Am I still getting stronger?

Question

Ive been doing a lot of weight lifting at my school gym. Focusing mainly on my arms and chest, but more of my arms.
Ive been doing a lot of bicep/tricep workouts with curlbars and dumbells. Usually consisting of 3 sets of 10 with heavy weights and little rest in between sets. Now sometimes I cant even finish my last reps because i get fatigued and thats when i feel that i have worked out well. I will work on my arms for literally 2 hours with about 20 minutes of cardio mixed in. I come home, sleep and the next day I AM NOT EVEN SORE. How the hell can that be when i'm working out to the point where i can barely rep a 20 pound barbell anymore. or a 60 pound curlbar. Since i dont get sore from working out my arms for 2 hours, does that mean im not getting stronger anymore? My goal is to get bigger but i dont feel like ill reach that goal if im not feeling any pain the next day.

Answer 1

in school means you are around 16......now what are your goals.

either you want to become big or you want to become strong and athletic......if you want to become big then you have to strain your muscles twice a week and you have to divide your total body in to three parts and give equal attention to those parts....standard division is ....forearms,arms,shoulders and neck in one group.....pectorals,back and abdominals in second and legs in third.......now as you say you have been doing lots of arms so your arms have become strong but are not developing b,coz you may not be doing it correctly........for any gym exercises you normally should do three sets of ten reps with 1 min rest in between.....now the wts to choose should be such that it leaves you little breathless at the end of third set.....and more importantly you have to increase the wts every third day.......also remember that after dividing your body in groups eg.forearms,thigh etc. you have to do three type of exercises for each group.......this much for the beginning ....BUT....remember .....ask your trainer at the gym before putting any thing in the practice......he is the most suitable person to guide you .

Answer 2

OK....be patient. Weight training requires it. First of all, it you want to gain size, you got to work the big muscle groups. These are the chest, back and legs. Working the arms alone will work to some degree, but the triceps and biceps are small muscle groups. Try this; split your workout into different body groups. Do chest work and triceps on same day, because they work together. Then back and biceps for the same reason. Then on the 3rd day do legs and shoulders. This is called a split routine. To gain true muscle size concentrate on heavier weights. Do 4 to 6 reps. Also, and this is so important, concentrate on form. Slow deliberate repetitions. Up and down. Each lift consist of two motions. Use them both, the up and down, the towards and away.Do not cheat. Use a full range of motion. And then the last set of an exercise, work towards 12 to 15 reps. This will flush the muscle with blood. Do not worry about not being sore. You should not be after every workout. Lack of soreness means your muscles are working efficiently. Let them hurt during the workout, not after wards.

Answer 3

You have to mix it up.

Change your routine. You can't just focus on your arms and expect them to get bigger. I mean, they will to a point, but then you'll plateau (which it sounds like might be happening).

You'll have to invoke a full body workout and alternate your routine. Of course everyone is different but you should consider changing up your workout regimen every 3-5 weeks. And not just changing the exercise, but the weight too. Try going lighter weight and higher reps for instance. Try sticking with barbell workouts then switch to a dumbbell workout. Variation is the key. Don't stagnate, as your body will eventually adapt to what you're doing....As always, try to consult with a professional trainer to help you develop a good routine to help meet your goals.

Good luck!