Arms stuck at 17"

[neilio]

I need some suggestions. I've read and read on this site, and tried different things, but for some reason my arms are stuck at their current size (17 inches). They’ve been around 16 ¾ to 17 inches for well over a year now. I'm thinking some of you guys can help me come up with something, or tell me what I could be doing wrong. Here's my stats, diet, workout, etc:

5'11", 205 lbs, around 13-14% bodyfat (not measured in a while)

I get in anywhere from 205 to 250 grams of protein a day. I do not eat perfectly clean (as you can tell from my bodyfat), but I make sure carb intake doesn’t get out of control and I take in healthy fats (flax, mct). I take in a meal with plenty of protein every 3 hours.

I supplement with creatine and glutamine peptides.

My workout schedule:

Monday morning: Chest
Monday evening: Back, Traps, rear delts

Tuesday morning: quads
Tuesday evening: hams, calves

Thursday morning: biceps, forearms
Thursday evenings: triceps, front & side delts

I’ll list only my bicep, forearm and tricep routines for now. They change periodically, but they are currently:

4 sets of standing bb curls increase weight each set (reps: 10,8,6,4)
3 sets of db preacher curls, one arm at a time (reps: 6-8)
3 sets of incline curls (reps: 8-12)

3 sets of reverse incline curls (focus on forearms) (reps: 8-12)
4 sets of behind the back wrist curls with barbell (reps: 8-12)

4 sets of close grip bb bench press (reps: 6-8)
3 sets of skullcrushers (reps: 8-10)
3 sets of pressdowns (reps: 8-10)


I take a one minute break between each set, except sometimes on leg day I must go longer between sets for squats. My form is extremely strict on all movements.

Overtraining has crossed my mind as a problem with my biceps, but I don’t feel that I get a good enough pump unless I do this much volume. What do you guys think? I’ll list the rest of my workout if you need to take a look at it as well. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[mad_monkey59]

Have you tried any shocking techniques... such as stripsets, partner assisted reps? Make sure that you are making the most of the negative part of the lift.

A good plataeu buster for my was 21s on the preacher bench with a barbell... taking 5 seconds for the negative. I had a partner who forced me through the the positive part of the lift for the last through reps.

The only other thing really is sleep... make sure you get at least 8 hours a night.

 

[neilio]

I have tried 21's with db in the past, but never the kind you mentioned. I did three sets of them after bb curls. Do you suggest doing them every week for a while, or just once ever so many workouts? How many sets of them did you do, and what did the rest of your workout look like when doing them?

I get at least 8 hours of sleep every single night, even weekends, so should be no problem there.

 

[H_T_]

2 things you need to do:add hammer curls and train the long head of your triceps. Hammers will hit the braichii muscle under the bicep, therefore, when it grows, it will raise the rest of your biceps. Training the long head of your triceps ,which is the biggest, is the most important in reaching size and strength of the muscle. I do a lot of french pressing and overhead extensions for this. Also, there is an excercise i do that i got from an article from Larry Scott, to do it you need a hi-pulley and a flat bench. Attach a cambered or V-bar to the pulley and kneel down like you're going to do cable crunches. Next, lean forward and put your elbows on the bench and begin the exercise by extending your arms. Don't confuse this with the bicep/tricep nautilus combo, people tell me it's the same thing but i feel totally different when i do them. Scott had a routine where he claimed you could add an inch to your arm measurement in six weeks by doing close grip bp's and supersetting them with the exercise i just described to you.

 

[mad_monkey59]

I have tried 21's with db in the past, but never the kind you mentioned. I did three sets of them after bb curls. Do you suggest doing them every week for a while, or just once ever so many workouts? How many sets of them did you do, and what did the rest of your workout look like when doing them?

I get at least 8 hours of sleep every single night, even weekends, so should be no problem there.

Three sets is more then enough, they take alot out of you... Do the 21s on the preacher every week, but i'd recommend that you leave the negs and the partner assists for every other week, because if you use too much you may overtrain.

My bicep workout at the time was:

Standing Barbell Curl 4x6-after w/u
Close Grip Standing Barbell Curl 3x8
Preacher 21s (with the shocks every other week) 2x21s

Great pump, I literally had cables emerging from my arms, I was waiting for the muscle to burst through my skin. I did them last because they take ALOT out of you.

Also an important thing to remember is that your triceps account for just under 2 thirds of your arm (60% i think). A great mass builder is weighted dips. And making sure you attack the rear head of the tricep (the one that runs down the back of your arm).

My Tricep Routine: (same day as bi's)

Weighted Dips: 4x6 after w/u
(every other week I continued the set by dropping the weight after failure)

Laying Tricep Extension, with DBs: 3x8
(DBs are held in the same supination as a hammer curl, this helps to isolate the rear head)

Cable Rope Pressdown: 3x8
Bringing the rope out at the sides, taking 3-4secs on the negative.

I hope this helps, be patient and good luck bro.

 

[halfaclue]

I need some suggestions. I've read and read on this site, and tried different things, but for some reason my arms are stuck at their current size (17 inches). They’ve been around 16 ¾ to 17 inches for well over a year now. I'm thinking some of you guys can help me come up with something, or tell me what I could be doing wrong. Here's my stats, diet, workout, etc:

5'11", 205 lbs, around 13-14% bodyfat (not measured in a while)

I get in anywhere from 205 to 250 grams of protein a day. I do not eat perfectly clean (as you can tell from my bodyfat), but I make sure carb intake doesn’t get out of control and I take in healthy fats (flax, mct). I take in a meal with plenty of protein every 3 hours.

I supplement with creatine and glutamine peptides.

My workout schedule:

Monday morning: Chest
Monday evening: Back, Traps, rear delts

Tuesday morning: quads
Tuesday evening: hams, calves

Thursday morning: biceps, forearms
Thursday evenings: triceps, front & side delts

I’ll list only my bicep, forearm and tricep routines for now. They change periodically, but they are currently:

4 sets of standing bb curls increase weight each set (reps: 10,8,6,4)
3 sets of db preacher curls, one arm at a time (reps: 6-8)
3 sets of incline curls (reps: 8-12)

3 sets of reverse incline curls (focus on forearms) (reps: 8-12)
4 sets of behind the back wrist curls with barbell (reps: 8-12)

4 sets of close grip bb bench press (reps: 6-8)
3 sets of skullcrushers (reps: 8-10)
3 sets of pressdowns (reps: 8-10)


I take a one minute break between each set, except sometimes on leg day I must go longer between sets for squats. My form is extremely strict on all movements.

Overtraining has crossed my mind as a problem with my biceps, but I don’t feel that I get a good enough pump unless I do this much volume. What do you guys think? I’ll list the rest of my workout if you need to take a look at it as well. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Simple solution..get your protein over 300mg everyday and your arms will grow. My diet was always my weakest point, I could train and supplement no problem but I slacked on my diet. I'm 6' and use to have 17inch arms for 4 years. When i brought my protein up over 300g and most of the time over 350 my arms grew. now i try to get close to 400 but i use to many shakes so I am looking at eating every 2 hours in order to get more protein via food.

 

[french tickler]

do it to failure... do two full sets to failure... i find doing that specificly on biceps day especially in mass phase, that it pumps the shit out of your biceps and is an excelelnt way to finish a full bicep exercise... i've put on almost 2 inchs on my arms in 6 months...

maybe something to look into...

just a suggestion

 

[Goldprospector]

Also, you may want to try some Pulse reps. You can either make the whole set of pulse reps or do it on the last to reps (when you reach failure) These may also be called X-reps but I have not read up on the X-reps by Steve Holeman yet. When you are doing curls or extensions or whatever...when you are in the negative phase of the lift pump or pulse the weight all the way through the negative...These are a wicked shock routine, they have helped me alot, on all lifts.

 

[halfaclue]

Also, you may want to try some Pulse reps. You can either make the whole set of pulse reps or do it on the last to reps (when you reach failure) These may also be called X-reps but I have not read up on the X-reps by Steve Holeman yet. When you are doing curls or extensions or whatever...when you are in the negative phase of the lift pump or pulse the weight all the way through the negative...These are a wicked shock routine, they have helped me alot, on all lifts.

no offense bro but aren't you concerned with injury? If you are curling 135lbs and you "pulsate" the weight on the way down you could rip a muscle or tendon.

 

[neilio]

Thanks for the suggestions. Lots of things for me to try out.

I know I need to up my protein intake if I want to grow, but unfortunately I have IBS, and it seems when I go much over 250 grams of protein a day, it acts up severely. That's the only reason I'm not taking in any more than I do right now. I will have to experiment with what types of proteins cause me problems and which ones do not and go from there I guess.

I think I will start with adding some weighted dips to my triceps workout, and maybe dropping the close-grip presses for a while. Also I like the sound of the pulse rep thing on biceps, and some 21's on the preacher bench. I used to do hammer curls regularly, but haven't for quite a while. I might put them back into the mix soon and see what happens.

 

[WalkingBeast]

Switching things up can help sometimes. Even changing equipment. I prefer the 12-15 rep range to failure for many of my sets on arm work. I also like to use dropsets, even ones where Ive hit 85 straight reps. I do a minimum of 12 sets for triceps and 12 for biceps. I can relate to your problem. My arms were stuck in the 17's for four years! I only gained 1/4 inch per year during that period. My training was very intense as always but the gains were very slow. Im not sure why it took so long,but it eventually came to pass and I hit 18". Now In the last 6 months Ive gone from 17 3/4" to 18 3/4", nearly 19". I ended up taking a long lay off when I hurt my back a year ago, and I only trained my arms for a month, about 2X a week. Couldnt train anything else. I gained a quarter inch just in that 1-2 month period. Then my gym closed down and I started training at another gym, that combined with low doses of M1T and Ive gained an inch in 6 months. I train arms atleast once a week, and sometimes biceps get hit twice if I do them on my back day. Adding in hammer curls also may have helped. I do alot of pressing which may help with my triceps also, but they are still my weak point. The best advice I can give is to be persistent, maybe try some changes in the routine, and eat even more if possible. I try to keep my protein at a consistent 200 grams per day, but dont always make that either. Fucked up intestines dont help. Not sure of my bodyfat, but Im around 200. Heres some pics with my arms at 18 1/2", theyre slightly bigger now. Dont get too discouraged, try to look to the end of the year to chart all your progress. A 1/4 inch a 1/2 inch, it all adds up. Be sure to keep a chart once a year with some pics, helps alot.:

 

[yomama]

Have you tried changing your workout routine? Working out in the morning and evening....I tried that, and I couldnt give it 100percent doing it that way. Unles s you use slin, should be good to put carbs back into your body for the evening.

 

[neilio]

I have tried different routines, and this one seems to allow me to be more intense with each bodypart without overtraining. It seems if I workout 4 days a week for more than a few weeks, I get sick or exhausted, or both. That is another reason why I do two workouts a day for three days.

I've done chest with biceps and back with triceps, but for some reason I feel I get a better workout doing it the way I am now. My chest, back, thighs, and shoulders are growing slowly but consistently, but my arms and calves are just not growing like I would like them to. I've already decided to do calves twice a week, I just haven't decided which days to do them. As far as arms, well, that's why I posted here

WalkingBeast, thanks for sharing your experience. Its encouraging to read someone else was stuck in this same situation with there arms and now has over 18 1/2" arms now. I know I will see 18" on my arms, it's just a matter of figuring out what works for me.

 

[yomama]

Do you juice?

 

[neilio]

Do you juice?

I did three cycles about 3-4 years ago. I had no idea what I was doing, but went from 180-225. First "cycle" was winstrol only, and I gained alot of strength, but no real mass (of course). The second was deca only. That's where most of the mass came from, but it shut me down severly afterwards. I jumped on a test cycle shortly thereafter that put a few more pounds on. If I knew then what I know now, I'd still be close to 225 I believe. My diet/routine/PCT was pathetic. After a period of time, I dropped back down in strength, and bodyweight. I'm unsure if I'll ever juice again. I almost did a cycle of test enth. a couple months ago, but backed out when my IBS got so bad. Plus, I just feel like I can make a little more progress naturally.

 

[yomama]

I did three cycles about 3-4 years ago. I had no idea what I was doing, but went from 180-225. First "cycle" was winstrol only, and I gained alot of strength, but no real mass (of course). The second was deca only. That's where most of the mass came from, but it shut me down severly afterwards. I jumped on a test cycle shortly thereafter that put a few more pounds on. If I knew then what I know now, I'd still be close to 225 I believe. My diet/routine/PCT was pathetic. After a period of time, I dropped back down in strength, and bodyweight. I'm unsure if I'll ever juice again. I almost did a cycle of test enth. a couple months ago, but backed out when my IBS got so bad. Plus, I just feel like I can make a little more progress naturally.

Maybe you're reached your capacity on your biceps, naturally.

 

[B0dybuilder]

Well 17' aint bad bro!!!

I agree with the others, Hammers are fantastic, i always start with these, luv em to death!!! When i find my biceps get stuck i chuck in some german volume on them every other week for 2 months. The routine i use for this is...

10sets x 10reps: Hammer Curl
10sets x 10reps: Preacher EZ bar Curl
10sets x 10reps: French Press
10sets x 10reps: Close Grip Bench


Alot of sets? Yes
Overtraining? Probably!
Shock technique? Hell yeah!