# Can't get arms bigger



## StephMalachy1990 (Jun 14, 2019)

Hi guys

Was doing biceps earlier and so f**king pissed off that I left early, its really bothering me that I cant get my arms to grow compared to all other muscles. 
I'm 230 pounds, 6ft2 and my arms are only about 16.5 inch.

Ive long muscle insertions aswell so it takes more muscle to fill out my arm.

I dont know if its how I train my arms, or my training frequency/training split but I cant get them to grow bicep or tricep.

Can anyone help me out with some advice to grow them?

Thanks I really appreciate!


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## CJ (Jun 14, 2019)

Hammer/reverse Curls to develop the brachialis, which pushes the biceps out.

Triceps are also much bigger, don't neglect them.

Hit them more frequently and/or up the volume.


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## Trump (Jun 14, 2019)

Change it up, do 3 months of no arm day, do few exercises for bis end of back then few for tris end of chest. Then after 3 months throw a full arm day into the mix for 3 months.


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## StephMalachy1990 (Jun 14, 2019)

CJ275 said:


> Hammer/reverse Curls to develop the brachialis, which pushes the biceps out.
> 
> Triceps are also much bigger, don't neglect them.
> 
> Hit them more frequently and/or up the volume.



I wasn't sure whether I need more frequency & volume or less?

I thought maybe a smaller muscle group like that should be trained less but when it is trained to annihaliate it and give plenty of rest afterwards for recovery? 

Should I continue with my current Back + Bicep, and Chest + Tricep routine or should I do them on individual days


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## hulksmash (Jun 14, 2019)

No advice from me...

Just here to say everyone will sort you out, just listen to them.


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## hulksmash (Jun 14, 2019)

StephMalachy1990 said:


> I wasn't sure whether I need more frequency & volume or less?
> 
> I thought maybe a smaller muscle group like that should be trained less but when it is trained to annihaliate it and give plenty of rest afterwards for recovery?
> 
> Should I continue with my current Back + Bicep, and Chest + Tricep routine or should I do them on individual days



You make it so hard to stay mute lol

Good luck


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## CJ (Jun 14, 2019)

StephMalachy1990 said:


> I wasn't sure whether I need more frequency & volume or less?
> 
> I thought maybe a smaller muscle group like that should be trained less but when it is trained to annihaliate it and give plenty of rest afterwards for recovery?
> 
> Should I continue with my current Back + Bicep, and Chest + Tricep routine or should I do them on individual days



Mine respond best to more frequent training, but less volume per session. Also picking different exercises to hit different parts of the force curve and/or training the muscle in a lengthened/shortened position to target the long/short heads.


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## StephMalachy1990 (Jun 14, 2019)

CJ275 said:


> Mine respond best to more frequent training, but less volume per session. Also picking different exercises to hit different parts of the force curve and/or training the muscle in a lengthened/shortened position to target the long/short heads.



I havn't tried the high frequency method yet. Perhaps adding 1 exercise for bicep superset with 1 exercise of tricep before every workout? 5 sets of 10/12 rep range im thinking


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## Trump (Jun 14, 2019)

If your doing that split now I would throw and arm day in too



StephMalachy1990 said:


> I wasn't sure whether I need more frequency & volume or less?
> 
> I thought maybe a smaller muscle group like that should be trained less but when it is trained to annihaliate it and give plenty of rest afterwards for recovery?
> 
> Should I continue with my current Back + Bicep, and Chest + Tricep routine or should I do them on individual days


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## Trump (Jun 14, 2019)

Just spit it out hulk will ya, most the time your advice is decent. Just don’t tell him your way is the only way 



hulksmash said:


> You make it so hard to stay mute lol
> 
> Good luck


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## CJ (Jun 14, 2019)

StephMalachy1990 said:


> I havn't tried the high frequency method yet. Perhaps adding 1 exercise for bicep superset with 1 exercise of tricep before every workout? 5 sets of 10/12 rep range im thinking



Only if you're willing to let your subsequent pushing and pulling exercises to suffer. 

Keep it simple. You said that you currently do back/bis and chest/tris? Maybe try back/tris and chest/bis. Do the same volume, but now your bis and tris get hit an extra day. You should be able to work them a bit harder since the bis aren't tired ftom just doing back, and the tris aren't tired from just doing chest.

Arm day is good too, if it fits into your schedule.


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## StephMalachy1990 (Jun 14, 2019)

CJ275 said:


> Only if you're willing to let your subsequent pushing and pulling exercises to suffer.
> 
> Keep it simple. You said that you currently do back/bis and chest/tris? Maybe try back/tris and chest/bis. Do the same volume, but now your bis and tris get hit an extra day. You should be able to work them a bit harder since the bis aren't tired ftom just doing back, and the tris aren't tired from just doing chest.
> 
> Arm day is good too, if it fits into your schedule.



Thanks CJ!, I'll give my bi's and tri's more frequency per week and prioritise them also because my back and chest are decently developed but my arms are just so under developed. When I'm curling I barely even get a pump in them because theres F-all mass to get blood pumped around. 

Its really just a result of focusing too much on compounds like bench and rows this last few years and barely doing isolation for my arms. No I have todo catchup


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## transcend2007 (Jun 14, 2019)

Remember triceps make up 65% to 70% of arms ... be sure the are being worked with priority ... people fen over work biceps ...


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## Straight30weight (Jun 15, 2019)

transcend2007 said:


> Remember triceps make up 65% to 70% of arms ... be sure the are being worked with priority ... people fen over work biceps ...


Man I’ve been killing tris for years, like 75/25 split tris/bis and my arms are still garbage! I’m convinced big arms are due to genetics. 

Last week at breakfast, there was a dude there with pretty big arms. My wife commented on them “look at how big his biceps are”. I immediately replied “look how big his wife’s tits are”. It was a quiet breakfast after that....


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## BigSwolePump (Jun 15, 2019)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdn0aSYwRO8


Great video for muscle gains.


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## Beserker (Jun 15, 2019)

In my experience, an arm day of supersets is what works best for me. My theory is get the blood flowing and keep it there... force the muscles to expand through that sheer pump.

An example of arm day for me:

heavy preacher curls with cambered bar (or DBs) superset with skull crushers- 3 sets of 6-8 range, 30 seconds between sets

2-3 minute rest, tops

DB curls on the 30degree incline bench with strict form (keep arms back for full stretch) superset with seated single arm overhead tri extenstions- 3 sets of 6-8 range, 30 seconds between sets

2-3 minutes tops between next supersets

low pulley concentration curls superset with seated mid pulley tricep extensions with rope- 3 sets of 10-12 range, 30 seconds between sets.  

2-3 minutes tops rest

reverse grip single arm tri presses super set with single arm low pulley curls- 2 drop sets each until complete failure.

Good luck.


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## Hurt (Jun 15, 2019)

OP are your arms the only group you can’t get to grow? Often guys will immediately question training when they just aren’t eating and recovering enough to support growth.

Also, are you running gear? Sorry if I missed that somewhere.


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## stonetag (Jun 15, 2019)

transcend2007 said:


> Remember triceps make up 65% to 70% of arms ... be sure the are being worked with priority ... people fen over work biceps ...


This! Less is best when it come to bi's. Heavy, cheating, standing barbell curls win the day.


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## Long (Jun 15, 2019)

Big arms come from heavy push and pull movements as well as controlling the elbow on isolated biceps and triceps movements.


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## hulksmash (Jun 15, 2019)

Trump said:


> Just spit it out hulk will ya, most the time your advice is decent. Just don’t tell him your way is the only way



Okay, okay. Then disclaimer: *The following is what I believe:*

Forget everything, 99% said online is superfluous bullshit (my belief). *Your 10 Commandments:*

1. Have a Tricep+Bicep+Forearm day.

2. Dedicate the most time to triceps.

3. Only use 4 tricep exercises, 2 bicep exercises, and 2 forearm exercises.

4. Have 5-6 heavy sets (weight used for 3-5 reps) and 2 light-weight sets (weight used for 12-15 reps) for each muscle. Always make the 2 lighter sets be your last 2 sets.

5. For triceps, have 2 overhead exercises (long head and medial head), 2 pushdown exercises (lateral head).*

I do Standing One-Arm Overhead Cable Extensions, Standing One-Arm Cable Pushdown, and Standing Reverse Grip One-Arm Pushdowns. I removed Standing Two-Arm Overhead Cable Extensions and gave its sets to SOAOCE to gain more tricep strength.

6. For biceps, have 1 curl exercise and 1 brachioradialis exercise (hammer curls).

7. For forearms, have 1 wrist flexor exercise and 1 grip exercise.

I use Standing BB Behind the Back Wrist Curls and Captains of Crush grippers.

8. Only do direct arm work on Arm Day. Do Arm Day 1-2x a week.

9. Eat in a caloric surplus.

10. Always use mind-muscle connection. It's the only way to get an elite body and strength.


*"*The long head contributes to elbow extension more at shoulder elevation and the medial head takes over at 90° and above of shoulder elevation.*"
The different role of each head of the triceps brachii muscle in elbow extension
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1017995X17305898


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## Seeker (Jun 15, 2019)

I remember one day I was at the gym and in kinda of a hurry and had to do some bicep work 1st so I texted Pillar of Biceps and asked " hey, if I do a  quick set of 21's can that count as doing 3 sets of heavy 7's?"  He replied...." well, yeah!"  boom! out the door I went.


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## hulksmash (Jun 15, 2019)

I forgot to add-

The chosen exercises, amount of sets, and the amount of reps are what *works for me.*

I believe training and hitting goals should be treated like money-hit your goals as fast as possible and train with the most amount of efficiency as possible, ALWAYS.

That's why I do things, like an Arm Day, my way.


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## StephMalachy1990 (Jun 16, 2019)

Great information Hulk! Im going to apple this and see how i get on. Thanks mate


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## Hurt (Jun 16, 2019)

I fail to see how this is advice very different from what 99% of the internet says. It’s actually pretty basic.



hulksmash said:


> Okay, okay. Then disclaimer: *The following is what I believe:*
> 
> Forget everything, 99% said online is superfluous bullshit (my belief). *Your 10 Commandments:*
> 
> ...


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## Trump (Jun 16, 2019)

He is on par with your level so who are you to argue???



Hurt said:


> I fail to see how this is advice very different from what 99% of the internet says. It’s actually pretty basic.


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## Hurt (Jun 16, 2019)

Trump said:


> He is on par with your level so who are you to argue???



Hahaha this is very true.


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## hulksmash (Jun 16, 2019)

Hurt said:


> I fail to see how this is advice very different from what 99% of the internet says. It’s actually pretty basic.



*Disclaimer: This my opinion. Everyone's post is an opinion, but for fatuous reasons, I'm forced to say that.*

Everyone should live by the "K.I.S.S". I agree my advice is _very_ basic.

The percentage can be wrong.

What I always see is more complex advice with focus on rest times, angles, rep speed, etc. Training and diet only needs common sense.


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## hulksmash (Jun 16, 2019)

Trump said:


> He is on par with your level so who are you to argue???



Odd, since I never made that claim. Ever.

Also absurb is people act like I'm not even 50% of his size. Blindness must run rampant.*

*Cue outrage from others and be told I'm "small", I'm delusional; etc.


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## Long (Jun 16, 2019)

Sets and reps and even exercises are individual. People respond differently. 

The one thing that I believe is universally true is that if your elbows are moving your biceps and triceps are not doing the work alone. 

Biceps blaster, preacher bench, spider curls, concentration curls, pressdown machine. 

It's all about the controlling elbows on isolation movements. 

In the "wild" your biceps and triceps primary job is to act as a secondary and tertiary muscle group. Go lift or pull or push anything and you will see. 

If you didn't have forearms your biceps and triceps would be pretty worthless. Think about it.

Push and pull heavy, control the elbows. I forgot to add a twisting motion at the bottom of dumbell curls helps.
Just a deeper explanation of my opinion.


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## hulksmash (Jun 16, 2019)

Long said:


> Sets and reps and even exercises are individual. People respond differently.
> 
> The one thing that I believe is universally true is that if your elbows are moving your biceps and triceps are not doing the work alone.
> 
> ...



I agree-you should keep the elbow from moving in arm exercises.

Thus me saying mind-muscle connection is the #1 priority and the cause for getting the best physique you can get.

I built my arms with partials/quarter reps due to knowing mind-muscle connection is the most important part to training.

Disclaimer: above is my opinion, bla bla


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## Trump (Jun 16, 2019)

Are you not ex military hulk??



hulksmash said:


> Odd, since I never made that claim. Ever.
> 
> Also absurb is people act like I'm not even 50% of his size. Blindness must run rampant.*
> 
> *Cue outrage from others and be told I'm "small", I'm delusional; etc.


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## Hurt (Jun 16, 2019)

hulksmash said:


> Odd, since I never made that claim. Ever.
> 
> Also absurb is people act like I'm not even 50% of his size. Blindness must run rampant.*
> 
> *Cue outrage from others and be told I'm "small", I'm delusional; etc.



OR people can’t truly say, since you only post a side shot of one arm. 

It it would be quite easy to prove them wrong...I’ll even walk you through it:

Stand in front of a mirror square-on, shirtless, in just shorts or posing trunks, hold your phone, use the camera to take a picture, then post it. Until then you don’t compare, by default...you just look like you’re hiding something.

So, to summarize - post an actual good picture for comparison. I don’t hide behind angles and limited exposure of body parts, so why do you?


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## hulksmash (Jun 16, 2019)

Hurt said:


> OR people can’t truly say, since you only post a side shot of one arm.
> 
> It it would be quite easy to prove them wrong...I’ll even walk you through it:
> 
> ...



Simple, I'm not good enough.

I have set standards and I haven't met them.

Once I pass my set requirements, I will post pics.

I'm _never_ bothered by people not having my pics, so I never feel pressured to share, especially if I haven't passed the requirements.


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## Hurt (Jun 17, 2019)

hulksmash said:


> Simple, I'm not good enough.
> 
> I have set standards and I haven't met them.
> 
> ...



Alright then, don’t get butthurt when people make assumptions about you since you give them no empirical basis to make an actual conclusion.


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## hulksmash (Jun 17, 2019)

Hurt said:


> Alright then, don’t get butthurt when people make assumptions about you since you give them no empirical basis to make an actual conclusion.



I didn't have time to submit my edit, but I typed:

"BTW, I do agree that others can't make an accurate, provable judgement with the lack of pics. I was wrong there."

I always choose logic and factual data, as you and everyone else knows.

I get annoyed being treated different even when doing the same as others, so my mouth loses its filter and I sacrifice thinking before I speak/type. Good times!


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## Trump (Jun 17, 2019)

You considered it might not be you that’s being singled out and treated different to everyone else, but you thats acting different than everyone else hulk. Seen many people try and direct you into the right direction openly and I have heard through inbox but it falls on death ears. You would rather claim your being treat like an outcast instead of maybe looking a bit closer to home for the issues. We can all read well and I doubt every single person on the forum interprets all your posts wrong even though you convince yourself it’s our lack of education/reading comprehension.



hulksmash said:


> I didn't have time to submit my edit, but I typed:
> .
> "BTW, I do agree that others can't make an accurate, provable judgement with the lack of pics. I was wrong there."
> 
> ...


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## Trump (Jun 17, 2019)

We dont do that kind of thing on here, creatine and amino acids only



Clara said:


> Maybe you need some steroids. I can introduce a product that I used beore.


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## Texan69 (Jun 17, 2019)

CJ275 said:


> Mine respond best to more frequent training, but less volume per session. Also picking different exercises to hit different parts of the force curve and/or training the muscle in a lengthened/shortened position to target the long/short heads.



Yes this^^^^^


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## hulksmash (Jun 18, 2019)

Trump said:


> You considered it might not be you that’s being singled out and treated different to everyone else, but you thats acting different than everyone else hulk. Seen many people try and direct you into the right direction openly and I have heard through inbox but it falls on death ears. You would rather claim your being treat like an outcast instead of maybe looking a bit closer to home for the issues. We can all read well and I doubt every single person on the forum interprets all your posts wrong even though you convince yourself it’s our lack of education/reading comprehension.



The issue being my lone behavior is a logical and highly probable theory, but you're wrong.

Weeks ago, I went through *every single post I've made and every single reply to those posts* to see if I was treated differently.

I enjoy being right and will prove it, but geez..that was so time consuming! I'll still do it, though, and copy+paste _every_ example.

Some were like the recent reply Seeker made to me-others can say "if I slack off just once, I'll never catch up", and they'll be told "oh man no, you're doing great, keep going" but not me. I'll get told to stop thinking I'm worth anything, *when clearly I wasn't saying I'm special*. Common sense is not used by others for my posts. Why? *I made a great punching bag for others here*, always taking the hits, apologizing, and promising to do better.

**** that. I'll enjoy any response I get now. I'll call out the lack of common sense, insecurity. stupidity-whatever a reply to my posts show.i will have _my_ fun.

Instead of staying depressed over the denial of acceptance despite making changes and apologizing, I'm going to stay happy and stop caring if someone is being an idiot to me. They don't deserve my guilt, my effort, or my gregariousness.

*I'll only be affable and kind to those who are affable and kind to me on here.*


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## Trump (Jun 18, 2019)

As long as your happy that’s all that matters



hulksmash said:


> The issue being my lone behavior is a logical and highly probable theory, but you're wrong.
> 
> Weeks ago, I went through *every single post I've made and every single reply to those posts* to see if I was treated differently.
> 
> ...


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## hulksmash (Jun 18, 2019)

Trump said:


> As long as your happy that’s all that matters



Well *now* I am

I worried about everyone here every day, even during work and leisure.

I wanted to be the Christian I need to be and be accepted as "one of the boys here".

Now that I gave up, I can be happy. Or so I think.


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## Gibsonator (Jun 19, 2019)

hulksmash said:


> Well *now* I am
> 
> I worried about everyone here every day, even during work and leisure.
> 
> ...



bro, give it a fukking rest already will ya???? Fukkk!!!!!!


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## Long (Jun 19, 2019)

Straight30weight said:


> Man I’ve been killing tris for years, like 75/25 split tris/bis and my arms are still garbage! I’m convinced big arms are due to genetics.


Bullshit. Shape is genetic. Size comes from hard work.
After my surgery from laying around
View attachment 7928

Cold a while back
View attachment 7929

A couple weeks ago?
View attachment 7930

Don't want to take shit for not showing both arms:32 (1):
View attachment 7931


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## Straight30weight (Jun 19, 2019)

Long said:


> Bullshit. Shape is genetic. Size comes from hard work.
> After my surgery from laying around
> View attachment 7928
> 
> ...


Do you plan to actually put some size on then?


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## Long (Jun 19, 2019)

Straight30weight said:


> Do you plan to actually put some size on then?



:32 (18):
I'm trying to get back to pencil arms.


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## Straight30weight (Jun 19, 2019)

Long said:


> :32 (18):
> I'm trying to get back to pencil arms.


Whatever you’re doing it’s working


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## Long (Jun 19, 2019)

Straight30weight said:


> Whatever you’re doing it’s working



Naturally :32 (17):


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## RobertCalifornia (Jun 19, 2019)

make changes accordingly


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## Straight30weight (Jun 19, 2019)

RobertCalifornia said:


> make changes accordingly


Mind blown


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## Trump (Jun 19, 2019)

Thanks for that insight



RobertCalifornia said:


> make changes accordingly


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