The Student Room Group

Weight Exercise Question...

Just a couple of questions my mate brought up...the answers to which I didn't know...and so I thought I would post it up here...

1) He was wondering what kind of weight exercises can improve the muscles on the lower arm...? He mainly does "barbell curls" which seems to be improving his upper arm muscles...but he doesn't feel any difference in the lower arms...

2) If he does...say for example...10 reps of 15 "barbell curls" every day for 5 days in a week...(Mond-Fri)...and allow the weekend to rest...is that good or bad..?

Your response would be much appreciated by him...

:smile:
Reply 1
G??RTHAN
Just a couple of questions my mate brought up...the answers to which I didn't know...and so I thought I would post it up here...

1) He was wondering what kind of weight exercises can improve the muscles on the lower arm...? He mainly does "barbell curls" which seems to be improving his upper arm muscles...but he doesn't feel any difference in the lower arms...

2) If he does...say for example...10 reps of 15 "barbell curls" every day for 5 days in a week...(Mond-Fri)...and allow the weekend to rest...is that good or bad..?

Your response would be much appreciated by him...

:smile:


I take it you mean forearm?

grip exercises and wrist curls.
http://www.exrx.net/Lists/ExList/ForeArmWt.html#anchor1936761

I take it you mean 10sets of 15 curls? 150reps? that's ****ing stupid. i also take it, by the above, that 'he' doesn't have a proper routine. get one. doing that amount of curls wont do ****.
Reply 2
normal barbell curls will work for lower arms but what i find works loads is reverse barbell curls

hold the weight with your palms facing towards your body and then lift it up in the same movement as you would with a normal barbell curl. the weight you use will prob be a bit lighter than a normal curl as it uses different muscles.

rowing also helps.
Original post by G&#949
Just a couple of questions my mate brought up...the answers to which I didn't know...and so I thought I would post it up here...

1) He was wondering what kind of weight exercises can improve the muscles on the lower arm...? He mainly does "barbell curls" which seems to be improving his upper arm muscles...but he doesn't feel any difference in the lower arms...

2) If he does...say for example...10 reps of 15 "barbell curls" every day for 5 days in a week...(Mond-Fri)...and allow the weekend to rest...is that good or bad..?

Your response would be much appreciated by him...

:smile:


1- http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.php?MainMuscle=Forearms

2- No thats an awful routine. Do some research, get a proper routine (more than one exercise! And you probably need heavier weights if you can manage 150 reps)

3- You didnt mention diet but its the most important thing by far if you want to gain mass. Do as many barbell curls as you want but you wont see any gains unless youre diet is good (that means protein btw)

Best of luck to 'your friend' :p:
Reply 4
Yeah..sorry...I meant 10 sets of 15...and it ain't for me...even though I am hoping to start a regular weights training once I start uni (if I get into uni that is...)...

He just started recently...and I am hoping to follow his footsteps soon...so more or less advice for him and me...
Reply 5
With regards to point #2...what's the worst scenario that could happen..? He does 10 sets of 15...with i think 2 minutes in between each....and does this Monday to Friday...gives himself the weekend as rest days...
Reply 6
erk
I take it you mean forearm?

grip exercises and wrist curls.
http://www.exrx.net/Lists/ExList/ForeArmWt.html#anchor1936761

I take it you mean 10sets of 15 curls? 150reps? that's ****ing stupid. i also take it, by the above, that 'he' doesn't have a proper routine. get one. doing that amount of curls wont do ****.


They don't work , forearm curls.
Reply 7
You should only really train each body part once a week, maybe twice at a push.

Every day, with that many reps, is AWFUL.
Original post by G&#949
With regards to point #2...what's the worst scenario that could happen..?


You (sorry *he :biggrin:) overtrains. You need to give your muscles time to recover or they'll never grow. When you exercise, your muscles get 'torn.' Then when you rest they recover but grow back slightly stronger and bigger. If youre doing that many reps 5 days in a row they never get a chance to recover and they dont grow. I mean, you will probably see some improvement. It just wont be that much compared to someone whos got a proper routine. Also your Biceps are called biceps because they consist of two muscles each. Doing the same exercise wont target both of them. Same with all the major muscles in your arms and chest etc
The jury is still out on whether isolated forearm exercises actually work though, so I hear from bodybuilding forums. :biggrin:
Look at the gains (or lack thereof) that your friend is making working the same muscle 5 days a week, with 10 sets. I'd take an educated guess that they aren't too impressive? If he can do 10 sets of 15, five days in a row, he's not loading it heavy enough- doing just 2 or 3 sets of 8 reps, once or twice a week would be more beneficial, providing the weight is heavy enough to make the last rep in each set hard.
well tbh if they dont feel a little sore then hes doing more of a cardio exercise on his arms , tell him to google forearm and wrist exercises theres loads online, and try to work it only 2 twice a week MAx , i am sure he can work his back muscles with his free weights when his not working his biceps all the time.
I was with him and his girlfriend whilst he was working out yesterday...and one thing that his girlfriend and I got worried about is the fact that he doesn't use the waist "thing"...dunno what its called...that I have seen weight lifters use...? That's bad for the back right...?
Original post by G&#949
I was with him and his girlfriend whilst he was working out yesterday...and one thing that his girlfriend and I got worried about is the fact that he doesn't use the waist "thing"...dunno what its called...that I have seen weight lifters use...? That's bad for the back right...?


I wouldnt worry about it. As long as his form is good youre unlikely to hurt yourself with dumbells (especially ones he can do 150 reps with which cant be that heavy.) Those back support things are more for powerlifting, deadlifts etc and when using really heavy weights
(double post)

*whistles* :biggrin:
Original post by G&#949
I was with him and his girlfriend whilst he was working out yesterday...and one thing that his girlfriend and I got worried about is the fact that he doesn't use the waist "thing"...dunno what its called...that I have seen weight lifters use...? That's bad for the back right...?


well if ur really worried , u could google how to lift weights correctly , even if there light weights......... thing is tell ur mate to increase the weights once in a while and tell him to cut down to 40 reps , that hvyer then wat he currently using if he wants bigger arms.....