Targeting Problem Areas

[thor1n]

Hi guys,

I've been working out constantly for about 2 months... but my situation is a little different:

I'm coming off of a very bad motorcycle accident (was in the hospital for nearly 2 months last year and only started walking again in January and was givne clearance to lift things with my arm again in February). My body suffered from muscle atrophy, with my left arm and leg taking most of the damage.

I am running 3-4 miles every other day (trying to shave off fat) and starting to get more into the weights to avoid becoming too thin... so I have a few questions about problem areas I've been having.

1) Is getting a lot of cardio in going to limit the amount of muscle development I can have? I'd rather look cut/tight than big/bulky.

2) I notice that my forearms are slowly getting bigger and my tri's are starting to show more... but around the elbow it looks skinny (like the tricep stops bout a half inch from my elbow). Is there a way I can address that? I dont want to have a big tricep, then my elbow, then a big forearm. Anyway I can really stretch it? I think they're called "skull crushers" where you lay on a bench and lift a dumbell with ur arms at a 90 deg. angle and lower it behind your head (which I can really feel isolates my tris). Is there anything else I can do or something that is better?

3) My wrists, the left one too especially, still feel weak. Any exercises you recommend that can strengthen them?

4) I'm trying to target my chest so that it becomes more flat/tight than big/bulky. Are there exercises that will tighten it to make it a flatter? I'm not sure how to do this.

That's it. Those are the areas I'm trying to target. Much appreciate your help and input. Thanks guys.

Matthew

[Stonecold54]

okay well here a few brief answers. number one if you want to lose weight you need to nail down your diet. cardio is not a good way to lose weight. unless you are training for a show and really need to burn a few extra calories. it won't limit the amount of muscle you will have "per se" but it will cut into your bodies recovery supply so you might not grow as much as the next guy.

2. its tough to spot grow a muscle...sometimes its the exercises/machines we are using that give us uneven muscle looks. for triceps here is what I would do. lets say you are doing rope pushdowns (skull crushers are bad exercise for lower tricpes if you are using a freeweight because as you get to the top there is no resistance), for the rope pushdown start the set with a set of partial reps in that lower range. really burn the shit out of them and then try and finish with full range reps after that, either at the end of that set or a mini-set within 30 secs of the first partial rep set.

3. wrists are tough....either you can do dumbbell curls for your forearms (Reverse and normal grip), I like to do the little machine where you rotate the rope up as you twist the bar attached to it (I don't know if it has a name). and then I use a grip machine for overall development.

4. not sure about your chest. most guys would kill for a bulked out chest, lol. you could overtrain it and put it in a state of defecit or stop working it out for a bit and see what happens.

hope that helps

[coffee-guy]

okay well here a few brief answers. number one if you want to lose weight you need to nail down your diet. cardio is not a good way to lose weight. unless you are training for a show and really need to burn a few extra calories. it won't limit the amount of muscle you will have "per se" but it will cut into your bodies recovery supply so you might not grow as much as the next guy.

2. its tough to spot grow a muscle...sometimes its the exercises/machines we are using that give us uneven muscle looks. for triceps here is what I would do. lets say you are doing rope pushdowns (skull crushers are bad exercise for lower tricpes if you are using a freeweight because as you get to the top there is no resistance), for the rope pushdown start the set with a set of partial reps in that lower range. really burn the shit out of them and then try and finish with full range reps after that, either at the end of that set or a mini-set within 30 secs of the first partial rep set.

3. wrists are tough....either you can do dumbbell curls for your forearms (Reverse and normal grip), I like to do the little machine where you rotate the rope up as you twist the bar attached to it (I don't know if it has a name). and then I use a grip machine for overall development.

4. not sure about your chest. most guys would kill for a bulked out chest, lol. you could overtrain it and put it in a state of defecit or stop working it out for a bit and see what happens.

hope that helps

:agree: (with most everything)...

I just recommend that you stay away from "grip machines" as they can do serious damage to your hands/wrists/forearms etc - just stick with holding heavy weights without straps and wrist curls etc like SC said....