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Quickest way to bulk up arms & shoulders?

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thujone

thujone

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Ok, so the warm weather is here at last and summer's on the way, so of course this is time to get into prime shape. Usually I can never keep up with daily exercise though. I get frustrated as hell going to the gym 3-4 times a week for 2-3 months and not seeing very noticeable results and just stop putting myself through the effort. so I figure I must be doing SOMETHING wrong or maybe just not pushing myself to the level where benefits would be noticeable in a reasonable time frame.

so what would be the best natural way to start exercising and dieting in such a way that i could start seeing returns for my efforts soon? i've already prepared myself for this by swearing off teh dr00gz and my diet is healthier than the average western diet. I know for sure that I don't get anywhere near enough protein to truly bulk up though, so what i'd really be interested in knowing is: how much protein should i be eating, and when? what additional supplements should i take and when?

and the second part of the question is of course what kind of specific exercises should i be doing, how much of it should i be doing, and when? I've done some research on the net and in the past gotten advice from trainers, but I'm looking to compile a really solid regimen now specifically to build my arms and shoulders, preferably doing as much of the work as i can on free weights since they're most available to me. Thanks in advance plurry folk :)
 
Clean and press, overhead press, pull-ups and push-ups should get you where you want to be (I don't like side-laterals, but some people do)...

Eat at least 1g/lb of protein, or more, and make sure you get enough calories. Creatine works pretty well for most people, so I would give it a try.
 
This is the Ashtanga primary yoga series. The "In" is for inhale, and the "Ex" is for exhale. Note that the star looking things mean to do a vinyasa between poses. As far as I can tell (I've never been to a class), each pose is to be held for 5 breaths. Also, each pose should be done on each side. There are other resources on the internet that explain everything more in-depth. This is a full muscle, organ, tendon, balance, and hopefully mental exercise routine that will definitely tone the upper body. peace

Primary Series

video

This guy is good

The flow between postures
 
I think most people tend to overwork their biceps and triceps. I have had very good results in the past by working out M W F take Sat off or do abs.

On M I would work arms and shoulders and calves. On bis I work 4 sets of 6 repetitions. Start out with standing curls using as much weight as you can handle. By the end of the first set you should have spent it all. Repeat with 3 other exercises to failure also.

Now, since all that sweet blood is in your bis you would then move on to tris. Same thing as bis, your last rep should take all you have to complete it. Remember to constantly stretch your arm between sets. I like to hang from the lat bar. Stretching your muscles is very important to maximum tissue breakdown.

Now to shoulders. Once again, you already have the blood in that area so keep your exercises together when possible. Here I do 8 sets of 8. Again, to failure.

Then wed do chest & back and legs.

It is important to not overwork arms. They are used so much in other exercises like bench the muscle breakdown needs time to absorb protien and grow back stronger.

I do not get to workout lately because of health problems but at my prime, I had 18.5inches left and 19inches right. Body fat % of about 10 to 12 %. Kinda high but I was using 200lbs standing. And 75 seated/concentrated.
 
Theres not that many quick fix answers out there. Try pull ups, parallel bar dips, push ups, reverse crunches.
 
The human body can be remarkably stubborn.

It just doesn't seem to like to bulk up in only the "shoulder and arm" area. If you have been specifically targeting ONLY those areas, then, well, that's your problem.

To grow big arms and shoulders, you need to work the whole body. You might look up a "general purpose bulking program". Though they are all different, the fundamental principle is the same: Eat a lot of calories, high in protein, and base your workouts on high volume compound exercises, like squats, deadlifts, bench presses, rows, pull ups, sit ups, etc, supplemented with countless isolation exercises like various curls, extensions, pec decks, etc (if your goal was more about strength than size, you would basically be doing the same thing, only using heavier weights and fewer repetitions, and skipping the isolation exercises).
 
Basically there are two ways to get "ripped." You can either maintain your current weight and try to lose pounds of fat and gain pounds of muscle, or you can "bulk" and then "cut." The former can get you looking pretty good in just a few months, but over time the latter is how people get seriously big.

My shoulder routine is:
Military Press 4x8
Dumbell Press 3x12
Side dumbell Raise 3x12
Front dumbell Raise 3x12
Reverse fly 3x12

Bicep:
flat bar curl 3x10
dumbell curl 3x12
reverse bar curl 3x10

Tricep:
rope pushdown 3x12
skullcrusher 3x10
narrow-grip bench press 3x10

I don't do anything directly from forearms, but they tend to get hit doing things on back/deadlift day.

As for nutrition, 1-1.5g protein per lb each day. Creatine for size, glutamine for recovery.
 
Am I the only one who hates skullcrushers?

French press with dumbells or an ez-bar is far better (and not as hard on the shoulders!)...
 
I've found the most success with arms and shoulders by supersetting. ex:

Cable pushdown / Cable curl superset
Front raise / military press / delt row superset

When doing arms I take a maximum of 25 second rest between supersets so I'll do something like:
100 lb curl / pd, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150 virtually consecutively then do some other superset like DB curl / overhead extension w/ no rest

my favorite mass builder for shoulders has been this:
w/ a 20 lb barbell (yes the light one)
front raise x12 reps, military pressx12, upright rowx12, delt rowx12, curlx12
that's 60 reps in a row with zero rest. it targets all 3 deltoids as well as the traps. i then rest 1 minute and repeat with a 25 lb barbell and go up in increments of 5 lbs til I reach 55 or so pounds. altogether it takes about 25 minutes and fries your shoulders
 
Deadlifts


Nothing more to say. Deadlifts are by far the best strength excercise you could do, I cannot emphasise how good they are.

Deadlifts + lots of food = big boy
 
I think a person could do ONLY deadlifts, and still look pretty good.

I mean, they wouldn't look like a "bodybuilder", but they'd still look good. Sorta like a healthy farm boy, would be my guess.
 
Buy a protein supplement, some vitamins, maybe some essential fat supplements or something

Drink it before and after a workout.

Try incorporating things like drop sets and supersets into your workout.
 
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