I've been concentrating on cardio/losing weight a lot more than bulking up but would like to start "ramping up" a little. Yeah, mostly for show - I'm only human and am cursed with one of those male ego thingies. [:D]

Right now, I'm just doing cursory bicep/tricep stuff - hammer curls, barbell curls, overhead tricep extensions - because: 1) I managed to jack up both rotator cuffs (& keep reinjuring them) and 2) my "gym" consists of a barbell, a squat rack, two dumbbells and about 200lbs' worth of plates, all in my basement. And no, no bench. Dips and chins were doing some good but started to bug my shoulder after a week or so. Considering all the above, anyone have any good routines for upper-arm building?

Thanks,
Keith C.

I like "Straight Curls" using a bar.

Stand holding the bar in your hands, upper arms vertical against your body.  Stick out your chest a bit.

Now lower the bar and then raise the bar while keeping your upper arms vertical and against your sides.

As suggested, I would add straight bar curls to your routine.

To really get bigger arms, you must have good triceps.  Try this: "Lying DB extension"

Lie on the bench w/ a dumbell in each hand.  Hold them w/ your palms facing eachother, extended above your head.  Lower them slowly until the bottom of the dumbell touches your shoudler, then push back up.  Keep your upper arms perpedicular to the ground at all times.


Try this workout:

Straight bar curl- 3x10
Lying DB extensions- 3x10
DB curls- 2x10
Overhead extensions- 2x10
hammer curls- 2x10
kickbacks- 2x10
forearm curls- 3x15

-Good luck

One exercise that I found really add bulk to my bicep was doing curls on on incline bench with the weights at  90 degree to your body, not parallel. You won't be able to do very much weight at all, and it burns the center of your bicep if done correctly. For tricep bulk, I do behind the neck presses, with like 90 lb dumbells. You won't need a bench for this, but something w/o a back to sit on.

Thanks, guys. I'll try adding this stuff in one at a time to make sure none of it screws up my shoulder any further and hopefully will start getting some results in the next few weeks.

Funny - first I posted for advice on abs, now arms.... If I ever get into a decent shape, my next tattoo will have to be "Body by AR15.com". [:D]

Thanks again,
Keith C.

You have 90 pound dumbells?

-Nuke

Well, if that was addressed to RotDorn, I can only assume so. If it was addressed to me, I *could*... if I added another 30lbs to them. [:)]

Hey, I *said* I was just getting started. [;)]

Keith C.

my gym has them up to 150. From 15 to 90 in 5 lb incraments, 90 up in 10 lb inc.

Nice.  I work out at home and have hex dumbells but only up to 50 lbs.  Haven't seen any heavier weights anywhere and I would like some heavier ones for dumbell bench presses.  Guess I need to look harder.

-Nuke

Be real careful with your rotator cuff. If this is constantly giving you problems you need to see a doctor. If you have not had surgery, consider it. the recovery time for these injuries sucks, but then so does re-injury. Consider a physical therapist as they specialize in training around injuries, and rebuilding correctly.

That said, if you have a shoulder problems, an effective upper arm routine will be hard to come by as building your upper body at all revolves around your shoulders.

There are some good isolation movements that you can use, but unless they are supported, even these require the shoulders to stabilize the movement and pose a risk to an already injured shoulder.

The only thing you need to add to your gym is a bench. That will allow you so much variety you won't be able to stand it with a little creativity. I would recommend an adjustable bench though, even more possibilities.

Think real hard about your shoulders and be very careful when you start to add exercises to your routine.