Is a curlbar enough to build muscle?

[IeatWindex]

I usually do 4-5 sets a day with a curlbar weighted 20lb (im only like 14). I do the wide grip lifts snd then the close grip ones. I do this everyday. Is this enough to build muscle? Is there anything else I should eat/drink to aid in building muscle?

[Bloodstain]

No. Besides, if you're doing only curls anyway, you're going to look funny with disproportionately big biceps.

[tortilliachp]

at 14, you shouldn't be trying to build hardcore muscle in the first place, you should be aiming at improving balance, eye-hand coordination, technique of a sport if you play sports, or anaerobic or aerobic capacity (running etc.).

 

muscle building before 16 should come through varied excersise, not hardcore strength training :) you're young and growing

[Myweponsg00d]

For a 14 year old, what you are doing is plenty for your biceps. Add in some push-ups, sit ups, jumping jacks if you want to get in even better shape. You could also do body weight squats. All this combined sounds pretty good for a 14 year old. At your age, don't look for a weight-training program. If you want to do exercise, just do something to engage your muscles and focus more on athletic ability. Definitely do not lift heavy weights yet. (as someone already said) If it gets too easy to do your bicep curls eventually, you could probably look into doing chin-ups. But remember that young people are not meant to do a hardcore training routine yet. Once you finish puberty you can start worrying about that kind of stuff. Just do enough exercise to make yourself break a little sweat.

 

As far as eating is concerned...vegetables! Lots and lots and lots of vegetables. Broccoli, culiflower, spinach, cucumbers, sweet potatos, carrots, green beans, tomatoes (actually are a fruit), and peppers are all great. Fruits are good too: canteloupe, honey dew, bananas, apples, oranges, blueberries, raspberries, and grapes are my favorites.

 

You also want to make sure that you are eating some protein. Milk, eggs, cheese, yogurt, chicken, beef, turkey, ham, bacon, pork are all good choices for most of your needs. Almonds, walnuts, and fish should also be part of your food intake from time to time, if we are talking an ideal diet.

 

Unless you have PROBLEMS, though, you shouldn't worry too much (like unless you are obese). If you are an average, growing boy, just eat more vegetables and eat less things like candy, cake, and ice cream.

[Vulxai]

At 14, I wouldn't focus on working out too much. Let your body fully develop first. Since you probably won't listen to those words, the way to tell if you're building muscle, if you can only do 8-10 reps (struggling the last 3), you'll get the best results for muscle building. If you're doing around 15, that's more for lean muscle.

[NukeMarine]

Look up Mark Rippetoe's "Starting Strength". While doing that 5x5 routine in Deadlift, Squat, Bench Press, Overhead Press and Power Cleans, in addition to a normal diet, drink about a gallon of milk a day. You'll put on mass and raw strength that translate to better overall physical fitness when combined with another fitness routine.

 

Don't do bicep curls. It only makes you good at doing bicep curls which is pointless. Want to build biceps functionally? Do pull-ups. If you can do a pull-up with 90 pounds on your back, you'll be surprised at the size of your biceps (and lats and shoulders and upper-back).

[Killimanjaro]

Okay so!

 

Deadlifts, Squats, Benching, all of that can wait when your 16, as the guys above me mentioned your still growing, blah blah blah. Which you are! and it's great to know your "for" working out however, you should be worrying more about your diet SINCE your only 14 and your body has much growing to do! My biggest suggestions for you are... and I've learned this from my SEAL trainers, football baseball and MMA coaches too! So we'll with stretching, everyday no excuses; this will increase your flexibility and stop you from pulling muscles in regions throughout your body, for example your lower back! You can YouTube, Google or talk to your nearest coach or trainer about effective stretches... and be prepared there are many! As you grow older and maybe become even more serious with exercising you'll notice such a difference in your posture and range of motion if you play sports you can almost count on that. Now as far as the "working out" part goes, Myweponsg00d basically said it all, stick to free weight exercises such as push-ups to help build your chest, triceps, biceps, upper-back and forearms; that doesn't mean do one style of push-ups, there are many and you should try and do them all. Now with abs your safest and most effective bet would be buying a $15.00 bender ball and using that, 9 times outta 10 it comes with instructions and a list of all the different possible workouts you can do with it which is exactly what you'll need! The tricky thing with abs are how well your diet is, how hard you work them and good ol' genetics. That's what most physical therapist say anyways, with abs your going to want to work out your back though! Biggest mistake people who lift weights forget to do, along with stretching (go figure) so maybe do bridges for 30 seconds, and slowly increase your time on them; all bridges are is getting in a push-up position except your forearms are holding your body in the air rather than your hands and keeping your body off the ground, great exercise. So we've pretty much covered upper body and core which leaves us with legs. Two words, calf raises, by now I hope you know what your calve muscles are so I'm going to act like you do! Basically to work out your calves all you have to do really is lift up on the balls of your feet or until your standing on your tippy toes, hold it there for a few seconds and then slowly go down, this also works well on stairs because you have a slightly wider range of motion which will strengthen your shins too. Quads (thighs), and hammies (hamstrings) and glutes (butt) all can be attacked with running! Running is a great way to build up your "wind" or stamina as it's also known, make sure too when your working out that your body is being hydrated, H20 is a must. If your having a hardcore workout then by all means drink a cup of Gatorade, your body loses salts and minerals when it's sweating up a storm!

 

So stretching, eating healthy, crunches, push ups, calf raises, etc. (no machines, dumbells, so on so forth) and running is basically all you need to do... for now! Put the dumbbells away for two years because by then I guarantee you won't even want them! :D