Will my arms ever grow if I don't work them directly?

[bruce9241]

I've noticed my arms are kind of small relative to my body. This could be because I am fat and have big shoulders.

My forearms are pretty soft and my biceps are non existent.

Would my arms ever grow if I continue to just do heavy squats/deadlifts/dips,overhead presses?

I don't really do arms much. I do biceps maybe once a week and even then it's like 3 sets of 10's using ligh to moderate weights.

 

[grubd]

Your arms will grow with the right amount of protein doing the heavy basic lifts. Those lifts put on mass and mass grows everywhere. If you have time and it's fun you can always add in extra arm work besides the core lift. Be patient and it will come!

 

[JDid23]

yeah man patience is key.. however, your diet/rest plays a crucial role in your gains, so be sure to rest well and eat well (high protein based diet)

 

[CajunSaint]

why wouldnt you do arm work?

 

[JDid23]

why wouldnt you do arm work?

squats build bigger arms than curls... Compound lifts will help your arm size.. I don't understand the whole thing behind "arm work" and having "arm days"... It makes no sense whatsoever to me. Every compound lift works your arms in one way or another.

Squats- arms as stabilizers, full body exercise
Deadlifts- Forearms, biceps
Bench Press- Triceps
OH Press- Triceps (i think)
Rows- Biceps

then you got chins/pullups/dips

 

[bruce9241]

Yea my protein intake is good right now. Taking in between 200-220 grams per day; I weigh 216.

I don't do arms for a few reasons. I don't really like standing there doing curls. It kinda puts me to sleep. That and the curling area is always packed at my gym. Doesn't matter if it's noon or 6pm rush hour. It's always full.

 

[ExtraMile]

Iv always followed the 'dont do bicep work just squat,dead,bench will make them grow' and now it has come to a point my biceps are fuckin small, my triceps are good and grow fast but biceps are geigh and wont grow

 

[musketeer]

I've got good arms from chins, rows, various presses and dips. If I did specific arm work it would be overkill. I'm 6' 220 with 17.5" arms.

Even if I do 45 mins of pulling exercises where the arms are straight:

Snatch, high snatch pull, snatch deadlift

Sometimes that's all it takes to make the biceps a little sore.

 

[SaiBoT]

I did 20 sets just for biceps yesterday Even though i can deadlift 450lb, squat over 400lbs and bench press 245lbs, do weighted dips with 100lbs, more than 20 bw chin-ups, etc etc etc my arms are a little below 17 so i think some isolation work is needed indeed, some will argue over this but everybody is different, like i said before, wheelchair bodybuilders who by obvious reasons are unable to do such compound exercises manage to build big arms so let's be reasonable...

 

[musketeer]

Yeah following on from what KoRin said it's all about priorities: If you've got a great core, strong legs, shoulders and back and your arms are still lagging, then you need to address the issue by adding exercises that involve the biceps more.
Thing is, most people try to do arms from the start of their training, like they're a major bodypart, and this is at the EXPENSE of the rest of their physique.

I still can't think of a better biceps exercise than close grip chins, as it's compound, can be easily cheated (for more reps) and has a great negative portion.