Help!

Mrs Coleman

I'm new to the site and was pleased to find a ladies section as I need some advice!
I've been training seriously for about a year now and am struggling with my upper body - especially arms. It probably has nothing to do with it but I find it hard to build muscles on my arms as they're really long and several people have told me I have problems because the muscles are stretched out further between the shoulder and elbow joints...?!
My biceps are coming on very slowly but I have hardly any shoulder or tricep size/definition and it's frustrating coz my legs are quite toned so I don't match up!
After some experimenting I found that pyramid sets or high reps with medium-heavy weights seem to work best for me but although I change my programme regularly and take different approaches to training nothing seems to be improving.
I also eat every few hours coz I always seem to feel hungry altho I have a very healthy diet with lots of fruit, vegetables and protein (bars, shakes and chicken/turkey/tuna as I don't eat red meat.)
I put quite a bit of weight on a few years ago and while I have slimmed down a lot I would still like to lose some more fat and gain muscle. I know it takes patience coz results don't suddenly happen overnite but any advice on training/diet or where I'm going wrong would be much appreciated!

PS: I've seen the pictures of bettyboo 6 weeks out and think she looks amazing! I would like to try and achieve something similar but I have a totally different body shape and build to work with so realistically I can only do so much but something close to her upper body definition is what I would like to aim for.

Extreme

Mrs, where do you live about? It may be worth a trip to train with someone from the site who can be constructively critical about your training and may be able to keep you on the right track.

www.extremenutrition.co.uk
www.gasp-uk.com

Mrs Coleman

I live in Newcastle upon Tyne so if there's anyone in/near the area that could help that would be great!

LeeB

whereabouts in toon do you train?

Mrs Coleman

I train at the JJB gym in Byker.
Do you live/train in the area or know anyone that does?

LeeB

unfortunately not no... never been to the JJB gym either so not sure whet the staff are like.. but if they are the usual type fitness trainers they wont be able to give much constructive criticism.. its hard to say without having a proper look at your physique.. but usually if one body part isnt as toned as another its usually not down to muscle development but a bodyfat deposit in that area, we all hold fat in different areas and with women it is usually back of triceps where they hold it!

if you feel your conditioning is about the same all over (i.e. is your skin thicker on your arms??) and it simply is just that yuor muscles dont develop as much then you need to prioritise them in your training routines. what would a typical example of a training session for you which includes arms be?

Mrs Coleman

The staff aren't great! I would never really ask any of them for advice coz they don't look very helpful and only seem to talk to certain members.
I don't really store much fat on my arms - if I put weight on the majority of it seems to go straight on my back and stomach so I do quite a bit of cardio to try and keep it under control.
I split my training into 2 bodyparts per day:

Legs and Shoulders
(I seem to be making good progress with my legs so I'll miss them out)
upright rows 5x8
dumbbell lateral raises 1x12
seated dumbbell shoulder presses 3x10
shrugs 12/10/8/10/12 - increasing weight up to 25kg then back down

Chest and Triceps
flat bench press (dumbbells) 3x8
incline machine presses 1x12
pec dec 8/10/12/10/8
decline hammer strength presses 1x15
cable pushdowns (rope) 3x10
lying triceps extension 1x20
overhead extensions (dumbbell/weight plate) 3x6

Back and Biceps
assisted pull-ups 1x12
t-bar row 3x10
deadlifts 1x15
single arm rows 1x15
hammer curls 3x8
cable curls (bar) 1x12
21's

I think my main problem areas are my triceps and shoulders because they never seem to grow! I also find I run out of exercises which makes it hard to change my program and include different things and then I get frustrated coz I'm not seeing results so if you have any advice it would be helpful.

LeeB

ok, im just being quick and critical here... so i may miss things and please dont take anything wrong way...

arms... you seem to do power exercises for the triceps but mainly shaping exercises for the biceps... its hard to tell what your form is like but on your triceps workout it looks like your not doing much to target the outer head... so your triceps might look chunky from behind but flat and shpeless from the side...??

biceps i would personally swap at least one exercise for biceb/ez bar curls and do them heavy... also i always find to get a good pump ith hammer curls you have to squeeze the hell out of your biceps... which takes it out of them so i like to leave this exercise till last! but everyone is different!

shoulders... lots of shaping going on but not much mass building (if thats what your looking for) and doing them after legs?? your one brave girl!!!!

Mrs Coleman

Me triceps haven't got a good shape from any angle!! I would like to add a bit more mass and definition to my shoulders but when I run out of exercises I just use the same ones from a couple of months ago and change the order.
I'll try adding ez bar curls to my bicep routine and see how I get on with those so thank you very much for giving up your time to offer advice...I really appreciate it and no offence taken so don't worry.

(Why is it brave doing shoulders after legs...?!)

crazycal1

perhaps you should stick to the same routine for at least 3 months(to see if it works)-
personally i think changing you routine all the time is the worst thing you can do-
dont worry about hitting muscles from all the different angles-
concentrate on poundage or rep progression-

i also think youre doing to many exercises per body part-basically over training :idea:

supermod@muscleboundfreaks.co.uk

einsteins mind was the key to all things...to understand more than to know.

www.extremenutrition.co.uk