Arms

[bignate73]

pro bb'ers are not the norm. they haven't stumbled onto the holy grail of sets and reps. as a matter of fact, i've heard many instances of them being lazy in the gym and let their cocktail do the work.

people benching don't lift with their chest, they lift with their chest, lats, shoulders, triceps. thats what makes the movement. people rowing dont use their "backs", they row with their lats, teres, rhomboids, biceps, rear delts. these are compound movements that allow for a longer, safer amount of overload. form is the key but so is load, and overload.

endless amounts of arm work at very submaximal intensities....is taking the long way, basically.

you can work really hard to move a big rock...or you can break it down into really small pieces and move it bit by bit. it just depends on how efficient you want to be, and when you want to get finished.

follow?

 

[1_more_rep]

I'm a little over 6'5 and compound movements work best for me. Isolation works as well but not nearly as quickly. Mix it up by hitting higher reps(10) and lower reps(3-4) on these, especially deadlifts. If you do dl correctly your bi's and forearms will grow. Same with tri's on the bench. Hope it helps.

i have really long arms and i haven't found the best solution to make my biceps cut and look great but my triceps are getting really toned n defined from benching 3x/week on the 5x5 routine + doing some dips

 

[JIMguy]

All pro bodybuilders do exercises for bi's and tri's for a reason. .

Yea, Reason being most do not know shit about proper training and take a shitload of AAS, I definetly dont model my own training after any kind of routine found in flex magazine.

 

[danaf1]

i have really long arms and i haven't found the best solution to make my biceps cut and look great but my triceps are getting really toned n defined from benching 3x/week on the 5x5 routine + doing some dips

Have you tried DL with a supinated grip? They hit your bi's better than with an overhand grip. Some people do the DL with a powerlifting grip but you need to do even sets on this approach to get equal work out of both arms. The supinated grip requires a lighter load for most people but it will shock your bi's if you haven't tried it.

 

[rbtrout]

Try doing the 5X5. I just finished it. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I did a bit of tri work and a bit (4 sets, maybe) of bi work. I put on 1/2" on my arms. Don't get rid of the deads; that's like saying I want to have a big chest but won't bench. I'd concentrate on the core exercises and on the off days do a few sets of bis and tris. Doing the core exercises hits most other muscles (see bignate's post).

 

[1_more_rep]

Have you tried DL with a supinated grip? They hit your bi's better than with an overhand grip. Some people do the DL with a powerlifting grip but you need to do even sets on this approach to get equal work out of both arms. The supinated grip requires a lighter load for most people but it will shock your bi's if you haven't tried it.

actually no i haven't tried the DL with supinated grip - just been doing standard overhand - if it's true that it'll work the hell out of my bis i will try them ASAP

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

I have the same problem.

I am an ectomorph with long limbs at about 5'9, 150lbs, and the size of my arms are completely disproportionate to the rest of my body. I have no trouble seeing gains in my chest and back and am starting to see some gains in my legs, but my arms just won't grow.

I just did some measurements - my chest is 39.5 inches, my arm flexed just hits 13 inches but hanging straight down my side is only 11.5 inches around. My calves are over 14 inches.

I am doing the single factor 5 x 5 program so I am pressing three times a week, deadlifting once a week, squatting three times week and rowing twice a week.

The only direct arm work I do is three sets of curls once a week and three sets of weighted dips and/or cable pushdowns once a week. I have always been told that the body gains muscle as a system, and that it is very hard to isolate growth in one particular body part.

Having big 'guns' is the greatest craze these days that you always see skinny kids spending half of their workout doing curls, when really they should be doing squats or deads.

I am unsure whether I will benefit from doing any more direct arm work or whether I am doing enough with all the pulling and pressing and one direct exercise per week... Is there anyone who can give solid advice who used to have small arms but somehow got them to grow in proportion to the rest of their body?

 

[BiggT]

I agree. Focus your routine on compound movements. I am 5'11.....but I have a 76" wingspan, and most people at the gym doing set after set after set of every type of curl ever conceived tell me my arms are huge and ask what my arm routine looks like.....when I tell them there is no 'arm routine' except for maybe 3-5 sets of hammer or barbell curls at the end of the week, they think I am shitting them. My triceps I do some type of close-grip pressing and/or dips.

If you don't believe me, I can e-mail you a pic. I can't post them, as I am not a platinum member....Although I haven't measured in ages my arms are somewhere between 18-19 inches cold at 235lbs and I do little to no direct arm work and my goals have nothing to do with bodybuilding. I can also perfectly rack a clean, lol, which disproves the myth that guys with big arms can front squat with a clean grip. I am not saying there's not a whole lot of bigger , stronger. more knowledgable guys out there. i am just saying that big lifts and progressive resistance will get you bigger if you eat enough, simple as that.

If you do direct arm work, it is still progressive resistance.....pick a good core biceps movement, like barbell curls, do 4 sets of 8 with a weight, add 5 lbs the next time, do 4x8, add 5 lbs the next time, do 4x8.....forget "shocking" muscles, and super drop sets, and burnouts, and down the racks, biceps bombing....just because the guy in the pics next to the routine has 25" arms doesn't mean he does that routine.....and it doesn't mean you can do HIS routine and expect any results. Progressive resistance, cutting out needless BS and adding weight to the bar every workout will get anybody results.....sure genetics and drugs play a role in anything, but this type of training will get ANYONE progress.....not just the genetically gifted who abuse AAS. The reason more people don't get good results is human nature....nobody wants hard and boring, yet simple......

Like Nate said, you can use your whole body to move one big stone and develop everything......or you can waste your time breaking it into peices.

As far as pro BB's.....there are 3 reasons most can get away with training the way they do.....they are structural genetics, more discipline with diet than most people are capable of, and the one factor that makes it all possible, obscene amounts of gh and aas. However, the mags will have you belive that the crappy training programs they publish really do work, but it is YOUR fault because you don't buy enough of this supplement and take enough of that supplement.....if you just took cell tech, nitro-tech, nitro-tech night time, you WOULD get the results you want. It is a BS machine designed to drain your wallet, and keep you from getting results so you buy, buy, buy more, and when enough time elapses for people to realize that something doesn't work, something new and equally as crappy comes out....If people would just eat to grow and focus on progressively increasing big lifts, the Bb magazines and the supplement industry would go bankrupt......but people don't want simple, hard work, they want magic and gimmicks and cutting edge garbage........okay, lol, rant over.

No offense to the starter of the thread, he just asked for advice and i think he got pretty sound advice......I just want people to realize that it isn't the routine, the exercises, the sets/reps, the tempo.....it is the mindset, they theory, the practice of consistency and progressive resistance. if you grasp it, you can answer your own questions and you will only read BB mags to check out the girls and maybe get a good laugh.

 

[BiggT]

I will try and post the pics anyway.....

 

[BiggT]

hey, it worked.....my point is not that I think I look good or you should try to look like me, because if thats you in your avatar you have a hell of a physique and should be proud......however, most people do agree that my arms are pretty big.....and my point is I don't train with that goal....I am not a bodybuilder.....and I do 3-5 sets of either hammer or barbell curls at the end of my week and focus on progressive resistance and there are times when I do ZERO direct arm work....I train my body as a whole (no bodypart split)...I squat 2-3 times a week, I do deadlifts, SLDL's, cleans, snatches, and all their hybrids, rows, chins, inclines, push presses, jerks, dips.....thats what my routine is centered around....For my goals, I am happy with my arm development, and I think if I could get 18-19" arms, then most of the guys complaining of small arms could certainly attain that if they ate enough and simplified their stuff. Again, arm size is the least of the reasons I train and I honestly am not too concerned with it, but the main point is that I focus on heavy basics with no emphasis on biceps training, and I have built, what most people would consider to be big arms more or less as a side effect from my training, an added bonus so to speak.

Most people can relate to what I said since I don't consider myself a genetic specimen, I think all of my progress is attainable by anybody with proper training and eating enough, and I think anybody can get progress with old fashioned, boring, progressive resistance.