Need help with biceps and calves

Bile12345

New member
Ive been making alot of gains over the past months but cannot seem to get my biceps or calves bigger. Ive definately made them stronger but not bigger. I usually hit biceps like every tue/thu/sat and do like 4 exercises total for them. For calves I hit them 6 days a week with 3 exercises total. Current stats are 6'2 220lbs.
 
Biceps are a small muscle group. If your hitting them 3 times a week you might be overtraining them. Try backing off on the isolation exercises and focus on heavy back work. When you are able to crank out heavy weighted close-grip chins and pullups and heavy rows, your biceps will grow!
 
Def Overtraining them if your doing them 3 days a week...you should prob have a mass day where you do heavier weight less reps and a hypertrophy day where you do less weight more reps...it keeps the muscles guessing. Also try doing negatives to tear your biceps up!
 
Absolutely overtraining both! You can't work small muscles or any muscle for that matter 3 to 6 days a week and expect results. This is one of those cases where more is not better. RJW had some good advice. Stop thinking about them with so much isolation work. Do heavy back work that involves them and they will grow. For your isolation work try adding in incline db curls if you're not doing them. Not heavy. These really get my biceps good. Calves are tough. Same concept though. You're doing too much.
 
Can you do pullups with an additional 50 pounds?


Do you perform tripple extension movements or any type of sprinting?


If you answered no to either, then the prior should become you goal, and the latter you should start doing.

Br
 
misconceptions on abs, biceps, and calves....they are muscles and should be trained just like any other muscle...and that is solely dependant on your goals at the time...

none of them should be trained more than twice a week either
 
As what has already been mentioned:
Drop the isolation, and focus on heavy deads/back work and chin ups/pull ups
 
I am having the same problem as the OP, getting stronger but no size, except im already doing everything that has been suggested. Still no results.

I work each muscle group(calves and bi's) twice a week, 4 sets every time, one day is heavy weight and lower reps, the other is high reps right to failure. I have already tried a myriad of different exercises and none provide any noticeable gains over another.

Im 6'1" 175lbs and these are the only two muscle groups that wont get bigger!
 
I found heavy negatives to give a bit more size. But biceps are hit and miss sometimes. If I can't get a good mind muscle on an exercise for that day I will just stop. I went through the motions for so long and my biceps stayed terrible.

Nowadays I do pre-exhaust with an isolation and really focus on squeezing the crap out of it at the end then some bar curls, a few hammer and then a negative drop set at the end. I start the negative drop set on a weight heavier than I can curl though so I always need a spotter. This worked ok for me and busted my long time stagnant bi's.
 
**** calves I have the calves of a dwarf ballet dancer and it's a damn shame. Pisses me off to no end but three decades training them and they still won't pull their weight.

Must be punishment for all the debauchery and pillage I did in my previous Visigoth life.
 
ZiR RED said:
Can you do pullups with an additional 50 pounds?


Do you perform tripple extension movements or any type of sprinting?


If you answered no to either, then the prior should become you goal, and the latter you should start doing.

Br
Click to expand...

Hey Zir
I've always been a fan of the info you spread.
Could you elaborate more on the triple extension?
 
Another vote for heavy arm bending back work ie: chins/pullups, heavy rowing, especially supinated pull downs, low cable rowing & not necessarily deads, since you bi is held statically, but deads should be a big part of the mass diet for other reasons agreed. Then you can add a few sets of heavy BB curls at the end of the W/O.
Calves can be a stubborn exercise moreso and some are just better blessed with calves than others. That said calf work is better than none.
Lastly, to add mass on the limbs and of course all over, you gotta eat enough.
 
Bile12345 said:
Ive been making alot of gains over the past months but cannot seem to get my biceps or calves bigger. Ive definately made them stronger but not bigger. I usually hit biceps like every tue/thu/sat and do like 4 exercises total for them. For calves I hit them 6 days a week with 3 exercises total. Current stats are 6'2 220lbs.
Click to expand...

i can go on for days about biceps. to sum it up, ive found that pull ups are one of the best workouts for them.

as far as calves are concerned, try DC training for calves/legs. awesome for growth
 
R1balla said:
i can go on for days about biceps. to sum it up, ive found that pull ups are one of the best workouts for them.

as far as calves are concerned, try DC training for calves/legs. awesome for growth
Click to expand...

What is a good source for dc training articles?
 
You're not overtraining those muscles as overtraining is not muscle based, it is CNS based but you definitely need to reconsider your current plan if it is not working. The best thing for my calves was uphill sleding
 
aceroni said:
Hey Zir
I've always been a fan of the info you spread.
Could you elaborate more on the triple extension?
Click to expand...

Hip and knee extension and plantar flexion at the ankle
 
aceroni said:
Explosive deads from floor with heavy hip emphasis??
Click to expand...

I would argue deads have a heavy hip emphasis by default but it's still not the same as an olympic pull. The technique is different as is the end result. With deadlifts, explosive or not, you wouldn't end up in the position below. It's a quick, probably poor example but it illustrates triple extens.

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Notice the hips are extended, the knees are extended and the lifter is on his toes, or in ankle plantar flexion
 
tigerdb2 said:
I would argue deads have a heavy hip emphasis by default but it's still not the same as an olympic pull. The technique is different as is the end result. With deadlifts, explosive or not, you wouldn't end up in the position below. It's a quick, probably poor example but it illustrates triple extens.

<img src="http://anabolicminds.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=78223"/>

Notice the hips are extended, the knees are extended and the lifter is on his toes, or in ankle plantar flexion
Click to expand...

I agree with the hip part.
Thanks for the insight brother
 
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