Arm Growth with Carb Cycling

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

Hi Guys,
I want your opinion of my current workout plan. I want to focus specifically on my arms which are somewhat small relative to my chest and back. I also want to maintain my leanness so I decided to carb cycling with only arms workout during the week.

Monday: BB Curls (1x15, 2x8, 2x6), Incline DB Curls 3x8, Reverse cable curls 3x8, DB Hammer curls 3x8, Close Grip Bench Press (1x15, 2x8, 2x6), Rope Pulldown 3x8

Tuesday: Basketball, Light cardio workout

Wednesday: BB Curls (1x15, 2x8, 2x6), Incline DB Curls 3x8, Reverse cable curls 3x8, DB Hammer curls 3x8, Close Grip Bench Press (1x15, 2x8, 2x6), Skullcrushers 3x8

Thursday: Tennis, Jogging

Friday: BB Preacher Curls (1x15, 2x8, 2x6), Incline DB Curls 3x8, Reverse cable curls 3x8, DB Hammer curls 3x8, Close Grip Bench Press (1x15, 2x8, 2x6), Tricep Dip 3xfailure

Sat, Sunday: light cardio

Monday and Friday would be moderate carb days and Wednesday would be a “high” day. The rest of the week would be low carb 75g days.

What do you think about the frequency of the workouts? Any advice would be appreciated.

Also, I am only planning to do this for about 4-6 weeks.

2

Everything is perfect. You will be totally jacked and swole come beach time. I say, fuck legs, they get enough of a workout from tennis and basketball anyway, LOL! Amirite gaise?

3

You should have definitely posted this in the beginner’s forum, cuz now you’re gonna get flamed, starting with me :wink:

Ok, I’ll go easy on ya. Its true that you should specialize a muscle group or two when they are lagging in comparison to others. However, basing an entire workout program on just arms ALONE and nothing else is just stupid.

At the very LEAST, you want to do work for the other muscle groups to maintain them.

Get rid of the jogging.

Also, are your arms REALLY lagging behind? I know for myself, when I started, I saw things that really weren’t there. You should show a picture so WE can give our opinions and tell you what you really need.

If a picture won’t do, at least give us stats.

4

Damn, guess I wasnt the first :stuck_out_tongue:

5

You know you don’t even have to work your arms to make them grow, if you train hard enough on your chest and back exercises like BB rows, DB rows, pullups, bench, dips, shoulder presses, etc…

But if you want an arm day go for it, just don’t have an “arm week” as previously stated, it will probably be overtraining for your arms and stunt their growth even.

6

[quote]skohcl wrote:
You know you don’t even have to work your arms to make them grow, if you train hard enough on your chest and back exercises like BB rows, DB rows, pullups, bench, dips, shoulder presses, etc…[/quote]

That makes about as much sense as “You don’t have to train your legs. Simply walking into the gym and out of the gym may be enough to cause some small degree of development”.

From now on, could the “you don’t have to train arms” brigade post a picture of their arm development in the post they write that in?

I am very interested.

7

[quote]skohcl wrote:
You know you don’t even have to work your arms to make them grow, if you train hard enough on your chest and back exercises like BB rows, DB rows, pullups, bench, dips, shoulder presses, etc…

But if you want an arm day go for it, just don’t have an “arm week” as previously stated, it will probably be overtraining for your arms and stunt their growth even.[/quote]

Neglecting an entire muscle group will result in that group being smaller proportionally to the rest of your body.

You won’t get continued increase in arm size if you avoid training them directly at all costs.

8

[quote]skohcl wrote:
You know you don’t even have to work your arms to make them grow, if you train hard enough on your chest and back exercises like BB rows, DB rows, pullups, bench, dips, shoulder presses, etc…

But if you want an arm day go for it, just don’t have an “arm week” as previously stated, it will probably be overtraining for your arms and stunt their growth even.[/quote]

You best be trolling.

Otherwise it’s tards like you that I have to play catch up with my fucking arms…

chest and back exercises are for your fucking CHEST & BACK not your arms.

9

Op, I wouldn’t train your arms. It will result in more mass on your arms and will reap havoc on you basketball workouts.

10

…

11

god why are people so fucking dumb. TRAIN ALL MUSCLE GROUPS!

12

Popcorn sucks, I bring beef jerky to da movies.

13

OP, read these specialization programs for arms:

You’ll see that, even it you devote three days to arms training, you’ll still train the rest of your body on a weekly base. It doesn’t matter if you follow one of these programs, as long as you understand that you need to train other muscle groups!

EDIT: By the way, IMHO the best option would be a good overall program (in which you work each muscle group once a week), with a slightly higher frequence (twice a week, or three times over two weeks) for arms.

14

Let’s see a picture of this “lagging” arm development. Until then I suspect that everything is small and you should NOT do an arm specialization program. Instead you should try to gain (at least) 50 lbs of muscle all over (eat) and double or triple (if not more) all of your current lifts.

At that point I doubt you’ll be complaining about having small arms. But if you are, then maybe think about specializing for weak muscle groups.

15

Just do starting strength, and add RE work for your arms. Since you are new and dont know what this means, i’ll outline.

Monday:

A1) Deadlift 3x5
A2) Shoulder push press 3x5

B) Tricep extensions or Skull crushers 2-3 x AMRAP ***As many reps as possible with a weight that allows about 12-20.

Wednesday:

A1) Squat 3x5
A2) Pullup 3x5

B) Hammer curl or BB curl 2-3 x AMRAP

Friday:

A1) Power clean 3x5
A2) Bench 3x5

C) Close grip pushups or dips 2-3 x AMRAP

This program will take you a long way, IF the diet is right. What is your current height, weight, and BF%? Because if you are “trying to stay lean” and trying to get bigger arms, it is going to be nearly impossible for you.

If you ahve been training quite a while and are already fairly strong, then you could probably cut down on the “big lifts” and put a bit more emphasis on the arm specialization. But if you aren’t, and say you are 5’10 and 160lbs and can only do 5 pullups at YOUR BW, then you NEED to train the big lifts more than arms.

16

[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
Let’s see a picture of this “lagging” arm development. Until then I suspect that everything is small and you should NOT do an arm specialization program. Instead you should try to gain (at least) 50 lbs of muscle all over (eat) and double or triple (if not more) all of your current lifts.

At that point I doubt you’ll be complaining about having small arms. But if you are, then maybe think about specializing for weak muscle groups.[/quote]

Hey sento, long time no see. I’d like to suggest that the OP is probably not interested in BB’ing at all. Sure this thread definately belongs in the beginner forum, but he probably has no desire to gain 50lbs. I’d like to see a pic as well, or at least know is stats, and what HE wants to look like. Does he want to look like bradd pitt, or an athlete, or maybe ronnie coleman. These things make a difference. And some people would rather have 16" arms @ 175lbs than 19" arms at 230. And thats their choice, and it does mean they need to do different things.

So OP, let us know more where you are now, either with some stats or a pic, and let us know what you want to look like.

17

[quote]dankid wrote:
Sentoguy wrote:
Let’s see a picture of this “lagging” arm development. Until then I suspect that everything is small and you should NOT do an arm specialization program. Instead you should try to gain (at least) 50 lbs of muscle all over (eat) and double or triple (if not more) all of your current lifts.

At that point I doubt you’ll be complaining about having small arms. But if you are, then maybe think about specializing for weak muscle groups.

Hey sento, long time no see. I’d like to suggest that the OP is probably not interested in BB’ing at all. Sure this thread definately belongs in the beginner forum, but he probably has no desire to gain 50lbs. I’d like to see a pic as well, or at least know is stats, and what HE wants to look like. Does he want to look like bradd pitt, or an athlete, or maybe ronnie coleman. These things make a difference. And some people would rather have 16" arms @ 175lbs than 19" arms at 230. And thats their choice, and it does mean they need to do different things.

So OP, let us know more where you are now, either with some stats or a pic, and let us know what you want to look like.
[/quote]

Perhaps, but the thing is, unless someone has great arm genetics they’re going to have to gain a substantial amount of bodyweight to see a truly noticeable increase in arm size. And seeing as how he claims that his arms are lagging, I highly doubt that he has great arm genetics (and for illustration’s sake I’d say that 1morerep and Mad Titan have good arm genetics). Hence my suggestion.

Doing a program of only arms, or even arm specialization and thinking that this is somehow going to completely transform the way his arms look is foolish and is going to wind up with the OP wasting a lot of time and energy. Better to just tell them how it is from the get go IMO.

18

I wish all the “you don’t need to train arms directly” people would get together on an island together and then we could drop a nuke on said island. Damn that’d be sweet.

And I’m gunna go ahead and agree with Sentoguy’s prediction.

19

[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
dankid wrote:
Sentoguy wrote:
Let’s see a picture of this “lagging” arm development. Until then I suspect that everything is small and you should NOT do an arm specialization program. Instead you should try to gain (at least) 50 lbs of muscle all over (eat) and double or triple (if not more) all of your current lifts.

At that point I doubt you’ll be complaining about having small arms. But if you are, then maybe think about specializing for weak muscle groups.

Hey sento, long time no see. I’d like to suggest that the OP is probably not interested in BB’ing at all. Sure this thread definately belongs in the beginner forum, but he probably has no desire to gain 50lbs. I’d like to see a pic as well, or at least know is stats, and what HE wants to look like. Does he want to look like bradd pitt, or an athlete, or maybe ronnie coleman. These things make a difference. And some people would rather have 16" arms @ 175lbs than 19" arms at 230. And thats their choice, and it does mean they need to do different things.

So OP, let us know more where you are now, either with some stats or a pic, and let us know what you want to look like.

Perhaps, but the thing is, unless someone has great arm genetics they’re going to have to gain a substantial amount of bodyweight to see a truly noticeable increase in arm size. And seeing as how he claims that his arms are lagging, I highly doubt that he has great arm genetics (and for illustration’s sake I’d say that 1morerep and Mad Titan have good arm genetics). Hence my suggestion.

Doing a program of only arms, or even arm specialization and thinking that this is somehow going to completely transform the way his arms look is foolish and is going to wind up with the OP wasting a lot of time and energy. Better to just tell them how it is from the get go IMO.[/quote]

I see where you are coming from. I think it really does make a difference though where he is right now, and what he’s hoping for. If he has lousy genetics and weighs 175 and is expecting 18 inch arms, then you are correct. But if he has 13" arms and is hoping to get to 15" arms, and is willing to put on 10-20 lbs and work a little then that might be a different story.

Either way, it wont hurt to train arms directly, if he does things right. If he’s like most guys that are in his position and just goes and does endless sets of curls with poor form and high reps, then he’ll be spinning his wheels. But if were to increase his strength and move some real weight then that would be a different story. Like if he were to start doing BB curls for high reps with 100-135lbs with good form, then I think his arms would be pretty big for his size. But he probably wont be able to do that if he isn’t deadlifting and buiding up his strength everywhere as well.

Im just saying this, because I used to argue that you dont need to train arms directly. And this is correct; if you dont care about having small arms. But there are two sides to this. There are those that devote everything to arms training, even though they are weak as crap, and then there are those that think arms dont need to be worked at all. I think the best bet is somewhere right in between.

A little funny thing about this i’d like to share. Recently I measured my arms and they were like 13". My friend was over who hasn’t been lifting weights at all, just cycling basically. He was 15lbs less than me and about 3" taller. We both had the same size arms. Not to mention, I can bench, squat, deadlift, pullup, clean, row, etc. etc… way more than him. And I dont think much of it is genetics, because we have similar bone structures and everything. It just goes to show, that if you dont train them, they wont grow. And sure enough, my weakest lifts are isolation arm movements. Im going to try soon to see what my 8rm is for curls, but I imagine it would be about a 30lb DB.

So really I still think the OP should offer more of what he’s hoping for. Because sure; the more weight you are willing to gain all over, the bigger your potential for arm size will be. It might be 18" at 220lbs, 16" at 190lbs, and 14" at 170lbs. But hey, maybe he wants the 14" at 170lbs. Only he can tell us.

20

[quote]dankid wrote:
Sentoguy wrote:
dankid wrote:
Sentoguy wrote:
Let’s see a picture of this “lagging” arm development. Until then I suspect that everything is small and you should NOT do an arm specialization program. Instead you should try to gain (at least) 50 lbs of muscle all over (eat) and double or triple (if not more) all of your current lifts.

At that point I doubt you’ll be complaining about having small arms. But if you are, then maybe think about specializing for weak muscle groups.

Hey sento, long time no see. I’d like to suggest that the OP is probably not interested in BB’ing at all. Sure this thread definately belongs in the beginner forum, but he probably has no desire to gain 50lbs. I’d like to see a pic as well, or at least know is stats, and what HE wants to look like. Does he want to look like bradd pitt, or an athlete, or maybe ronnie coleman. These things make a difference. And some people would rather have 16" arms @ 175lbs than 19" arms at 230. And thats their choice, and it does mean they need to do different things.

So OP, let us know more where you are now, either with some stats or a pic, and let us know what you want to look like.

Perhaps, but the thing is, unless someone has great arm genetics they’re going to have to gain a substantial amount of bodyweight to see a truly noticeable increase in arm size. And seeing as how he claims that his arms are lagging, I highly doubt that he has great arm genetics (and for illustration’s sake I’d say that 1morerep and Mad Titan have good arm genetics). Hence my suggestion.

Doing a program of only arms, or even arm specialization and thinking that this is somehow going to completely transform the way his arms look is foolish and is going to wind up with the OP wasting a lot of time and energy. Better to just tell them how it is from the get go IMO.

I see where you are coming from. I think it really does make a difference though where he is right now, and what he’s hoping for. If he has lousy genetics and weighs 175 and is expecting 18 inch arms, then you are correct. But if he has 13" arms and is hoping to get to 15" arms, and is willing to put on 10-20 lbs and work a little then that might be a different story.
[/quote]

It does matter where he is now, which is why I asked to see a picture. If the guy is like 250 relatively lean at 5’9" and has legitimate “lagging” arms, then I wouldn’t argue against him doing an arm specialization program. But his original post screams of some bean pole teenager who has little to no experience with putting on muscle and just wants some magical arm specialization program to make his arms all swole and shit.

It aint gonna happen and I’m not gonna blow sunshine up his ass and tell him that it is. I’m gonna tell him how it is and how to actually build his arms (and rest of his body). If he wants to stop somewhere along the line between where he is now and Ronnie Coleman that’s his choice.

Yes, train arms directly, but don’t ONLY train arms or do a program which is meant simply to maintain everything else and focus solely on arms, which is what he purposed in his OP and what several others offered to him in the form of arm specialization programs.

[quote]
So really I still think the OP should offer more of what he’s hoping for. Because sure; the more weight you are willing to gain all over, the bigger your potential for arm size will be. It might be 18" at 220lbs, 16" at 190lbs, and 14" at 170lbs. But hey, maybe he wants the 14" at 170lbs. Only he can tell us.[/quote]

But what does that have to do with my advice that he needs to get bigger all over and gain weight in order to get a noticeable increase in arm size? You’re right, maybe he’ll want to stop short of his potential, but the method that’ll get him there is pretty much the same.