Muscle Physiology
I hear people say that the only way to gain "muscle size" is to work…
The question
I hear people say that the only way to gain "muscle size" is to work the muscle to failure. I did this once with Seated Curls, and worked my biceps to failure. The next day I could barely straighten my arms! What is the proper way to do exercises to build bicep size?
Dan's answer
Dan Wirth, MA, CSCS
Hello, Ouch!!!! I can't tell you how many people get excited about lifting weights and end up being incredibly sore like you! Here is a very simple response that is very important to remember. You should not go to complete muscular failure more than once every 3-4 weeks. Complete muscular failure means that you can no longer lift OR lower the weight. Basically, no movement is possible when you have achieved complete muscular failure. Also, if you are a beginner or somebody who has been training for less than 6 months you really don't want to train to failure on anything especially on an exercise like biceps curls or calf raises. These two exercises work muscle groups that seem to be extremely prone to painful soreness! The technical aspects of doing the various biceps curl exercises are actually pretty easy. The important thing for you to do is to sign up for a program, take an exercise strength test and don't go above the weights that are recommended for you to do on your program. Also, if you are having difficulty completing the reps of your first set, just drop the weight down 10 pounds for any of the remaining sets on your program. This information should help you to avoid that sort of brutal soreness in the future. Don't give up!! Keep training consistently and you will be successful! Thanks, Dan
Dan designed the periodization models the Wave Engine runs.
See how the Wave Engine turns his programming rules into your workouts.