Getting Bigger Arms!

[Primal]

Greeting CB! Arms are by far one of my biggest lagging body parts. Everyone always states that the triceps make up 2/3 of the arm blah-blah (heard it so many times before) but in all honesty, my arms are so long and lanky that even when I flex them (front double bi), it looks like I hardly hit them. My biceps make up most of the girth but even they are quite small. My question is, what exercises do you guys do for your arms? This is what I do, tell me if I'm doing anything wrong and I will change it up!

For biceps I am really trying to focus on the long head so I'm doing a semi-pronated grip on the EZ-bar for 4 sets. This is on the same day as back so my biceps get worked a lot before hand.
Set 1: 2-3 reps
Set 2: 3-5 reps
Set 3: 5-7 reps
Set 4: 8 reps
Should I use a straight bar with a full pronated grip? I find this works my forearm and bicep better but it hurts my wrists a lot, especially when I'm curling the 80's and 70's...

'Brachial Rope Curls' (Arm out in front of body, feet turned inwards. Use rope, attach onto lowest setting on cables. Start fully extended and bring rope up to forehead. Unilateral movement):
Set 1: 2-3 reps
Set 2: 3-5 reps
Set 3: 5-7 reps
I feel this really isolates the long head better than a hammer curl and also destroys your brachialis m.

For triceps, I am really focusing on the medial head and lateral head (or am trying to at least)... I also do this after I hit chest so the triceps get worked as an accessory.
Bench Dips: (2-3 45's on me if I have my spotter)
Set 1: 2-3 reps
Set 2: 3-5 reps
Set 3: 5-7 reps

Overhead tricep extension: (I would do skull crushers but it hurts my wrist some days)
Set 1: 3-5 reps
Set 2: 5-7 reps
Set 3: 6-8 reps

Triceps Push down: (Elbows flared outwards to to really target the medial head. I use my body weight at the end sometimes to get a few cheat reps in).
Set 1: 3-5 reps
Set 2: 5-7 reps
Set 3: 6-8 reps

Do you guys think that I'm this alright? Prae, I know that I have been lifting heavy for a very short period of time, and I tried to tailor the rep ranges to get the heavier sets in first. Tell me what you think and if I need any improvements! Thanks for reading this everybody!

-Primal

[TT Eric]

Personally I don't think the one hand rope curls will do much, neither the push down, and dips on a bench are a no-no in my book, no good for shoulders, no good for wrists.

I would stick to basics, dips, BP close-grips, overhead triceps extension is good if your elbows can handle it. Biceps = heavy curls, heavy DB curls and hammer curls and include some reverse-grip chin-ups and/or neutral grip when you do back. Those are the one that pays big buck, the more time you spend doing them, the better you'll become at focusing at them and the stronger and bigger you'll become.

Also I find that arms respond better to high frequency then high volume, when I work them 3x per week, they grow much better, I hit them hard, but short.

Personally my arms have always been my lagging part also, I have no room for error. But now it's almost in par with the rest of the body.

Eric

[Primal]

Personally I don't think the one hand rope curls will do much, neither the push down, and dips on a bench are a no-no in my book, no good for shoulders, no good for wrists.

I would stick to basics, dips, BP close-grips, overhead triceps extension is good if your elbows can handle it. Biceps = heavy curls, heavy DB curls and hammer curls and include some reverse-grip chin-ups and/or neutral grip when you do back. Those are the one that pays big buck, the more time you spend doing them, the better you'll become at focusing at them and the stronger and bigger you'll become.

Also I find that arms respond better to high frequency then high volume, when I work them 3x per week, they grow much better, I hit them hard, but short.

Personally my arms have always been my lagging part also, I have no room for error. But now it's almost in par with the rest of the body.

Eric

Hmm, yes I was thinking about switching the rope curls for something else but to be honest, I haven't found anything that targets the my arm that good. I don't really get why, but hammer curls don't really induce much growth on me. I can hardly feel anything when I do them (even when I do them heavy). My gym is really old school so we have the regular dip bars, but I find that this really hurts my wrist a lot when I go down. Plus, we don't have one of those belts that you can attach the weight onto so it is really hard getting up there with a 30 in between your legs... I also feel it a lot better overall when I do the bench dips, once again I don't know why.

LOL I hate to say it, but 70-80 lbs curls are decently heavy for me. Good point about the reverse-grip chin-ups. Will definitely contribute a few sets to that! I have tried hitting them 2 times a week, but maybe my arms will responds like yours and will grow if I hit them 3 times a week. I'll give it a shot!

Thanks Eric!

-Primal

[Praetorian]

Biceps heavy barbell curls...straight or EZ...aim for 200-225lbs for reps. Dumbbell curls go lighter and more strict.

Triceps...dips and close grip benches....strap a 120-150lb dumbell to your waist and do reps....close grip 315 for reps.

These are the most efficient exercises do them first then move on to ropes or cables or extensions.

P

[Hosehead]

Too many sets , regardless of your choice to go low rep. And use the exercises Prae suggests. Ectomorphs respond best to fewer sets and once a week per bodypart routines. I think I recall you being leaning towards ecto ? One , maybe two all out 8 rep working sets. Use a drop set for the second set. I'm growing at age 45 without gear by using this method.

[Primal]

Hahaha! Uhm, I'm my strength is nowhere close to the number you are putting out their Prae, but I do get the gist. Is it ok if I do the bench dips? I know Eric was against them but in all honesty the dip bars really hurt my wrist! If you think that the dip bars work better then I'll just invest in some wrist wraps and stop complaining. Thanks Prae!

@Hosehead, thanks for remembering! :) Yes I am basically the complete definition of ectomorph. Hmm interesting, you say that the less volume once a week works best for my body type. I would have thought that more frequency would help more... But that's why I'm asking you guys! Are you and ectomorph too Hosehead?

[Hosehead]

Hahaha! Uhm, I'm my strength is nowhere close to the number you are putting out their Prae, but I do get the gist. Is it ok if I do the bench dips? I know Eric was against them but in all honesty the dip bars really hurt my wrist! If you think that the dip bars work better then I'll just invest in some wrist wraps and stop complaining. Thanks Prae!

@Hosehead, thanks for remembering! :) Yes I am basically the complete definition of ectomorph. Hmm interesting, you say that the less volume once a week works best for my body type. I would have thought that more frequency would help more... But that's why I'm asking you guys! Are you and ectomorph too Hosehead?

I am not an extreme ecto but my pre trained body type leaned towards it. I always had a thin , narrow rib cage , long arms , small hips BUT wide shoulders and thick wrists. So a little bit meso too. I never got too far by training bodyparts more than once a week. Looking back on my 20's I trained waaay too much. I figured it out in my early 30's and if you looked at my build now you'd have a hard time believing I'm an ecto. I warm up properly now and get acclimated to where my two working sets are all that I can handle for 8-12 reps. Some weeks 8 , some 10 and some 12. Unlike many guys , my legs DO NOT respond to high rep sets. I must stay between 8-12 and heavy just to maintain. Because I now have a 7 month old at home and trips to the gym are limited I do as follows :

Monday : chest and legs , abs
Wednesday : back and shoulders
Friday : arms , calves , abs

Once in a while I will will do chest on a Sunday at home , so I am fresh for legs, whioch idealy I would train on their own.

Here's a sample week for chest and legs

Monday - flat bench - 1 working drop set (8 reps at max weight. drop 15% of load for x reps, drop another 15% of load for x reps, static hold.
incline - 1 working drop set
flat flyes - 1 working drop set
following week I will reverse order of flat and incline
this takes 20 minutes tops

legs - leg press 2 working sets at 8 reps , second set a drop set.
leg extension 2 working sets of 8 reps , second set drop set
back squats 2 working sets 8 reps no drop sets (lower back gives out)
lying hammy curls 4 working sets 12 reps
I do additional hammy work on Wednesday when I do heavy straight leg deads to finish back off

Don't ask about diet , I don't count macros but I should. I ballpark my protein , fat and carb intake and adjust accordingly. My build would be much better if I did :(.
But that's how I'm able to maintain and add mass as an old ectomprhpic ****.

[Primal]

Wow, I noticed that your volume is waaaay down low. But whatever works for you I guess. What do you mean that you 'trained too much' in your 20's? Did you go to the gym everyday? That's how I get my all my body parts in.
Monday: Legs and Calves + abs
Tuesday: Chest and Tris+ abs
Wednesday: Shoulders and Traps
Thursday: Back and Bi's +abs
Friday: Calves, Forearms and abs
Saturday: Chest and Tris (sometimes bi's too)
Sundays: Rest

I do the same amount of volume that mentioned above on my arm day for each. Do you think I'm doing too much?

-Primal

[Praetorian]

Hahaha! Uhm, I'm my strength is nowhere close to the number you are putting out their Prae, but I do get the gist. Is it ok if I do the bench dips? I know Eric was against them but in all honesty the dip bars really hurt my wrist! If you think that the dip bars work better then I'll just invest in some wrist wraps and stop complaining. Thanks Prae!

@Hosehead, thanks for remembering! :) Yes I am basically the complete definition of ectomorph. Hmm interesting, you say that the less volume once a week works best for my body type. I would have thought that more frequency would help more... But that's why I'm asking you guys! Are you and ectomorph too Hosehead?


Bench dips are for girls...if you want big triceps use the bars with bodyweight and add more weight. Wrap your wrists if you have issues.

P

[Primal]

Bench dips are for girls...if you want big triceps use the bars with bodyweight and add more weight. Wrap your wrists if you have issues.

P

LOL purchasing some at the moment....

-Primal

[Hosehead]

Wow, I noticed that your volume is waaaay down low. But whatever works for you I guess. What do you mean that you 'trained too much' in your 20's? Did you go to the gym everyday? That's how I get my all my body parts in.
Monday: Legs and Calves + abs
Tuesday: Chest and Tris+ abs
Wednesday: Shoulders and Traps
Thursday: Back and Bi's +abs
Friday: Calves, Forearms and abs
Saturday: Chest and Tris (sometimes bi's too)
Sundays: Rest

I do the same amount of volume that mentioned above on my arm day for each. Do you think I'm doing too much?

-Primal

I did six days a week , high volume. Trained everything twice. No enough rest.

[Primal]

I did six days a week , high volume. Trained everything twice. No enough rest.

Hmm interesting... I'm gonna try Eric's method first just to see and if that doesn't work I'm going to try a 3 day split like you're doing. Maybe I'm not getting enough rest? I know that for the past few months I've been really dragged down with school (get to school at 9:30, leave at 11 every second day). I'll try doing the 1 set routine too. You might be right, maybe I just need to hit them hard once. Thanks Hosehead!

-Primal

[TT Eric]

I've tried many ways, from high volume to high intensity, most of them work if you do it right, you'll get results, some more then others, but the one I get the better results is low volume, hard and often, hands down.

Eric

[Primal]

I've tried many ways, from high volume to high intensity, most of them work if you do it right, you'll get results, some more then others, but the one I get the better results is low volume, hard and often, hands down.

Eric

Yeah, lots of people on here really enforce the low volume but high frequency approach. I thought it would be the complete opposite to be honest but, whatever works right? I'll give all the suggestions a shot. Thanks everyone!

-Primal

[Praetorian]

Depends on where you are in your training career.

P

[Primal]

Depends on where you are in your training career.

P

I've been training about 1 year and a half now, 6 days on as mentioned above. Coming this August will be my 2 year.

-Primal

[Praetorian]

Heavy weights, moderate volume...build a strength base and size will naturally come. Work on getting your numbers up on the big three lifts...minimum 315lb bench for reps, 405 squat for reps, 4o5 deadlift for reps.
3-4 sets 4 exerecises for large muscle groups, 3-4 sets 2-3 exercises for smaller muscle groups.
P

[Primal]

Heavy weights, moderate volume...build a strength base and size will naturally come. Work on getting your numbers up on the big three lifts...minimum 315lb bench for reps, 405 squat for reps, 4o5 deadlift for reps.
3-4 sets 4 exerecises for large muscle groups, 3-4 sets 2-3 exercises for smaller muscle groups.
P

Wow... Thanks for the blueprint Prae! Uhm, what would you say about the frequency in which I go to the gym? As mentioned above, I go 6 days out of the week. Do you think it would be detrimental if I kept going like this? Or do you think I should downgrade to a 3 day split maybe? Thanks!

-Primal

[Praetorian]

One body part per day..5 days per week...2 days off...preferably split up the days off. You will burn out quickly six days per week. ie mon-back, tuesday chest, wed off, thur-legs, fri delts, sat arms ,sun off.

P

[Primal]

One body part per day..5 days per week...2 days off...preferably split up the days off. You will burn out quickly six days per week. ie mon-back, tuesday chest, wed off, thur-legs, fri delts, sat arms ,sun off.

P

Awesome, I will start this split next week, thanks Prae!

-Primal

[Primal]

Same with what I did with my old chest thread, I want to keep a record of what works for me in my threads so that I can refer back to them at any time if I try something new and it doesn't work and I forget what worked for me before! Recently dawned on me after watching a few tricep videos the reason my arms looked so small and I know I will probably get a lot of disagreements with this but it was because I wasn't targeting my lateral head enough! Sure enough, next day I target the long head with overhead rope extensions for 2 sets instead of 4 and I focus that last 2 sets on v bar pushdowns for the lateral head, really flaring my elbows out to target it better. The pump was massive and my arms looked bigger than they ever had before! I was also seeing some striations in the lateral head that I never noticed before and for once in my god forsaken life my whole tricep looked like one whole complete horseshoe! Because I focused so much time on my long head, when I flexed, my tricep had an 'uneven' slope to it, as in the long head was big but sloped downwards when it came to the lateral head. And because my arms are very thin, even though my long head was decently developed, it didn't show very well because my arms looks much better from the side because the circumference of my humerus is very small! Very excited that I learned this and that I am finally getting some good development in my triceps finally!!

-Primal

[Praetorian]

If you want big tris the best exercises are close grip bench presses and dips on parallel bars with added weight. Cables exercises etc should be done after the basic compound movements when starting out.

P

[Primal]

If you want big tris the best exercises are close grip bench presses and dips on parallel bars with added weight. Cables exercises etc should be done after the basic compound movements when starting out.

P

Sorry should have specified a bit better, I go starting with 3 sets of close grip bench to start out and then focus on the long head after (the 2 sets of overhead presses) and then focus on the lateral head. So yes I'm still making sure to get the big compound movements in first before I move onto isolating!

-Primal

[Praetorian]

Also if you want to add inches to your arms...upping lean body mass is a must.

P

[Primal]

Also if you want to add inches to your arms...upping lean body mass is a must.

P

Uh, what do you mean by that? Like focusing on evey muscle group will help bring up my arms too?

-Primal

[Praetorian]

Bingo...when most young guys want big arms they start doing hundreds of sets of curls...thy would be much better off learning to squat and dead lift heavy. Increasing overall lean mass equals much bigger arms.

P

[Primal]

Oh yeah of course, basic lifts first and smaller muscle groups will come up on their own or if they don't then you can focus more on the isolation exercises when your basic lifts get better! I'll never be a curl monkey!

-Primal

[TT Eric]

Not sure how precise it is, but I've been told to gain one inch of arm you have to gain ~15lbs of LBM.

Eric

[Primal]

Hmm never heard of that before, but if that's true than holy cow that's a lot of lean body mass for just an inch! I can see why people who have been lifting for long periods of time take so long to put an extra inch on their arms!

-Primal

[Praetorian]

Not sure how precise it is, but I've been told to gain one inch of arm you have to gain ~15lbs of LBM.

Eric

Yep pretty close!

P

[Hosehead]

As Prae said - benches , close grip , deads and squats. Also , since we both have ecto body types I would suggest to do as i did and keep arms specific exercises to a minimum number of exercises and reps. My best growth occured from 2 bi exercises and 2 tris. You get plenty of work for tris from shoulder presses and bench presses so they dont need too much extra. As for bis , I always like incline dbs as heavy as i could go for 8 reps (used to use the 70's) and standing straight bar. Now that I have enough mass I try concentrating on shape and using less weight to get the job done.
And yes, I'd say that you would probably need to gain 10-15 lbs to gain an inch. My best cold measurement was 18.5 at approx 250. They look much better now at 230lbs but I have no idea how big they are.

[Primal]

I tried doing the low volume bi's and tri's a while back and I just felt like I wasn't doing enough, my gym sessions would be cut really short (I'm really big on volume). My triceps are still super crappy even with all the love they get from the compound exercises... it's sort of like the same deal with my back. Deadlifts work wonders for my erectors... that's it. I don't feel it in my lats, legs (hamstrings), and sometimes a bit in the lower back. Not saying this is bad at all, but I find that the secondaries like the v-bar lat pull down and the t-bar helped develop my back a lot more than deadlifts, so far at least. I haven't stopped doing them, but in terms of targeting the muscle groups thoroughly it's always the isolated exercises that target better for me :/ Haha so now my erectors are really thick and my upper back is lagging behind now, it was the opposite way a year ago! But this goes back to what I was saying about my triceps too, I like doing close grip bench press for my triceps but even then I find it doesn't isolate as well as push downs! And I do a loooot of benching, I've been working on chest 3 times a week a while ago and I still find that my triceps are always small and have a hard time growing... They should be growing from my chest days, shoulder days and my dedicated arms days too right? But they're still small :( so I don't know.

Holy hell Hosehead, 250lbs?? Damn making me feel small, even over the internet! I'm 6"4 at 188 with itty-bitty 15's!

-Primal

[Hosehead]

I tried doing the low volume bi's and tri's a while back and I just felt like I wasn't doing enough, my gym sessions would be cut really short (I'm really big on volume). My triceps are still super crappy even with all the love they get from the compound exercises... it's sort of like the same deal with my back. Deadlifts work wonders for my erectors... that's it. I don't feel it in my lats, legs (hamstrings), and sometimes a bit in the lower back. Not saying this is bad at all, but I find that the secondaries like the v-bar lat pull down and the t-bar helped develop my back a lot more than deadlifts, so far at least. I haven't stopped doing them, but in terms of targeting the muscle groups thoroughly it's always the isolated exercises that target better for me :/ Haha so now my erectors are really thick and my upper back is lagging behind now, it was the opposite way a year ago! But this goes back to what I was saying about my triceps too, I like doing close grip bench press for my triceps but even then I find it doesn't isolate as well as push downs! And I do a loooot of benching, I've been working on chest 3 times a week a while ago and I still find that my triceps are always small and have a hard time growing... They should be growing from my chest days, shoulder days and my dedicated arms days too right? But they're still small :( so I don't know.

Holy hell Hosehead, 250lbs?? Damn making me feel small, even over the internet! I'm 6"4 at 188 with itty-bitty 15's!

-Primal

I f you do chest three times a week not only will your tris not grow - nothing will grow ! Anyone who tells you that it's impossible to over train is full of shit. You are a big time ectomorph and I used to train like you. I never grew much at all. Volume is great ONCE you've built a solid frame through the big lifts. Don't confuse getting a pump with isolating the targeted muscle. I can get a skin breaking pump by doing concentration curls with a 20 LB DB. But it won't cause **** all to grow. Chins with a supinated grip would be a much better exercise and it's not even primarily a bicep exercise.
Do yourself a huge favour and stop analyzing things. If you ever want to grow substantially you must say goodbye to your abs for a long time.

EAT - make it a job.
LIFT HEAVY WITH THE BIG THREE - 6-8 reps.
REST

It's ****ing easy and that's coming from an ecto with so so genetics who has made every mistake in the book.I guaran****ingtee that if you give it time then you will see the results. But you have to stick with it and EAT !

[Praetorian]

Amen!

P

[Hosehead]

Look at power lifters and strongmen competitors . You'd be hard pressed to ever find them doing concentrations curls, rope extensions pushdowns or anything commonly known as 'isolation' exercises. Yet they have huge arms ! Why ? They bench heavy (heavy being relative to the individual) squat heavy , deadlift heavy ! Yes they add in other things along the way like standing shoulder presses , chins , close grips ,bent rows etc BUT it's the big three that add size to them. And they eat like mother****ers ! You'll also notice that even though they won't have 32 inch waists that many of them are quite muscular - Pud is the best example. You add that much size and you'll burn off a tremendous amount of fat too. You need to stick with that program and by stick with it I mean 6 months to a year ! You probably are not as much of as hard gainer as you think. Turns out I wasn't - I just wasn't training to be big and I wasn't eating to be big. Now get at it !

[Primal]

Got me all fired up even after work! Alright I'll go and kill it!

-Primal

[theboss]

Not sure how try it is, but I have heard more than once you need to gain approx. 10lbs of muscle to your body to add approx. 1" to your arms.

But I totally agree with Hosehead and what he has been saying above.