I like your column. Seriously, even though you are sarcastic and sometimes downright rude to the people that write in, your advice is always pretty solid. I even found a few of your columns plagiarized on bodybuilding forums. Crazy, huh?
So anyway, here's my question. Be gentle. I've been lifting since sophomore year, trying to get 'hyooooge'. I've put on about 20 lbs. since then (I'm a senior now), and I have to say I'm happy with my overall progress. The problem is my arms. I've tried volume - extremely heavy weight (you've probably seen me humping a plate-loaded barbell in an attempt to curl it) - supplements, shock-therapy (ok, not really shock therapy ... but I'm willing) ... you name it. They just won't grow. I want pipes, man. What do I do?
Diesel frat boy
Arms go right along with chest and abs as the most overtrained body parts. Why? Because there's nothing sexier than seeing your biceps flex while you're furiously scribbling in a little blue book during an in-class exam? Because you want to raise your hand in class with confidence, sure that your bulging triceps will indicate to the teacher that you have a better answer than the skinny dude with glasses and the obscure band t-shirt, who sits in the front row and never shuts up?
Well, whatever the reason, arm exercises are performed ad nauseam in the gym. So my first bit of advice would be to stop training arms for a couple weeks.
All upper body compound exercises recruit the muscle fibers in your arms, so if your training centers on these heavy movements - benches, rows, pull-ups, shoulder presses, etc. - then you are already putting a significant workload on your "pipes." Adding excessive sets of biceps curls or tri extensions on top of that can easily lead to overtraining. If that's the case - and I can almost guarantee based on what you've told me that, to some extent, it is - just stop lifting arms for a little while. Give them a chance to recover, and you may see some of the growth you've been missing.
Another thing to think about is how you're lifting. By "how" I am referring to the number of reps you do, whether or not you go to failure, the load (weight), frequency, etc. Basically, your manipulation of all the variables. Depending on how you train, your muscles will respond in different ways. That sounded obvious, so I'll explain further:
There is a spectrum of muscular adaptation that you go through when you work out. The first consists of purely strength gains, achieved through neuromuscular adaptation. It is accomplished through near-maximal weight, for rep rangers from roughly two to five. This is what power lifters train for - strength gains without size.
Beyond that, the rep ranges slip into muscular adaptation that involves an actual growth of the contractile fiber - called myofibrillar hypertrophy. These rep ranges span from roughly four to seven.
Next along the spectrum is what's referred to as sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. This basically involves a swelling of the muscle fiber. Everything inside the fiber grows (water retention, organelles, mineral uptake, etc.). The rep range here is from about six to ten, with the upper end of the range causing more of a "pump" feeling and the lower end of the range leading more to next day soreness and perhaps spilling over into some myofibrillar hypertrophy.
However keep in mind that these ranges are approximate and they shouldn't be taken as gospel. Everyone's body is different, so experiment with your own rep ranges to find what works best for you.
So what does all this
mumbo-jumbo (hah, get it? JUMBO??) have to do with your arm workouts? Well, in order to keep muscle growth coming, one should consistently train in all three zones of the spectrum. Therefore, if you're been training exclusively in one area of the spectrum, you may hit a plateau.
One way to tell if this has happened to you is to take a few days off. If you feel like you have noticeably shrunk, it means your size is primarily a result of sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. I gave that specific example because that is probably the most common training zone.
So train for strength once in a while. More strength means more weight, which leads to greater loads placed on the muscle, which means more growth. That is not to say you should focus on each part of the hypertrophy spectrum every workout. Instead, periodize your training. Train in cycles, focusing on one aspect for a month or two before switching to a different focus. By doing so, you will keep your training from stagnating. It will also help maintain motivation, as workouts will remain fresh if you switch them every so often.
To find out more about these concepts, e-mail me at Ian.Asaff@tufts.edu. For help on putting these ideas into practice (and getting those "pipes") e-mail francis.otting @tufts.edu, and schedule an appointment for five free sessions with a personal trainer.
