Guest guest Posted January 4, 2008 Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 I haven¹t done arm work in probably five years. I just started again about three weeks ago. I have had no problem with jiggling arms. I don¹t recommend doing what I was doing, but it is true that you can strengthen arms without doing ³arm² work. I wouldn¹t unless there was a really good compelling reason. I would follow the program and know that when the fat came off the arms would start looking good. You can¹t spot reduce, so you have to take a more holistic approach. It will all come together in the end. > I have the opposite problem of most women. My lower body is pretty > lean (waiting for my calipers to find out specifics), but my arms > jiggle all over the place and look large, even though I have some > pretty strong biceps and triceps. I know that I can't spot reduce, > but can I step up my arm workouts to accelerate the toning in this > area? Or do I just need to wait till I lose some significant body fat? > > I've also heard that chest presses and back work are actually more > effective for improving arms than bicep and tricep work. Anyone have > an opinion on that? > > Thanks! I'm loving the wealth of information on this board - I've > read all the way back through June! > > Megily > Dr. Val www.pinkbunnyears.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2008 Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 Arm exercises work the underlying muscles, they do nothing to get rid of the jiggly fat. So, no matter what your strength routine, you won't be able to clearly see the results of your efforts until you get rid of the fat through diet, cardio, and lowering your overall percentage of body fat. Isolating one dinky muscle group (bicep curls, tricep kickbacks) doesn't have as big of a metabolic impact as doing a big compound movement that causes many muscle groups to work in unison. For example, sitting down doing bicep curls with a dumbbell doesn't require as much effort (for your biceps or any other muscle group) as doing chin-ups and pulling your entire body weight over a bar. Doing tricep kickbacks with a little dumbbell doesn't work your triceps (or the rest of you) as hard as doing dips or close grip decline push-ups where you're pushing your body weight instead of 10 lbs. I haven't done " arm " exercises in a couple of years since Alwyn Cosgrove explained the error of my ways. :-) My biceps get worked on pulling movements, my triceps get worked on pushing movements. Either of the New Rules of Lifting books (but especially the original) explain the idea of training movements not body parts. I do think that my arms look better and I burn fat more effectively since I quit with the seated isolation exercises. > I have the opposite problem of most women. My lower body is pretty > lean (waiting for my calipers to find out specifics), but my arms > jiggle all over the place and look large, even though I have some > pretty strong biceps and triceps. I know that I can't spot reduce, > but can I step up my arm workouts to accelerate the toning in this > area? Or do I just need to wait till I lose some significant body fat? > > I've also heard that chest presses and back work are actually more > effective for improving arms than bicep and tricep work. Anyone have > an opinion on that? > > Thanks! I'm loving the wealth of information on this board - I've > read all the way back through June! > > Megily > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2008 Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 I really want to get a pull up bar. My husband's worried that the doorframe one will push the doorframe out of shape over time, though, so he wants to put it in the basement, which means we have to clean the basement . . . it's a problem! Assuming I get a bar, though, how many pushups or pullups would you sub for a weighted chest or back exercise in BFL? > > > I have the opposite problem of most women. My lower body is pretty > > lean (waiting for my calipers to find out specifics), but my arms > > jiggle all over the place and look large, even though I have some > > pretty strong biceps and triceps. I know that I can't spot reduce, > > but can I step up my arm workouts to accelerate the toning in this > > area? Or do I just need to wait till I lose some significant body fat? > > > > I've also heard that chest presses and back work are actually more > > effective for improving arms than bicep and tricep work. Anyone have > > an opinion on that? > > > > Thanks! I'm loving the wealth of information on this board - I've > > read all the way back through June! > > > > Megily > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2008 Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 I really want to get a pull up bar. My husband's worried that the doorframe one will push the doorframe out of shape over time, though, so he wants to put it in the basement, which means we have to clean the basement . . . it's a problem! Assuming I get a bar, though, how many pushups or pullups would you sub for a weighted chest or back exercise in BFL? > > > I have the opposite problem of most women. My lower body is pretty > > lean (waiting for my calipers to find out specifics), but my arms > > jiggle all over the place and look large, even though I have some > > pretty strong biceps and triceps. I know that I can't spot reduce, > > but can I step up my arm workouts to accelerate the toning in this > > area? Or do I just need to wait till I lose some significant body fat? > > > > I've also heard that chest presses and back work are actually more > > effective for improving arms than bicep and tricep work. Anyone have > > an opinion on that? > > > > Thanks! I'm loving the wealth of information on this board - I've > > read all the way back through June! > > > > Megily > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2008 Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 Tell your husband that we had a chinup bar on our bedroom door for years and my 200-lb husband used it regularly, it never did any damage to the frame at all. : ) Best Regards, beth Re: Upper body question I really want to get a pull up bar. My husband's worried that the doorframe one will push the doorframe out of shape over time, though, so he wants to put it in the basement, which means we have to clean the basement . . . it's a problem! Assuming I get a bar, though, how many pushups or pullups would you sub for a weighted chest or back exercise in BFL? > > > I have the opposite problem of most women. My lower body is pretty > > lean (waiting for my calipers to find out specifics), but my arms > > jiggle all over the place and look large, even though I have some > > pretty strong biceps and triceps. I know that I can't spot reduce, > > but can I step up my arm workouts to accelerate the toning in this > > area? Or do I just need to wait till I lose some significant body fat? > > > > I've also heard that chest presses and back work are actually more > > effective for improving arms than bicep and tricep work. Anyone have > > an opinion on that? > > > > Thanks! I'm loving the wealth of information on this board - I've > > read all the way back through June! > > > > Megily > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 5, 2008 Report Share Posted January 5, 2008 The pull-up bar doesn't actually touch the door frame or put any weight on it except for two huge pads that push into the front of it. I've been swinging from mine for like a year and half without leaving a mark or damaging anything. Wonderful body weight exercises like push-ups and pull-ups don't fit into the BFL pyramid sets at all, except for maybe as the high-point exercise. Then you would just do them until failure. You could do push ups as the high-point for chest, or close-grip push-ups as a high point for triceps. You could do pull-ups (overhand grip) as the high-point for back, or chin-ups (underhand grip) as the high point for biceps. Most women can't do one pull-up. If you can do several, you'd just do as many as you can and call it a set. If you can't do one, you could lower yourself slowly 5-10 times. > I really want to get a pull up bar. My husband's worried that the > doorframe one will push the doorframe out of shape over time, though, > so he wants to put it in the basement, which means we have to clean > the basement . . . it's a problem! > > Assuming I get a bar, though, how many pushups or pullups would you > sub for a weighted chest or back exercise in BFL? > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 5, 2008 Report Share Posted January 5, 2008 That's great, thank you! I'm going to order the pull-up bar, and my husband will just have to deal. We actually already have one bent doorframe in the master, so I could install it there - it's not like it's going to make any difference. I can't do a pull-up - YET - but it's been on my goal list for years. I can do quite a few negatives when I'm at the park with the kids, and boy - nothing else hurts like that the next day. Off to do my day 6 LBWO and then head to the grocery for more cottage cheese! Can't believe how fast this first week has flown by. > > > I really want to get a pull up bar. My husband's worried that the > > doorframe one will push the doorframe out of shape over time, though, > > so he wants to put it in the basement, which means we have to clean > > the basement . . . it's a problem! > > > > Assuming I get a bar, though, how many pushups or pullups would you > > sub for a weighted chest or back exercise in BFL? > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 Hey Megily, Sorry I'm slow to weigh in on this question. I actually get nice compliments on my arms. I think what helps me most is using 2 lb. weights when I walk. I have a treadmill and I use that to warm up before workouts ( & for some cardio days). Whenever I'm on it & walking a carry 2 lb dumbbells. Of course, I never carry extra weigh when running (I'm carrying enough of my own for that!). Now...can you help me with lower body problems?? > > I have the opposite problem of most women. My lower body is pretty > lean (waiting for my calipers to find out specifics), but my arms > jiggle all over the place and look large, even though I have some > pretty strong biceps and triceps. I know that I can't spot reduce, > but can I step up my arm workouts to accelerate the toning in this > area? Or do I just need to wait till I lose some significant body fat? > > I've also heard that chest presses and back work are actually more > effective for improving arms than bicep and tricep work. Anyone have > an opinion on that? > > Thanks! I'm loving the wealth of information on this board - I've > read all the way back through June! > > Megily > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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