Well, it looks like King and Poliquin disagree on the “you have to add 15 lbs of bodyweight to gain an inch on your upper arms” debate. See new Heavy Metal. What’s everyone’s experience with this? Do you buy the 15 lb rule?
I don’t think it’s really a debate. King was just pointing out that all rules have exceptions (get it? ALL rules …? heh). I figure it’s a rule of thumb. We can all add 1/2 an inch after an extended day of arm training … for a little bit anyway (the pump). Synthol also skews the rule. I’ve heard anabolics pumped into the arms also get localized gains. Remember, Poliquin tended to take experienced athletes and helped them get bigger and stronger - in that case, his little ‘rule of thumb’ probably applied (depending on height, arm fiber disposition, etc) … King was a little sassy in his answer, but I don’t think that he was calling Poliquin wrong.
Brooks Kubik writes about it in Dinosaur Training, so I’d say it’s held up for a lloooooonnnnggg time.
I think it’s just a rule of thumb, which means it will work for a lot of people, but not for every single person like a law of nature or something.
I agree with King. It makes sense that you cannot develop the pecs to their fullest potential if you do not develop the back muscles, since muscular imbalances in the shoulder causes neural shutdown of the pecs due to injury. But, how the hell does the arms know if the legs are 12 inches? I remember a kid in high school who got in a motorcycle accident and could not train his legs. His got pencil legs and his arms were the biggest around. If anything, his recovery ability was probably enhanced due to not having to train legs. People who observe the 15 lbs:1" rule to be true are looking only at people who train their entire body. If you saw people who only train their arms (intelligently, not 20 sets a day all the time), I’m confident that you would the rule of thumb does not hold water. Just look at cyclists with 10" arms and 30" thighs.
I don’t buy it. Too many guys with huge arms walking around on toothpick legs for this to be true.
don’t forget genetics. some guys are lucky enough to get big arms without having to add as much mass to their whole body