Guns, Pipes + Pythons: OH MY!!!

Dear Trainer Mark,

When I'm at the gym, I often see guys with HUGE muscles training with very light weights.  Last time I saw a guy with 20" biceps doing preacher curls off his thigh with just 25lbs dumb bells. How is this possible - can you get that big with using such light weight?

Bulgin' Bi's

Dear BB,

The mutual comparison-admiration survey that people conduct at the gym can be a doubled edged sword.  While it is a great source of motivation to see a body you aspire to duplicate, you also have to be careful and take into consideration other factors that have helped this person create the body they have, namely genetics and - ahem - "supplements."

(By "supplements" I, of course, am referring to the prevalence of steroids in the gym and fitness communities - physical tell-tale signs of performance enhancers include acne, baldness, reddish toned skin, gynocomastia [ie development of breast tissue in males] and the ever obvious, ever entertaining 'roid rage.')

Now that you've assessed yourself properly and are aiming your ambitions for bigger arms from a place that is BB-centric, let's analyze your question:

If the guy you saw had achieved his BIG muscles with lower weights, perhaps he was doing a drop set. By this, I suggest that he started his curls at a much higher weight, performed as many reps as he could, but dropped immediately to a lower weight with which to completely exhaust the biceps. However, for big biceps, I don't really recommend a day set aside exclusively for arms.

Remember, the biceps are a very small muscle group and do not require much exercise to grow. Growth is achieved during the periods of rest that many of us do not allow our bodies. Bicep-ticly speaking, our bodies do not discriminate between the differences of motion in a bicep curl, a back row or a chin-up: the movement is exactly the same (ie PULLING), in that our biceps bend at the elbow in all three exercises!

I say this because truly the only way to bigger muscles are bigger weights. 

Keeping that in mind, ask yourself: can I perform a heavier back row or bicep curl? Can I perform a heavier underhand lateral-pull down or hammer curl? I think the answers are no-brainers. Of course, then, the most effective bicep workout comes in the form of chin-ups...pulling your own body weight with your biceps and back. While never a popular exercise, it is indeed one of the best and should be included in your training sessions if bigger arms are the goal.

This approach can also apply to triceps (can you push heavier on a chest press/shoulder press or a tricep push-down?), legs (can you push heavier on a squat/romanian dead lift or a leg extension?) etc etc.

I hope this helps answer your question and gives you food for thought. Apply this little knowledge to your next few work outs let me know how your body reacts! 

GET BIG!

Trainer Mark