WashboardAbs’ BodyBlog

I’ve been hooked onto Derek Charlebois’ ebook on hypertrophy, and in there is a sample training schedule for maximizing arm size and development.  For almost nine months, I focused solely on bench press, squat, and deadlift, thinking that if I lifted heavily enough, my arms would get enough development.  I was wrong, and I plateaued early due to insufficient arm strength.  Since then, my arms have never been up to par, and I’m working on getting them caught up to the rest of my body.

Preacher Curl– 80 lbs, 4×8 (full extension, focus on negative)

Skull Crushers– 70 lbs, 4×8 (six second negative, two second pause at bottom of movement)

Alternating Dumbbell Curls– 45 lbs (each), 3×8

Tricep Kickbacks– 20 lbs, 3×10 (focus on contraction)

Hammer Curls (DB)– 50 lbs (each), 3×8

Overhead Dumbbell Extension– 45 lbs (single DB), 3×8 (focus on negative)

Barbell reverse curl–60 lbs, 3×10

Over the next 8 weeks or so I hope to drastically increase my arm strength and size, and once my arms are up to par, I’ll use a similar program (lower volume training twice a week) on another bodypart, either legs or chest.

Today was the first day I’ve been on my new bulking cycle, and I love training back and traps, so it was a good and productive day.

Warmup–20 Pullups

Wide Grip Lat Pulldown– 200 lbs, 5×5

Barbell Bent-Over Row– 165 lbs, 5×5

Close (Parallell) Grip Weighted Pullups– 25 lbs, 3×8

Cable Row– 150 lbs, 3×8 (slow negative)

Barbell Shrug– 245 lbs, 4×8

Upright Row– 115 lbs, 3×8

Dumbbell Shrug– 65 lbs (each), 3×10 (slow negative)

I felt a pretty good pump when I left the gym, which is a good sign.  My total caloric intake for today was 3,050 roughly, which is also pretty good.  Hopefully if I can keep things up for a while then I’ll bust through this plateau I’ve been stuck in forever.  Tomorrow–legs!  My favorite day of the week.

Over the past few months, I’ve been trying but failing to see much growth.  Ultimately, I’ve become so frustrated that I’ve decided to take a new perspective on my workouts, and to change things up drastically.  Here are some of the things I’ve decided and have recently been working on:

I’ve moved most exercises into the 4-8 rep range, to try to pack on some mass instead of merely maintaining the definition I already have.  I’ll allow my bodyfat percentage to rise a little to accomodate the weight I’ll hopefully put on, but I don’t want it to rise more than about 3 percent above if I can help it, which brings up diet.

I’ve increased my caloric intake by about 600 calories, and am eating every 2 hours on the dot, aside from when I sleep.  I’m drinking a shake every night, regardless of whether I’ve lifted that day or not right before bed, to give me some protein and carbs to digest while I rest.  These are all clean calories, as I never eat sugar by itself anyway.  Hopefully the increased caloric intake and new routine will help boost me past this plateau into some new muscle!

 I’ll also be updating this blog more often to keep myself motivated and on track toward reaching my goals.  I know I need to bring my leg definition up, and my arm size up to appropriately balance myself–I’ve been focusing too much on chest and back, and need to work on those somewhat lagging bodyparts.

 Anyway, that’s all for now, folks!