How to widen Biceps & thicken the upper+mid back ? + some Q.

[BobTheBuilder]

I'm 19. I never worked-out before & started directly with 1st class program ...now at week 5 ... & now I can do 12*3-sets of let-me-ups & push-ups quite easily .. & also quite good amount of pull-pus .. so overall result is too good in terms of strength .

but having some prob+questions .

1.
If I stand with my side to the mirror my arm looks really wide, and my biceps seem tall and curved. But if I stand with front to the mirror and have my arms to my sides my biceps are disproportionately not as "wide." . means I can say there is curly gap between side of biceps & side of forearms if i see my hands palm facing up .

so . how can I use body-weight exerc. to widen my biceps ?

2.
my back is too week & thin .. whole upper & mid back .. so from side view it looks to bad .
so how to thicken upper & midback ..?

3.
Biceps & triceps of my main right hand have more progress than the left hand ... may be because in my daily routine I used to lift some heavy weights with main hand ... So how to level it ..? by doing more curls on left hand ?

4.
for some muscle groups if can do more than that 4 specified exercises should I workout more on the same day ?

5.
& for getting faster progress on my 1st & 2nd question ... I'm thinking to change my workout plan to work-out two days per week on this muscle groups .. Is this good idea or bad idea ??


thanks for your valuable time ..!

[mbarnes]

I would suggest stick to the program, except increase the difficulty. For example, when you do let-me-ups, squeeze hard at the top of the movement and hold there for 2 seconds. You will be amazed at how much more difficult this can make most any exercise. I think you will find that your left side will catch up to your right. Also, pull-ups, let-me-ups, let-me-ins, and push-ups will all help you back get bigger and stronger along with your arms. Good luck.

[bark50]

As far as your right bicep and tricep muscles being stronger than your left, there's a thread on muscle imbalance here: http://www.marklauren.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=315. I think for most of us, though, there is always going to be some strength and coordination asymmetries from one side of the body to the other.

[funhog71]

I really can't help you out on the muscle imbalance question.

But on the adding size question I can add a couple things. Like mbarnes said, you want to do what are considered the "heavy" bodyweight exercises: pull ups, dips, squats, plyo exercises, handstand push ups. To really hit your back, mixed grip pull ups are great (mixed grip are regular, narrow, underhand, wide, mountain climber) try doing ladders or see how few sets you can do 50 pull ups in or 2 sets of 7 reps for each grip (total 70 pull ups) for a few months and you will feel your shirts getting tight.

dips are a phenominal exercise for the upper body, including chest, shoulders and triceps. Your biceps are physiologically much smaller than your triceps. If you want big arms, you need to work on triceps as well as biceps.

Also, you are 19 and from the tone of your question, anxious to see results. You need to give it time - consistent training over time will produce the results you want or get you to your genetic potential. You are still quite young, so gaining may be hard depending on metabolism, your body type, nutrition, etc. There is a reason most competive bodybuilders peak in their 30's. It takes years of training to develop the body you want...then followed by years of training to keep it from deteriorating with age. The type of gains you want are a longer journey than just "getting in shape." It may take a year or two or more for you to get the gains you want. You need a marathon mindset - sort of like every workout is another block in the foundation of your brick wall, put in solid regular workouts to build the foundation.