What is really bulking up? is it having huge biceps... and what is strenght building its being able to lift heavier weights without necessarily having big arms, and toning is completely different? and why is it that these 3 different things have different number of sets and reps to do... I want Bigger Biceps, be able to lift heavier weights (strenght train) and tone up my biceps... what routine should I follow eg. how many sets reps ... ..ATM I am doing 4 sets with 6 reps....
Weight training is generally broken down to cover 3 goals, increase strength, increase size, and increase endurance. A person with great strength doesn't necessarily have the biggest muscles - look at a male gymnast or ballet dancer as an example. A person with big muscles (a bodybuilder) doesn't necessarily have great strength - you don't see bodybuilders winning olympic golds in weightlifting. People with muscle endurance can't lift the heaviest weights in individual lifts but can lift for longer and can usually lift more total weight in a given time.
There is a lot of debate about how many sets and reps to use for the above specific goals. The general consensus seems to be that for strength, go for between 4 to 8 reps (some say 4-6 others say 6-8) for 4 or 5 sets. For size (atrophy) go for 8-12 reps for 3 or 4 sets, and for endurance anywhere from 12-20 reps (some say 12-15).
Doing 4 sets of 6 reps for your biceps should increase your strength but will only increase their size so much - maybe go to 5 sets for added impact. If you want both size and strength, mix your routine up a bit, do sets/reps for strength one week and size the next. Maybe do a strength routine for 4-6 weeks and then change to size for 4-6 weeks - this will also help to shock your body, prevent staleness and keep your body adapting.
Bulking is a term that should only be used for serious bodybuilding IMO, as it generally means eating and training like a horse in an effort to really get huge. A side effect of bulking is that some of the extra calories consumed turn into fat which is why bodybuilders than have to cut (seriously diet and hit cardio hard) before a show.
what my real problem is that, I have lots of muscle underneath a layer of flab, especially on my stomach and inner thigh and butt area, and I not very much muscles in my arm, so I want to get rid of fat on all other areas and build lean muscle on my arms
Only cardio are going to get rid of the fat, unless you watch your diet and do a reasonable amount of cardio you won't lose the fat. As for the arms, don't concentrate on the biceps on their own, they can develop while you are doing other exercises that you use the arms for. There are also the triceps along the back of the upper arm and the forearms to think about. By doing chest exercises and upper back exercises you are also working the arm muscles.
I am not an expert but I would recommend doing 3 sets of 10-12 reps of whatever exercises you do and try 2 exercises per bodypart. For beginners upper body say bench press and push ups, bicep curls and hammer curls, lat pulldowns and t-bar (or seated cable rows), dips and tricep pushdowns. For legs try squats and hamstring curls, leg extensions and lunges and then calf raises of some sort. You should also do some cardio - treadmill, jogging, swimming, cycling, etc - for 30 to 60 minutes 3 or 4 times a week to help lose body fat.
Generally work the biggest muscles first, ie. back or chest before biceps of triceps and upper leg exercises before calf raises. Also remenber that chest exercises generally work the triceps to some degree and back exercises work the biceps also - and anything that uses a grip is working the forearms to some extent. Make sure that you do 5-10 minutes of warm up before hand and another 5-10 minutes cool down after your weight session. I do 20-30 minutes of cardio after my weights which has helped me lose 40lbs.
You will get a lot of advice and there are a lot of opinions on ideal routines, exercises, sets and reps. Different things work for different people and you are best to try a few things and pick what you like or works best for you - this way you can enjoy training keep coming back. What I have put here is similar to what I started with and I found it to be a good for a foundation.
Well, it is hard to have large muscle gains and lose SIGNIFICANT amounts of body fat at the same time. With proper diet and cardio you can maintain, and maybe even reduce body fat, but it takes a lot longer than just all out high intensity cardio. Id recommend morning cardio before fasting(BREAKFAST).....3 x a week for 30 min....60-80% max hr..usually walking moderately uphill......
After my lunch break I will reply with muscle building logic that works...
Well, I am not a powerlifter, but most powerlifters usually go into that type of lifting because they find out they have a natural strength and build upon it. Everyone thinks they can lift weights and become like this person or that person. First of all you will never look exactly like someone. For example some peoples calf muscles attach lower on the ankle, some higher, some with more of a belly, etc..thats genetic, you cannot change that. You can make the muscle fibers you do have large, but not reattach in a different way to make them look like someone elses. SO... you can only grow into your frame,not build a new one.
Anyhow, for muscle building, you are only going to gain significant muscle if you train right, and that means heavy. HERE is the most common problem...People expend their energy before they get to the important sets, the heavy ones.
alright, joe smith's max is 250. He will probably do say 135 warm up for as many as he can do, or like 10, then say 150 for 8-10, then 175 8-10, and so on, jumping up weight varies..then gets to 250, and can barely do any.. or not as much as it will take to make any gains, not because he isn't strong enough, because he expended all his energy.... if you can bench 250, all the sets before that wont add any muscle on, you do many reps of a lighter weight, might build endurance, but not muscle...
Your goal is to warm up your muscles to the heavy weight without expending all your energy..
so like 135 for 10-12, then 135 10 again, then jump 20 lbs, do about 6 reps, jump some more, do less reps, maybe even 1 or 2 the closer you get to your max..then your max you want to be able to get 4-6, if you can get 7 or 8 then its time to add weight...your max is where you can barely get 6.. So remember, you want to warm up your muscles slowly, without expending all the energy, then hit it heavy..
