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

[SaiBoT]

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.

Yes I totally agree with that! Even the normal grip chins leaves the bis and forearms nice and pumped

 

[Will Goes Boing]

I use to only do isolation exercises like 90% of the people in commercial gyms..... I didn't discover the greatness of compound lifts until someone told me about it. I'm a little under 150 and I have 16" arms flexed. The key is to work them hard but with less volume. 3x5's of preacher curls, 3x5 of standing curls, and 3x5 of hammer curls. And use heavy enough weights that you aren't able to do more than 6 without compromising form. I usually do bi's and tri's on the same day, and I do 3 exercises with the whole 3x5 for tri's too.

 

[mad_monkey59]

in short... yes.

 

[Marius]

If people say its possible to have a huge upper body with chicken legs then the other way around can be true too.

 

[grubd]

If people say its possible to have a huge upper body with chicken legs then the other way around can be true too.

possible to have big, huge you need to work it all baby

 

[Big_BK]

There are a few things to take into consideration. First is that by not training your arms directly, you STILL ARE TRAINING THEM!!!! That is what most people don't get! What do you think is going to fail you first on a heavy deadlift, your back which does the majority of the lift or your arms which in comparison to pretty much every other body part are tiny! Why do you think so many guys get torn biceps from trying to do a deadlift? Or even a tire flip in strongman which is basically a deadlift with an awkward object. Also when people say they have tiny arms you need to take proportion into consideration. Pretty much everyone i know that is my age and weights around what i do has beetween 16-18inch arms. I think alot of people think their arms are "small" because they are in proportion with your body and not freaky big like we see on most bodybuilders.

Now i will admit i don't think an advanced trainer should ignore direct bicep work because when you get to that point you know what you need to do in order to get your body to respond to the weights and grow and are probably doing 2-2.5hr workouts. For people starting out the first few years nothing better for growth then heavy compound stuff IMO. Hopefully others will chime in.

 

[the.gladiator1987]

I never did tricep work but always did bench. my tris didnt grow that much i widsh i would have done more tri work consitently.

I dont think arms are bad to isolate but do it after your main compound lifts. Deadlifting 335 for 8 reps is 2680lbs you just lifted. Even though your arms arent directly involved they still had to pull up that much weight. Doing 10 reps of 40lb curls is only 800 lbs for both arms. And you are still not isolating it 100% you are using your traps, stabiliser muscles and forearms.

 

[CajunSaint]

i like this thread. really enlightening. before this i never really thought about how much compund lifts really work arms

 

[musketeer]

How about this; when you deadlift (or actually pick anything up), the only structural thing keeping your lower arm bone connected to your upper arm bone is the biceps.

 

[PWR]

squats build bigger arms than curls...
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This is complete BS, yes compound lifts like deads and bench will add arm size but not squats. I know guys that do no squats and have 20in arms and I also know a couple guys that can squat 405 for deep high reps and have small arms. I agree you need a good overall routine to maximize your potential but it kills me when people tell someone to squat more if they want there arms to grow.