Constructive criticism needed BADLY!

[FP]

check check

[Flex-Appeal]

well variation is key to muscle growth. instead of back and bi chest and tricep go with maybe chest alone...back alone...and then bi's and tri's. thats just me tho; hope i dont get flamed

[stpete]

Yea, try arms by themselves for a change. Throw in some isolation curls, also try some higher rep cable curls on top of your current bi workout. Try some close grip bench, and use both the v-bar and straight bar on your pushdowns with maybe some reverse grip. I go with higher reps on the cable stuff at the end of my workout. But variation is the key imo. Good luck.

[stallion_1]

that dude is ripped, not as much as me though

[Dukkit]

Standing barbell curl (85-90lbs, 3x8)
Preacher curl (individual arms, 40lb dumbbell, 3x8)
Hammer curls (25-30lbs, 3x8)

are you saying that your only doing lets say 40 lb db's for all 8 reps of each set when yo do Preacher curls??
if so then thats your problem. you have to warm the muscle up. then hit it with heavy wieghts. switch your routine up a bit. try 5 sets or even 4. with the 5 sets, use the first 2 sets as warm ups. use a lighter wieght, maybe 50 % of your max. go for 10 reps. then for your last 3 sets, put up the heavier wieght in increments, for 6-8 reps. really concentrate on your explosiveness when lifting the weight, holding the contraction at the peak of the lift and then controlling the rep as you lower the weight.

if you have been doing that same routine for more then 6 weeks or so then change your regimen also.
maybe try dumbbell curls, inclined seated hammer curls, and cable curls to your ears with your arms spread (not sure what its called, i can describe it better if you need)

for your tri's. make sure your shoulders are perpindicular to the floor as you do dips. are you using a weight belt? if not, then try it. my tris blew up once i started adding weight on the belt. even a belt with an extra 5 pounds can make you sore and pumped as shit if your not used to using it.

also increase your reps and sets. work your way up with the weight and do a warm up set. that gets the blood flowing and the muscle in the mood to really lift a heavier weight.

try some tri extentions. either with both hands and a dumbell behind your head. or one hand with a dumbell behind your head. then some tri kick backs. make your tri and elbow level with the floor. extend your arm straight out behind you and and squeeze the shit out of the muscle.

and like someone else said... do arms by themselves. or if you choose not to do that. then be sure to at least work your bis and tris before the chest and back.

you have a good strong base and if you can find the right workout for you, you will really grow.

[MercyDog]

8 reps isn't enough for small muscle groups. Try something more like 12. Also you need to go slow and concentrate very hard. Squeeze out after every rep. Every once and a while just take light weights and completely burn out with them. Most important, it takes years

[FP]

Thank you all very much. All of this has been noted and will be taken into consideration. After reading through your posts I've noticed a few key things. #1. I didn't realize how much of "a groove" I get in. I've been lifting the same for a while.

#2. When I used my weighted belt for my pullups, my back blew up. I never thought of using the damn thing with my dips! and it's a dip belt. haha

#3. I have always been under the impression that 3 sets with 8 reps was for mass. So I've always stuck to that. Very seldom (and I've been lifting for a long time) have I taken the time to do warm-up sets to get the blood flowing. It was always my mentality that if I did other sets besides my main ones, I'd be taking away from my full potential...stupid reasoning. I will be changing that.

#4. I've been hitting the weights so hard lately that I've been paying attention on the #....not the slow contraction and form like I used to do.

Again, thanks to all of you. I've really picked up some key points and different exercises to vary my lifts. Hopefully I'll blow up on my first cycle and get some damn good results.

-Fire

[FP]

that dude is ripped, not as much as me though

Ya he is, that's what I'm trying to get like!

[muhammad1185]

i guess it depends on genes, you should try negitives, or a breaking platuae routine, if you go to bodybuilding.com, check out the workouts, techniques the key, slow, squeeze, and struggle.

[Doub1e_J]

No doubt that guy looks good. Besides all the great comments on here, one thing that stood out to me was the pic does not show his legs. He could have pencils for legs and his upper body is pretty big. You on the other hand might have decent to big legs that is adding up to your 160lbs.

Not a big deal just an idea. I still think the other comments around variation and technique are the true meat and potatoes in this post. Best of luck.

[Teras]

Just concentrate on contraction for bi's, strength for tri's. Get MUCH stronger on rows and various grips bench press. Eat clean as you will look bigger at lower bodyfat! But never try to look like someone else, ain't happening you're just setting up for frustration...
Anyways no one will tell you this but honestly you don't seem like you're really ready for gear at this point... You can definitely achieve his type of look without any AAS.

[FP]

Just concentrate on contraction for bi's, strength for tri's. Get MUCH stronger on rows and various grips bench press. Eat clean as you will look bigger at lower bodyfat! But never try to look like someone else, ain't happening you're just setting up for frustration...
Anyways no one will tell you this but honestly you don't seem like you're really ready for gear at this point... You can definitely achieve his type of look without any AAS.

As far as not being "ready for gear", I'm 24 and have a decent base. I've worked hard naturally to get to this point and would like to take it to the next level. Granted, there's always room for improvement naturally and always will be. However, I don't think it will hurt to give it a shot. literally.

[Dog-Slime]

I would agree with pretty much all the advice that has been given in this thread (including the staying natty advice) but I just wanted to point out that genetics have a lot to do with how big you look at a certain weight. I agree that the guy prob has tiny legs if he really weighs 150 but also certain people just hold more muscle cause of smaller frames. Most people (including lifters not just the clueless) would guess my weight around 20lbs heavier than I really am cuz I have a very small frame. A good example of this is watching MMA fights a lot of the time two guys will have the EXACT same stats but look completely different in terms of muscularity.

I do realize that you were just using that as an example of what you would like your arms to look like but felt it was worth pointing out how big of a role your frame size/genetics has to do with how you hold muscle.

EDIT: also, looking back at your pics I dont really think your arms are lagging that much (tri's maybe) so make sure to be changing up your routine/working hard on all body parts.

[jc95605]

Well i think your workout needs some work. If your wanting to bulk or get bigger you have to push yourself.

#1-first off you have top change it up. You might not be getting a "workout" if your body is used to these excercises

#2-where is your superset? gotta push yourself! Sounds like your doing 2 excercises for your bicep peaks. I think you should tho in some alternating curls. I really like these, and since you rotate your arm/bicep you work different parts of the bicep, making it a compound excercise.

My point is you have to change it up. Look for more/different excercises.

[FP]

I guess I've never done supersets. Thanks guys, I'll do what I can to get the most of this cycle!

-Fire

[rhino1]

this thread again?