Concerned about arm size

S

Safeboy43

0
Hey all,

I have a question about my bulking progress. I have been bulking for a year and a half and gone from 117lbs to 186. For that, I am very proud of myself.

My measurements are:

Waist: 32.75 in
Neck: 14.75 in
Bicep: 13 in
Forearm: 10.75 in
Chest: 37.5 in
Thigh: 25 in
Calf: 19 in

(pic is attached also)

However, I have been concerned about my arms. They're very out of proportion with the rest of my body. It has always been that way and I have worked hard to correct it.

My current workout is called Stronglifts 5x5 that consists of Squats, Bench Press, Deadlift, Overhead Press. But I still have spaghetti arms! My goal was to have 16 inch arms by the time I reach 200lbs and that obviously isn't going to happen. Would somebody be able to tell me what I am doing wrong?

Thanks :)
 

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Are you doing anything for your arms???

Chins, dips, curls, wrist curls etc???
 
Good job on the bulking. The 3 workout there are great fundamentals and foundation of strength training but what are you doing to chisel out that 16 " arms? If you want bigger arms, do more tricep workout b/c tricep muscle is 2/3 of the arms where as bicep is only 1/3; in general. Now, the illusion of nice big arms are having big define bicep though. In summary, add more tricep and bicep workout into your routine; curls and extension and close grip bench press.
 
Hey thanks to both of you for the replies. The stronglifts program actually states that isolation exercises like bicep curls or tricep extensions are not needed. Just compounds. Granted, I have seen some growth, but not a lot.

The program has a few sets of Turkish Get Ups and Dips but they say they are supplementary and not necessary if you don't have the time. I cut them out because the workouts already took over an hour with just the compound lifts. How many sets of isolations will be needed to assure proper growth?

Thanks again :)
 
there is nothing wrong with doing certain isolation exercises to bring a specific body part up to speed,no matter what routine you are following,

just listen to your body and do`nt over do it.

congrats on the bulk by the way:D
 
Safeboy43 said:
How many sets of isolations will be needed to assure proper growth?
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Because you're already hitting your biceps and triceps secondarily, all that would be needed is a few sets and the end of every workout. So if you workout 3 days a week, alternate between doing biceps one day and triceps the next workout day. Your set/rep range depends more on your own preferences. I tend to go 3 sets of 10-12 reps for smaller muscles.
 
Safeboy43 said:
Dips but they say they are supplementary and not necessary if you don't have the time.

Thanks again :)
Click to expand...

Dips are a great exercise. If you add chins and dips you should see more growth.

Maybe you should alter the program a bit. You could do a few less sets on some exercises to fit the others in.

How long have you done the same exact workout??? Its a good idea to alter your routine slightly ever so often.
 
Not working the biceps and triceps directly would explain what you are observing. A well-balanced program would have you doing curls, kick-backs etc... in addition to the compound lifts. And if you are lagging in one area you need to up the training in that area as compared to the other body parts. You're doing the opposite at the moment. Fantastic progress otherwise, the program is certainly working in all other aspects, congrats!
 
stangelj said:
Not working the biceps and triceps directly would explain what you are observing. A well-balanced program would have you doing curls, kick-backs etc... in addition to the compound lifts. And if you are lagging in one area you need to up the training in that area as compared to the other body parts. You're doing the opposite at the moment. Fantastic progress otherwise, the program is certainly working in all other aspects, congrats!
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Skip the kickbacks, they provide little benefit. The movement places your arm in a position that makes it hard to overload your muscles, and limits the resistance for all but the last quarter of the movement. Plenty of other good tricep exercises out there.
 
Dips are the WORST tricep exercise anybody can do biomechanically speaking. They put tremendous load on the shoulder joint, and unless your shoulders are PERFECT, you'll suffer later on as a result of doing them.

Skull crushers are much better because you can use so much more weight than in kickbacks and it's a far better movement to isolate the tricep heads.

FYI, I don't know if you are doing leg extensions, but they are another no-no. Way too much load placed on the patellar tendon and the knee joint.

Physiotherapists see patients all the time because of these two exercises. It's a case of whether or not they see you now or see you later ... eventually, they'll end up seeing you.
 
How long have you been on the same program? You should change things up a little every 6-8 weeks. And probably every 6 months you should think about an overhaul on the routine.

Everyone's unique. My arms grow more when I stick to heavy compounds. Other people need some isolation thrown in there too.

You have to figure out what works for you.
 
SXIPro said:
Skip the kickbacks, they provide little benefit. The movement places your arm in a position that makes it hard to overload your muscles, and limits the resistance for all but the last quarter of the movement. Plenty of other good tricep exercises out there.
Click to expand...

Didn't mean to imply kick-backs are the best tricep exercise, just an example, although I disagree that they provide little benefit. You should do a variety of tri exercises to ensure you hit all three heads, and mix up exercises for each head over time so you don't plateau.

Marko157, I agree, skull-crushers are very good as they focus on the large inner head, so the largest of the three. Closed grip bench press is very good too, as are reverse grip cable press-downs for the outer head.
 
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malkore said:
How long have you been on the same program? You should change things up a little every 6-8 weeks. And probably every 6 months you should think about an overhaul on the routine.

Everyone's unique. My arms grow more when I stick to heavy compounds. Other people need some isolation thrown in there too.

You have to figure out what works for you.
Click to expand...

I have only been on this phase of the program for about two weeks. Every 8 weeks, I take a rest week and move on to the next phase. So far it's worked out okay except for the arms :)

I will try and throw the dips and chin ups back into the program but the only issue is time. Would it still be okay to throw the exercises into the next day after cardio?

Thanks everybody!
 
So you're still going to do tricep dips, are you?

My BF is a sports physiotherapist, and he highly suggests you don't do them. But it's up to you. Unless your supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis are strong and balanced, you'll end up damaging your rotator cuff. It might take a few years, but once the rotator cuff is damaged, your shoulder is never the same.
 
i_love_muscle said:
So you're still going to do tricep dips, are you?

My BF is a sports physiotherapist, and he highly suggests you don't do them. But it's up to you. Unless your supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis are strong and balanced, you'll end up damaging your rotator cuff. It might take a few years, but once the rotator cuff is damaged, your shoulder is never the same.
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Yeah, I understand what you mean. I was going to start them just because they were recommended in the training program. I may do skull crushers instead of those. Besides, skull crushers are more convenient than dips. No screwing around with weight belts ect....

Thanks!
 
With the dips situation. Basically i think, if your ok doing them and you have no discomfort of pain.........do them.

Otherwise, if you do feel pain or discomfort, its either time to look at technique or time to cut them out altogether.

With me its weird, sometime's i can do dips without any fuss, sometimes they hurt my shoulders. I don't really do them at all now.
 
Arms

Looking at your pictures, maybe I'm not seeing it right but they don't look out of proportion with the rest. If your looking for baseball bis good luck. Tris are great to exercise cause you can really push the limits. Skulls are excellent, cable pull downs, close hand pushups are a fav. Pullups and dips but I agree with the shoulder talk. 21s will burn. What is your BF number? Nice job.
 
Squats cause some people to have back and knee problems you might want to take them out of your program too.

Running is bad for your knees, and deadlifts can be dangerous too.

Military presses put your shoulders in danger also so they're out also.

Chin ups can cause tendinitis.

Come on. Like big Tom said. If they feel akward dont do them, but i know many people that do them without problems.

I dont care if you do them or not, but my point is that anything can cause problems for some people. Just make sure you do them with perfect form and listen to your body.

FWIW i prefer close grip bench press (hands shoulder width apart) to skull crushers cuz u can use more weight, but both are good.
 
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