Building bigger arms

[killerdude494949]

For maximum arm growth, isolation is neccesary.

But the 100% legit, guarunteed, no BS way to know that your arms are increasing size even by the slightest bit, is to get your squat and deadlift up. Just by getting those number up your arms will increase size, although its insignificant, they are still going to grow due to the leak of anabolic hormones your body releases from them. So, if you go to the gym one day, and your squat and deadlift arent going up, your arms will not likely grow. On the days that they do go up, throw in the dips, close grip chins, curls and extensions, whatever. This ensures that you are still giving more attention to your most important exercises before you think about your arms.

[lcwrestlr786]

I just started using the stronglift 5x5 recently and i was wondering why there are no exercises specifically for the arms do most powerlifters get big arms by not focusing on them, does using SL 5x5 increase arm size?

[Rugger]

I just started using the stronglift 5x5 recently and i was wondering why there are no exercises specifically for the arms do most powerlifters get big arms by not focusing on them, does using SL 5x5 increase arm size?

Powerlifters focus on getting their bench press as strong as they can, which generally leads to big arms. SL will definitely increase your arm size.

[Liv92]

I just started using the stronglift 5x5 recently and i was wondering why there are no exercises specifically for the arms do most powerlifters get big arms by not focusing on them, does using SL 5x5 increase arm size?

Powerlifters focus on getting their bench press as strong as they can, which generally leads to big arms. SL will definitely increase your arm size.

Yeah but they do a bunch of floor presses, rack lock outs, board presses, overhead tricept extensions, ect. :/

Edit: Not saying SL will not increase arm size, but I think its dumb not to include some low volume arm work. Even though SL5x5 is a really good program I felt that it really left my arms underdeveloped compared to everything else.

[Sam277]

Corr, i had an intense arm workout today!

Started off by doing some heavy squats, glutes and quads are toast; can't even get walk. Then i did some monster deadlifts, nearly blacked out but i stuck with it, hamstrings and spinal erectors are making gettin up from the john a pain in the ass now. Finally i did a few sets of BB rows and weighted chins, my lats are on fire, these wings ain't flying for days.

Come to think of it, i don't know why my biecpes feel so... umm... un-worked out? I mean i followed the number 1 rule for provoking muscle growth, "stress the muscle you want to grow." Ah, crap.

/joke over
____________________________________

The topic is "How to build bigger arms." To me this suggests he wants the biggest and fastest arm growth his genetics can achieve. There is nothing wrong with this mind set, nothing. It is obvious that if you gain mass everywhere, you will gain mass on your arms, same with calves. However, he does not want average growth.

It's quite logical. Powerlifting does not directly involve the bicep; it does some minor stabilizing, but that's it. The result? Well powerlifters do indeed have big biceps.

Bodybuilders however, have even bigger arms. Why? Because they do compound lifts, and have an entire workout day dedicated to arms. No wait, that's wrong, bodybuilders have an entire workout dedicated to just biceps. Hence, bigger arms.

"But this is not functional, all of this is just aesthetics!" i hear you cry. WRONG!!! Just because something is not relevant to powerlifting does not make it irrelevant in everyday life. In reality you do use your biceps every day, for so many actions, like... every time you carry something. Think about the guys on 'worlds strongest man.' Look at the position of the arms as they carry the atlas stones, biecp is contracted, it's being used, not such an unfunctional muscle now.

_______________________________________

Biceps are not unfunctional, and if you don't develop you arms like you would your legs, then your body will end up being unbalenced.

/rant over

[Liv92]

Corr, i had an intense arm workout today!

Started off by doing some heavy squats, glutes and quads are toast; can't even get walk. Then i did some monster deadlifts, nearly blacked out but i stuck with it, hamstrings and spinal erectors are making gettin up from the john a pain in the ass now. Finally i did a few sets of BB rows and weighted chins, my lats are on fire, these wings ain't flying for days.

Come to think of it, i don't know why my biecpes feel so... umm... un-worked out? I mean i followed the number 1 rule for provoking muscle growth, "stress the muscle you want to grow." Ah, crap.

/joke over
____________________________________

The topic is "How to build bigger arms." To me this suggests he wants the biggest and fastest arm growth his genetics can achieve. There is nothing wrong with this mind set, nothing. It is obvious that if you gain mass everywhere, you will gain mass on your arms, same with calves. However, he does not want average growth.

It's quite logical. Powerlifting does not directly involve the bicep; it does some minor stabilizing, but that's it. The result? Well powerlifters do indeed have big biceps.

Bodybuilders however, have even bigger arms. Why? Because they do compound lifts, and have an entire workout day dedicated to arms. No wait, that's wrong, bodybuilders have an entire workout dedicated to just biceps. Hence, bigger arms.

"But this is not functional, all of this is just aesthetics!" i hear you cry. WRONG!!! Just because something is not relevant to powerlifting does not make it irrelevant in everyday life. In reality you do use your biceps every day, for so many actions, like... every time you carry something. Think about the guys on 'worlds strongest man.' Look at the position of the arms as they carry the atlas stones, biecp is contracted, it's being used, not such an unfunctional muscle now.

_______________________________________

Biceps are not unfunctional, and if you don't develop you arms like you would your legs, then your body will end up being unbalenced.

/rant over

Good post man.

[emez]

Corr, i had an intense arm workout today!

Started off by doing some heavy squats, glutes and quads are toast; can't even get walk. Then i did some monster deadlifts, nearly blacked out but i stuck with it, hamstrings and spinal erectors are making gettin up from the john a pain in the ass now. Finally i did a few sets of BB rows and weighted chins, my lats are on fire, these wings ain't flying for days.

Come to think of it, i don't know why my biecpes feel so... umm... un-worked out? I mean i followed the number 1 rule for provoking muscle growth, "stress the muscle you want to grow." Ah, crap.

/joke over
____________________________________

The topic is "How to build bigger arms." To me this suggests he wants the biggest and fastest arm growth his genetics can achieve. There is nothing wrong with this mind set, nothing. It is obvious that if you gain mass everywhere, you will gain mass on your arms, same with calves. However, he does not want average growth.

It's quite logical. Powerlifting does not directly involve the bicep; it does some minor stabilizing, but that's it. The result? Well powerlifters do indeed have big biceps.

Bodybuilders however, have even bigger arms. Why? Because they do compound lifts, and have an entire workout day dedicated to arms. No wait, that's wrong, bodybuilders have an entire workout dedicated to just biceps. Hence, bigger arms.

"But this is not functional, all of this is just aesthetics!" i hear you cry. WRONG!!! Just because something is not relevant to powerlifting does not make it irrelevant in everyday life. In reality you do use your biceps every day, for so many actions, like... every time you carry something. Think about the guys on 'worlds strongest man.' Look at the position of the arms as they carry the atlas stones, biecp is contracted, it's being used, not such an unfunctional muscle now.

_______________________________________

Biceps are not unfunctional, and if you don't develop you arms like you would your legs, then your body will end up being unbalenced.

/rant over

Those bodybuilders with the big arms? The majority of them started with 5x5 (or similar) programs, and once they became strong enough & got the ability to move weights sufficient to stress their arms enough to dedicate a whole day to them, did so. Having an "arm day" as a beginner is pointless and will do more harm than good in my opinion.

Try curling or doing any bi exercise 3x a week and see how long you can consistently set PRs, also pay attention to how this will effect your other lifts. Now compare those results to how long you can do the same with squats, and again watch the effects on your other lifts. In the first example, you won't be able to do it for very long and your other lifts will suffer. In the second, it will be quite some time before you hit a wall (assuming you're a beginner) and your other lifts should also steadily increase. If you try to develop your arms like you would your legs, you will burn out fast. Your arms, biceps specifically, are much smaller muscles than those in your legs and require much less stimulation to grow. You're familiar with the phrase "less is more?" This is a situation where that applies. Your arms do not require isolation work in order to stay balanced as long as you are working a balanced program, a la Stronglifts.

[Bman1]

Simple answer to the OP's question - 1. Do a basic beginners compound lift program lift program such as SL 5x5 religiously . 2. Add one set of pushups and one set of pullups or chinups to failure every day Do the additional set of pushups and pullups/chinups at a different time from your regular lifting routine. For example, if you do your lifting in the evening, do the pushups and pullups first thing in the morning, but do them everyday whether you lift or not.

3. And this is important - eat more calories than you burn and make sure you get adequate protein (~ 1g per pound body weight)

4. Report back here in 4 weeks and let us know how it worked.

[Liv92]

Corr, i had an intense arm workout today!

Started off by doing some heavy squats, glutes and quads are toast; can't even get walk. Then i did some monster deadlifts, nearly blacked out but i stuck with it, hamstrings and spinal erectors are making gettin up from the john a pain in the ass now. Finally i did a few sets of BB rows and weighted chins, my lats are on fire, these wings ain't flying for days.

Come to think of it, i don't know why my biecpes feel so... umm... un-worked out? I mean i followed the number 1 rule for provoking muscle growth, "stress the muscle you want to grow." Ah, crap.

/joke over
____________________________________

The topic is "How to build bigger arms." To me this suggests he wants the biggest and fastest arm growth his genetics can achieve. There is nothing wrong with this mind set, nothing. It is obvious that if you gain mass everywhere, you will gain mass on your arms, same with calves. However, he does not want average growth.

It's quite logical. Powerlifting does not directly involve the bicep; it does some minor stabilizing, but that's it. The result? Well powerlifters do indeed have big biceps.

Bodybuilders however, have even bigger arms. Why? Because they do compound lifts, and have an entire workout day dedicated to arms. No wait, that's wrong, bodybuilders have an entire workout dedicated to just biceps. Hence, bigger arms.

"But this is not functional, all of this is just aesthetics!" i hear you cry. WRONG!!! Just because something is not relevant to powerlifting does not make it irrelevant in everyday life. In reality you do use your biceps every day, for so many actions, like... every time you carry something. Think about the guys on 'worlds strongest man.' Look at the position of the arms as they carry the atlas stones, biecp is contracted, it's being used, not such an unfunctional muscle now.

_______________________________________

Biceps are not unfunctional, and if you don't develop you arms like you would your legs, then your body will end up being unbalenced.

/rant over

Those bodybuilders with the big arms? The majority of them started with 5x5 (or similar) programs, and once they became strong enough & got the ability to move weights sufficient to stress their arms enough to dedicate a whole day to them, did so. Having an "arm day" as a beginner is pointless and will do more harm than good in my opinion.

Try curling or doing any bi exercise 3x a week and see how long you can consistently set PRs, also pay attention to how this will effect your other lifts. Now compare those results to how long you can do the same with squats, and again watch the effects on your other lifts. In the first example, you won't be able to do it for very long and your other lifts will suffer. In the second, it will be quite some time before you hit a wall (assuming you're a beginner) and your other lifts should also steadily increase. If you try to develop your arms like you would your legs, you will burn out fast. Your arms, biceps specifically, are much smaller muscles than those in your legs and require much less stimulation to grow. You're familiar with the phrase "less is more?" This is a situation where that applies. Your arms do not require isolation work in order to stay balanced as long as you are working a balanced program, a la Stronglifts.

No one is saying doing bi exercises 3x a week + SL...

[emez]

No one is saying doing bi exercises 3x a week + SL...

Biceps are not unfunctional, and if you don't develop you arms like you would your legs, then your body will end up being unbalenced.

If you try to develop your arms like you would your legs, you would be working arm exercises each workout. Regardless of what anyone is saying, I am of the opinion that the best way to put size on your arms is to put size on everything. Doing Stronglifts as it is written will make your whole body grow, including your arms, and will do so while keeping everything in balance.

[Liv92]

No one is saying doing bi exercises 3x a week + SL...

Biceps are not unfunctional, and if you don't develop you arms like you would your legs, then your body will end up being unbalenced.

If you try to develop your arms like you would your legs, you would be working arm exercises each workout. Regardless of what anyone is saying, I am of the opinion that the best way to put size on your arms is to put size on everything. Doing Stronglifts as it is written will make your whole body grow, including your arms, and will do so while keeping everything in balance.

I don't think he meant it in the sense that you have to do arm exercises 3x a week. But In SL you obviously directly hit the legs trough squatting and deadlifting.

I can tell you from personal experience that SL left my arms kinda underdeveloped compared to my back chest and definitely legs. When I used to tell people I weighed 180 pounds they don't always believe me because they just looked at my arms. But i've been bringing my arms up and i'm starting to look more proportional.

But SL5x5 definitely gave me a good base to build my body up. And i'm glad I went trough it.

Infact if I ever get my gym membership back i'll probably jump back on SL5x5 and "graduate." Due to complications I had to get my gym membership closed so I only got to 1.3 BW Squat for 5x5 ATG.

[killerdude494949]

No one is saying doing bi exercises 3x a week + SL...

Biceps are not unfunctional, and if you don't develop you arms like you would your legs, then your body will end up being unbalenced.

If you try to develop your arms like you would your legs, you would be working arm exercises each workout. Regardless of what anyone is saying, I am of the opinion that the best way to put size on your arms is to put size on everything. Doing Stronglifts as it is written will make your whole body grow, including your arms, and will do so while keeping everything in balance.

http://bestathomeworkouts.com/workout_g ... gger-arms/

[Sam277]

I don't think he meant it in the sense that you have to do arm exercises 3x a week. But In SL you obviously directly hit the legs trough squatting and deadlifting.

Aye, I'm not saying you should do it 3x a week, but saying that 'training arms indirectly is more effective than training directly' does defy logic. And yes, those bodybuilders did start off with lowish reps, on the big lifts. In fact they still do at pro levels. Guess what rep ranges they do when trying to cut fat pre contest. Big ass weights!

But all of them have been training arms as long as they've been squatting; they've always curled. They point is to do both, it shouldn't be a case of bodybuilders vs powerlifters.

[killerdude494949]

I can tell you from personal experience that SL left my arms kinda underdeveloped compared to my back chest and definitely legs. When I used to tell people I weighed 180 pounds they don't always believe me because they just looked at my arms.

Same story for me. People dont believe me when I say I gained 40 lbs in one year. Past year of strength training threw all the mass on the legs and back, almost quite litterally. No problem, I'm taking care of the rest now.

[ryanflyer05]

In my opinion, weighted pull-ups/chin-ups and weighted dips will do more for arm growth than any type of a bicep curl or triceps extension will. Unless you're someone who worries about having their chest/shoulders/back grow, too.