Building arms, plz help!

A

Amateur87

0
I am 23 years old, 5'10 and 150 lbs and I'm very aware of how skinny I am. Every hour of everyday I have to think about how uncomfortable I am being skinny guy with skinny arms. If I decide to work hard I think I could get a decent amount of muscle on shoulders, back, legs, etc. But what really bothers me is my arms. I've recently started working out so I hope to see some results soon.

I might have the skinniest wrists I've ever seen, and my forearms are equally small. I've researched around and it appears I'm screwed when it comes to wrist size.

In regards to forearms and biceps/triceps, is it only possible to build the muscle mass? I would ideally like to increase the bone structure as well as muscle size so I can get away from this inherent skinniness.

What are some good ways to increase my overall arm size and increase arm strength? And I kind of suck with this stuff so any related information would be appreciated. Thanks
 
Don't worry, every one starts somewhere. What you need is :-

1. Diet eat some proteins, healthy fats and slow-release carbs. (See the nutrition stickies). Aim to eat about 500 cals over your maintenance. Don't starve yourself but at the same time don't over-eat and gain a lot of muscle but a lot of fat at the same time.

2. Start doing a FBW like starting strength or stronglifts 5x5. (See the weightlifting stickies). As you are new to training compounds like squats, deads, pullups, bench, overhead pressing, rows will work on your overall strength and you will see some good gains.

Good Luck!
BB.
 
Whatever you do, don't try and train for big arms. By doing that you'll get yourself a terrible routine and probably not gain much.

Train everything equally, base your training around the compound lifts i.e. Squats, deads, bench, pull ups, overhead press. These lifts will get you using the most motor units per lift and maximise the amount of micro trauma you create and therefore allow the largest possible scope for gains.

These lifts will also give you great gains in your arms too, apart from the squat these lifts all need your arms to some extent and as these lifts improve your arms will also increase in strength to cope with the higher loads. The deads and pull ups in particular will be great for those forearms.

Once you've got your training sorted then make sure your diet is good, what BB said above is a good place to start; make sure you're eating above maintenance. If I were your size I'd be aiming for about 3,000 Kcals a day (off the top of my head) but everyone varies on what they require so if you aren't gaining weight then just up the calories.

Aim for about 1g of protein per lb of body weight to give your body the right fuel too. Get enough complex carbs and remember that fats are important (so long as they are the right fats, steer clear of saturated fat)

We also have some great stickies on the forum which would be good for you to read
 
From what I understand, your wrists will always be the same size. However, if you build up your arms, it'll look a lot better. Blackbeard and Typhon are right- big, heavy, compound lifts are going to help you put on muscle mass.
 
Focus on building all muscles and your arms will develop. Dont be obsessed by just biceps or you will work on them and end up looking pretty stupid.
Arnie always said that he used to visualize his biceps growing when he was training them. Worked pretty good for him!!!
 
Amateru87, when you start building muscle you'll automatically improve your bone structure.

Oh, and as said above: don't just focus on arms.
 
not to hijack the thread, but I once heard that the tricep makes up almost 60% of the size of your arms. Is there truth to this?
 
dowgreg said:
not to hijack the thread, but I once heard that the tricep makes up almost 60% of the size of your arms. Is there truth to this?
Click to expand...

Biceps are what most newbs focus on, but your right, without some decent tri's, your arms will never look big. Just imagine havin big bi's but no tri's. It doesnt balance.
 
JustTheFacts said:
Amatuer;

how is your quest for bigger arms going - give us an update if you please?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately JTF, alot of people just sign up to ask a specific question, get their answers, and ya never hear from them again. Just as you see here. OP only made 1 post, not sayin he wont be back, but it happens alot. If it were me, I would at least give a "thanks guys" before jettin.
 
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