Blog 15! Add two inches to your arms!

Hi guys,

We are half way through January and through many hours of searching the web I have finally found my next routine in order to achieve a goal I have been looking to reach for a while now.

With January being a slow month for me progress wise I feel like my body has got used to the workouts I am doing and although I have been trying to mix them up a bit in order to get that killer pump, I have found I haven't really been pushing myself to the limit since the new year.

The other night I came across what I've been looking for during a spontaneous web search session during a break from revision. A workout plan which aims to add 2 inches to your arms within 4 weeks. Yes my first thought was 4 weeks seems awfully short to add a whole 2 inches to my arms. But after seeing the workout plan it does seem reasonable as long as I eat the right food, stock up on protein and work my arse off in the gym. I am more determined than ever to do this workout plan as gaining size on my arms has always been something I have struggled with since I started lifting 4 years ago. I am realistic though and on a student budget I am unlikely to give myself enough fuel to get this done in 4 weeks. So I have decided that if after 4 weeks I haven't reached the desired size then I will extend the workout to 6 weeks.

I have stocked up on protein and purchased some BCAA 3:1:2 which is produced by MusclePharm the same company who produce my pre-workout which has always been great for me. The aim of my BCAA's is to support my muscle grown and increase protein synthesis, along with reducing muscle breakdown on my cardio days. In terms of supplements, I will be taking two protein shakes a day and a serving (8 tablets) of BCAA after my workout. As a student that is all I can afford, but I am going to keep my eating clean and very protein orientated whilst incorporating clean carbs into my diet. Another massive thing for me to do during this workout is to drink plenty of water which has always been a difficult thing for me. I am buying a protein shaker for my room that I can just keep filling up with water in order to keep a constant intake throughout the day.

Enough about the nutrition now to the workout. The aim of the plan is to hit arms twice a week and kill them off both times. Each set is to failure but you wan't to choose a weight that is around 10-12 reps till failure. For me this is around 16 kg for bicep curls and 20kg for cable pull downs for triceps. The workout per week is as follows:

Monday - Biceps/Shoulders/Abs
Tuesday - Triceps/Back/Abs
Wednesday - Chest/Abs
Thursday - Legs/Abs
Friday - Biceps/Triceps/Abs
Saturday - Off (Cardio optional)
Sunday - Chest (Cardio)/Abs

The exercises per workout for each day are as follows:

As you can see it follows a 7-3-3-7 format in terms of sets and it's aim is to kill your arms off. The difficult days are likely to be Friday's when you both do triceps and biceps. Here is the link for the full workout if you want to give it a go yourself: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/build-big-arms-with-hany-rambods-fst-7-workout.html

As for my other body parts I am going to try incorporate some new exercises into my routine but this plan mostly focuses on my arms, so my focus will be on that whilst using my other workouts to maintain and tone up.

I am starting on Monday and although it is a short time frame, I think it's going to be very tough and push me to my limits.

Cheers guys,

I will update you when I am two weeks in to let you know it goes.

Alex :)

Blog 14! New year, busy Gym!

Hi guys,

Hope you all had a great christmas and new year. Finally the time of year has passed when you feel guilty eating your christmas dinner and chocolates as you see all your hard work from the past few months slowly slip away.

I did fairly well myself, sticking to my diet and gym sessions for most of christmas with the exception of about two days. I did debate having a moan during the christmas period on this blog about how gym's are shut during the christmas period a fair bit getting in the way of routine, however, I soon realised that it was a bit sad that I actually debated going to the gym on Christmas day until I realised it was closed.

So to a new year and for many of us some new years resolutions. Of course the gym is heaving with people on a new year health kick which is causing my workouts to be longer as I wait for machines which is annoying for myself and regular gym goers alike. Word of advice: Stick with it because by Feb 90% of people who joined a gym in January will have left.

This new year I have decided to give a new years resolution a miss and keep going how I am at the gym and look for some new routines in order to push myself to the limit. I think the main thing is to keep focus during the difficult January period of busy gyms, grim weather and the urge for comfort food. Once January is over you can push on and reach new goals. I am looking forward to the build up to summer where I can cut and get ready to hit the beach.

I am interested to know what your new year goals are at the gym and what you make of the January exercise rush. Let me know at @alexblakemore1 on twitter and get involved.

For now keep pushing yourself and have fun.

Cheers Alex