd have a whole lot of super buff swimmers out there. The point is you have a limited capacity for work, its nice to mix things up from time to time but if you are looking to build muscle, then a consistent, well-designed strength training program is what will get you there most effectively and what you should focus the vast majority of your effort on.
When the goal is developing muscle, men and women really should train similarly, women just have a lowered capacity for building muscle, they also have a higher natural level of bodyfat, all due to various hormonal influences.
I think you are also mixing up building muscle with toning out, which are two different things. Various forms of cardio can help you drop bodyfat which improves definition and visibility of the muscles as a whole but any muscle gain is minimal, in fact studies have shown that cardio can result in muscle loss over the long term.
For the sake of preventing further confusion, let us clarify the statement with points from the literature:
• We know from a 2011 review by Boutcher that "the effect of regular aerobic exercise on body fat is negligible." Sprint intervals work better.
• Over the long-term, cardio leads to the loss of lean muscle mass, which reduces the amount of calories burned by the body at rest (Westcott, 2009). If one doesn’t reduce calorie intake at the same rate, fat gain occurs.
• According to a 2009 review by Boutcher, short-term aerobic exercise studies designed to reduce body fat are “disappointing” because they produce less than expected fat loss.
• A 1997 meta-analysis by Miller of 493 studies showed that changing diet is a much more effective way to reduce body fat than doing cardio in overweight people.
• The purpose of aerobic exercise is to train the body to be as efficient as possible. The body adapts quickly to repetitive aerobic exercise with the goal of using the least amount of oxygen and energy to perform the greatest amount of work. This does not promote fat loss.
Does anyone have a general (I say "general" because every one person can vary radically from the next) to get some big biceps in a month, or two...or three?
Do heavy pulling movements like chin-ups and rows. I had good results from doing one-arm dumbbell rows. Stop curling for a while and concentrate on building up strength in that movement. Work up to doing 100+ pound rows, then try curling again. The weight you used to curl will feel ridiculously light and you will have bigger biceps (not to mention a bigger back).
Do heavy pulling movements like chin-ups and rows. I had good results from doing one-arm dumbbell rows. Stop curling for a while and concentrate on building up strength in that movement. Work up to doing 100+ pound rows, then try curling again. The weight you used to curl will feel ridiculously light and you will have bigger biceps (not to mention a bigger back).
This too. I've seen plenty of powerlifters with well developed biceps but I can't recall seeing a powerlifter doing isolation exercises for their biceps................
Believe it or not, there is good science behind it. You're talking about much higher levels of hormonal release resulting from doing the heavy duty lifts, actually squatting in the squat rack instead of doing bicep curls there. Unless there's some form of drug intervention, the body prefers to grow in balance. Focusing on one bodypart almost exclusively is never a good idea. A. it makes you look ridiculous, guys with bigger arms, narrow backs and chicken legs just look really goofy, not "buff" and B. it opens you up to a whole host of potential injuries rising from various imbalances in the body.
If you're looking to get stronger or to build muscle, concentrate on the key lifts, deadlifts, squats, rows, bench presses....etc, you'll see growth all across your whole body and a much more balanced physique overall. As a rule the guys who spend the most time in the gym doing isolation exercises also consistently are the guys who never seem to make any actual progress, its pretty much spinning your wheels.
You're conflating all sorts of issues here. The question we were addressing is "What will give you bigger arms, squatting only or curling only?" I never advocated focusing on one body part. I never denied that focusing on key lifts gives you better muscle growth across your entire body. I never said anything about who gets the best results in the gym.
If the goal is simply to get bigger biceps, though, curls are better than squats. Look at the biceps of powerlifters and look at the biceps of bodybuilders. One does curls regularly, the other does not (or at least not the same volume of curls).
This too. I've seen plenty of powerlifters with well developed biceps but I can't recall seeing a powerlifter doing isolation exercises for their biceps................
The biceps of most powerlifters do not compare to the biceps of most bodybuilders.
The biceps of most powerlifters do not compare to the biceps of most bodybuilders.
Neither do most other bodyparts on bodybuilders, you're talking about two entirely different goals. That said you don't find any successful bodybuilders that fail to develop the rest of their body. Take examples of guys like Troy Alves who basically said he couldn't get his arms to grow any more for about a year until he increased the amount of leg workouts he was doing weekly and started squatting heavier than ever.
Its always better to develop the body in balance, to do compound exercises that create a more naturally flowing physique.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Anyway guys, take it from a girl who knows. You have to throw some cardio in the mix. I know most guys hate cardio but it helps you build muscle in ways strength training alone can't. !
