Arms

[Jim Ouini]

I can't view them being non-plat but from the thumbnails I think I get the point

Anyway, I really hate doing arms - not that I don't appreciate having the t-shirt sleeve being tight or that the pump, fleeting as it may be, isn't a nice feeling but even when I did 1 bodypart/day and had a designated arm day it was my most dreaded workout.

And now that I've been doing 5 x 5 the feeling is even moreso...I'm currently taking a break and have thrown some bicep curls and tricep extensions in and man are they boring....no fun at all, especially that damn burn.

What the hell maybe I'll just buy size small t-shirts from now on and carry the 20lb dumbells in the trunk of the car for those special occasions

 

[BiggT]

Jim, there is nothing wrong with size S t-shirts, as long as you buy them at Hollister and wear them to them gym following a cologne bath and detailed grooming of the side burns........lol

 

[blut wump]

Side burns are called 'bugger grips' over here.

 

[BiggT]

Side burns are called 'bugger grips' over here.

LOL....next time i am at the barber, I am gonna ask him to go over my bugger grips with a number 1 and see what he says....lol

 

[Jim Ouini]

I'm OK with the bugger grips but I draw the line at cologne.

Ironically, I was at the gym today and 2 ladies who are always working out together doing funky isolation exercises (they do them in tandem, kind of like the 'sport' of synchronized swimming) asked a PT how to 'isolate the tricep'.

They were thrilled when he told them to superset 3 different handles on the tricep pushdown - the rope, the v-bar and the underhand with the EZ bar. That way they could 'blast it from all angles'.

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

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.

... [SNIP] ...

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.

What you are saying makes sense, and I agree 100%.

But what advice would you give to people who have long limbs in proportion to the rest of their body, and find it hard to gain mass in their arms by doing all the important compound movements?

Will they always have to put up with having smaller arms in proportion to the rest of their body?

 

[blut wump]

Look at it this way: if you have more potential for growth than someone with shorter limbs and shorter muscles then it's going to take you longer to achieve your full potential than otherwise. It takes longer to fill a quart pot than a pint pot.

Look on it as a genetic boon and accept that it might take you much longer to have the same bulging look as someone with shorter limbs but when you do get there, you'll have more muscle mass to play with.

Everyone has some bodypart which breaks their symmetry and if you go the BB route then you'll have to work to disguise or rectify the imbalances. Powerlifters have similar problems as everyone's body has more and less favourable leverages making some better benchers and others better pullers or squatters.

 

[BiggT]

Look at it this way: if you have more potential for growth than someone with shorter limbs and shorter muscles then it's going to take you longer to achieve your full potential than otherwise. It takes longer to fill a quart pot than a pint pot.

Look on it as a genetic boon and accept that it might take you much longer to have the same bulging look as someone with shorter limbs but when you do get there, you'll have more muscle mass to play with.

Everyone has some bodypart which breaks their symmetry and if you go the BB route then you'll have to work to disguise or rectify the imbalances. Powerlifters have similar problems as everyone's body has more and less favourable leverages making some better benchers and others better pullers or squatters.

Excellent advise. Everyone is going to have their strengths and weaknesses. No matter your height/proportions, you can develop your body though. You can't tell too good from the pics, but my arms are long for my height. I'm 5'11" but my wingspan is 76 " or 6'4", 5" longer than I am tall.......If you feel your arms need isolation, try barbell curls (just don't do them in the squat racks, lol). Pick a weight you can do 4 sets of 8 with, add five pounds to that weight every week and your arms will grow. If you don't like barbell curls do dumbell curls or dubbell hammer curls ....just something basic, and don't overdo the exercises, and stay away from 'foo foo' stuff like concentration curls and cables and machines......just stay basic, keep increasing the weight you use for the same number of sets and reps and eat enough and you will get a response from your body.

If this helps with examples.....look at pro strongmen, those guys generally very tall and long-limbed, but they have huge proportions....offensive and defensive linemen in football are much more sought after with a long wingspan....Jevon Kearse, a d-end for the Eagles is 6'4" and has a 7' wingspan and he is jacked.......I've seen Hulk Hogan in person, and while the phythons aren't 24", they're damn big and he looked to be about 6'4 or so.....As far as bodybuilding, I met Greg Kovacs at an autograph signing at a nutrition store a few years back, he was tall....I am 5'11, and I'd estimate him at a legit 6'1".....long-limbed guy, looked tall....and his arms probably were 24" legitimately.......Not to get carried away with nonsense......but just trying to show that just becaue a limb is long doesn't mean you can't build it up. Think of it this way.....the taller/longer you are.....the more mass and bodyweight you can functionally carry.

 

[CNovaJason]

Sorry for the delayed response bros. But thank you all very much for the responses. I will do the increased 5lbs every week and see where that gets me. I'll lay off but maybe 1 or 2 exercises for bicep and tricep. I'll keep updating on what happens. Thanks again bros. And I'll also try the heavier core lifts as well.

 

[Guinness5.0]

Sorry for the delayed response bros. But thank you all very much for the responses. I will do the increased 5lbs every week and see where that gets me. I'll lay off but maybe 1 or 2 exercises for bicep and tricep. I'll keep updating on what happens. Thanks again bros. And I'll also try the heavier core lifts as well.

Make sure you eat. You won't grow if you don't eat above your maintanence calorie needs. Based on your first post I'm assuming you're trying to bulk, right?