Arms & Abs

Written by E.J. Reeves

Arms and abs, what do these two body parts have in common? Most athletes that have razor sharp abs have less than impressive arms, while hulks with massive arms seldom have any visible abs. So you ask what is the connection?

Abs and arms are the two show off muscles everyone looks at. Wear a tank top or T-shirt and everyone checks out your pipes. Take your shirt off to mow the lawn or catch some rays and your neighbor will be grading your abs from six-pack to keg. In addition to eye turning status these two muscle groups can form an important correlation to a better body.

Before skin caliper testing I had a simple but effective muscle to fat gauge. Every morning I weighted myself (still do) then I would measure my flexed bicep as well as my waist. The object of my training and diet was to increase my arm girth while decreasing my waist size. This has the effect of increasing your muscle to fat percentage.

Now you can obtain low body fat percentage by decreasing dramatically your waist size with no regard to losing some arm size. You can also increase your percentage of muscle by allowing yourself to gain some fat (larger waist) along with your muscle gains. I do not agree to the above two options for a better body. To me they seem like a short term, quick fix that is not a lasting body improvement.

Big and smooth as compared to ripped but anorexic are the two schools of thought we find propagated in many publications. The above two philosophy do not represent long term, healthy muscular development.

To illustrate a better alternative, let me give a personal example. At 21 years of age my flexed bicep was 13 inches and my waist was 34 inches. Twenty-nine years later my arm is 16 inches and my waist is 28 inches. Grade your progress by these two measurements and you are on your way to a lasting improvement.

Now don’t get me wrong, you need to train your whole body. These two measurements are just windows into your muscular development and fat loss. You will not believe the improvement your physique takes on when you simultaneously add ¼ inches on to your arms while losing ½ inch off your waist. I have successfully added 3 inches onto my arms while stripping 6 inches off my waist. It has been only within the last 3 years that I have found this important correlation. Check out your measurements then decide to add and subtract for a better body.

Feedback

Hi E.J.,

You really are an inspiration to guys half your age trying to shape their bodies and transform themselves. I have two questions:

1. Is your physique the sole result of doing weekly chin-ups and dips (with the chin/dip bar)---along with other compound exercise movements like dead lifts and squats---or does your exercise regimen also include more traditional gym exercises to work your chest, biceps and triceps (like bench presses, bicep curls, tricep kickbacks, etc.)? I have a great home gym setup in my basement, but was wondering if supplementing with chin-ups and dips could finally give me the body I long for.

2. Do you supplement your workouts with protein shakes, creatine, etc., to help aid in the "cut" I see in your overall physique? I understand that diet, along with aerobic conditioning, are keys to developing lean muscle mass.

Thanks in advance for your response.

-Lee

Hi Lee,

Thanks for the compliment. In addition to what I tell you here, please read my articles on Ab-Mag and FF-Mag. The core of my upper body routine is chin-ups, dips and pushups. I use weights, particularly dumbbells

about 25 percent of my workout. I add a few dumbbell exercises as long as it does not take away from my basic three. I don't know how adding the basic three to a principally weight training workout would do. Chin and dips are particularly difficult and require all your energy to achieve any appreciable volume of work. Volume is reps times sets, total number

completed per workout. I do between 70 and 180 chin-ups in one session per week. Sessions last between 20 minutes and 1 hour. My rep range is between four and twelve reps per set. The ideal body building rep range for me is between six and eight. I have one hard workout per week, thirty minutes to one hour and one very easy workout per week about twenty minutes for each movement. Start slow and proceed very slow. Don't overdo it or you will go backwards. I supplement with vitamins and minerals every day. I use protein shakes only when my volume is extremely high and my diet is extremely strict. I eat egg whites, broiled fish, chicken breasts, lots of green veggies, plenty of water. Hope this helps.

-E.J.

You can e-mail E.J. your questions or comments at info@easyeffort.com

Copyright © 2002 by E.J. Reeves All rights reserved.

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