I have heard many times (including on this site) that you do not need to do any direct arm work to develop huge arms. Here are a few photos of the guys (Drew Baye and Martin Berkhan) who claim that they do not do direct arm or ab work - i.e., no standing barbell curls, for example. And yet they have pretty good arms.
Assuming these guys are not genetic freaks, I do not believe it. Do you? How would something like this work? I mean, why would anyone have huge quads, for example, by doing, say, shrugs? Similarly, why would anyone have huge arms by doing squats, deadlifts and rows?
A lot of it is genetics. Some guys can grow their arms without much âdirect workâ. I think some of it has to do with being arm dominant in pressing pulling movements.
But, and here is the big catch, it is almost impossible to grow your arms too much. So if you want to have the best arms you can, whether or not you can get decent arms without it, you should do direct work.
Guy on the right doesnât have big arms by bb forum standards.
Needs definition of huge.
The real keys are intensity and consistency. Someone who works his ass off on compound exercises for 10 years will probably have bigger arms than the clueless weekend warrior who changes programs every other week âcause thatâs how long they workâ A gymnast who does a million one arm chins and dips on rings a week will also get pretty good arms. Farmers and construction workers etc.
All of this is irrelevant. Those who are best at building big arms have worked their asses off on compound and isolation exercises at least at some stage in their life. Direct arm work will probably get you there faster.
Not training abs is a big mistake IMO, unless you are already badass in that department (can do hanging leg raises with ease, dragon flags, ab roll outs all day long, etc). If your abs are a weak link, itâs going to hold you back on some of your other lifts. (I know this from personal experience). Some guys say that chins or front squats provide their abs with enough work - thatâs maybe fine for them - they may already be stronger than hell when doing ab movements. If youâre not already strong in that area, IMO itâs foolish to think that you can get there using only indirect work.
[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:
Uh, I donât know about you guys, but those arms look pretty decent. I got decent arms without much direct work.
But the better point is, who wants decent arms? Iâd rather have great arms.[/quote]
Iâm just an over-aged weightlifter who canât/wonât ever gain any size because I read that Iâm too old, but Iâd wager that the quickest/best path from âdecentâ to âgreatâ is direct arm work.
[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:
Uh, I donât know about you guys, but those arms look pretty decent. I got decent arms without much direct work.
But the better point is, who wants decent arms? Iâd rather have great arms.[/quote]
?
They are very lean. I am sure we can all see that, but they are not by any means âBIG armsâ by bodybuilding standards. They are âwell developedâ, but it is no surprise they donât do much direct arm workâŠbecause they arenât that big.
I would be very surprised if there was one arm much over 15" in that whole group.
I use âhuge armsâ loosely. Elite and or professional bodybuilders have huge arms, but for a regular guy âhuge armsâ would be the picture on the left. In other words, you can tell that this guy lifts weights by looking at his arms and his overall upper body development. Here are a few more pics of Martin Berkhan.
Here is a quote from him:
[quote] When it comes to training, Iâm a minimalist.
I donât âattack the biâs from different anglesâ. I do chins with an extra 100 lbs around my waist.
I donât spend any time âworking the coreâ. I never do ab work. I squat and do triple body weight deadlifts.
I donât âfeel the burnâ. I give every set a 100% and only concern myself with adding an extra rep, or another 5 lbs, on the bar.
And most importantly, I donât go to the gym to have a nice and cozy time.
Sometimes people ask me things in between sets.
âNice arms, man. How do you get that veiny look - do you go for the pump to really bring those cuts out? And whatâs the lowdown on preacher curls with a straight bar vs the EZ-bar?â
âI donât curlâ
âYeah right, câmonâŠâ
I then give them The Look. The Look letâs them know I am dead serious and that the conversation is over.[/quote]
[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:
Uh, I donât know about you guys, but those arms look pretty decent. I got decent arms without much direct work.
But the better point is, who wants decent arms? Iâd rather have great arms.[/quote]
?
They are very lean. I am sure we can all see that, but they are not by any means âBIG armsâ by bodybuilding standards. They are âwell developedâ, but it is no surprise they donât do much direct arm workâŠbecause they arenât that big.
I would be very surprised if there was one arm much over 15" in that whole group.[/quote]
Iâm not saying they are huge. 15-16 inches and that lean doesnât look bad, thinking of someone like 1morerep.
I agree with how you are describing them. My point is like yours, they may be fine without direct work, but if you are a BBer, you should want much more than fine.
[quote]yustas wrote:
I use âhuge armsâ loosely. Elite and or professional bodybuilders have huge arms, but for a regular guy âhuge armsâ would be the picture on the left. In other words, you can tell that this guy lifts weights by looking at his arms and his overall upper body development. Here are a few more pics of Martin Berkhan.
[/quote]
QuestionâŠwhy are we discussing âregular guysâ on a bodybuilding forum?
I knew from the first pic he wasnât that big. I am positive those arms arenât over 15" now so thanks for the other pics.
Yeah, if you want âokâ arms on a smaller but really lean frame, have at it and donât train arms directly.
Just donât call that âbodybuildingâ and we will all be ok.
[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:
Uh, I donât know about you guys, but those arms look pretty decent. I got decent arms without much direct work.
But the better point is, who wants decent arms? Iâd rather have great arms.[/quote]
?
They are very lean. I am sure we can all see that, but they are not by any means âBIG armsâ by bodybuilding standards. They are âwell developedâ, but it is no surprise they donât do much direct arm workâŠbecause they arenât that big.
I would be very surprised if there was one arm much over 15" in that whole group.[/quote]
Iâm not saying they are huge. 15-16 inches and that lean doesnât look bad, thinking of someone like 1morerep.
I agree with how you are describing them. My point is like yours, they may be fine without direct work, but if you are a BBer, you should want much more than fine.[/quote]
Bad comparison comparing this to someone like onemorerep. He is like 5â5". 16" arms on someone that short ARE big.
For a person of more normal height, that is small.
[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:
Uh, I donât know about you guys, but those arms look pretty decent. I got decent arms without much direct work.
But the better point is, who wants decent arms? Iâd rather have great arms.[/quote]
?
They are very lean. I am sure we can all see that, but they are not by any means âBIG armsâ by bodybuilding standards. They are âwell developedâ, but it is no surprise they donât do much direct arm workâŠbecause they arenât that big.
I would be very surprised if there was one arm much over 15" in that whole group.[/quote]
Iâm not saying they are huge. 15-16 inches and that lean doesnât look bad, thinking of someone like 1morerep.
I agree with how you are describing them. My point is like yours, they may be fine without direct work, but if you are a BBer, you should want much more than fine.[/quote]
Bad comparison comparing this to someone like onemorerep. He is like 5â5". 16" arms on someone that short ARE big.
For a person of more normal height, that is small.[/quote]
I thought this guy looked pretty small framed too. I guess I could be wrong.
[quote]yustas wrote:
I use âhuge armsâ loosely. Elite and or professional bodybuilders have huge arms, but for a regular guy âhuge armsâ would be the picture on the left. In other words, you can tell that this guy lifts weights by looking at his arms and his overall upper body development. Here are a few more pics of Martin Berkhan.
[/quote]QuestionâŠwhy are we discussing âregular guysâ on a bodybuilding forum?[/quote]
Well, regular guys can be bodybuilders. I am a regular guy and I am working on gaining muscle mass, so I am bodybuilding, my body, that is, but I am not a professional bodybuilder.
[quote]yustas wrote:
I use âhuge armsâ loosely. Elite and or professional bodybuilders have huge arms, but for a regular guy âhuge armsâ would be the picture on the left. In other words, you can tell that this guy lifts weights by looking at his arms and his overall upper body development. Here are a few more pics of Martin Berkhan.
[/quote]QuestionâŠwhy are we discussing âregular guysâ on a bodybuilding forum?[/quote]
Well, regular guys can be bodybuilders. I am a regular guy and I am working on gaining muscle mass, so I am bodybuilding, my body, that is, but I am not a professional bodybuilder.
[/quote]
OkâŠso why would a BODYBUILDER looking to BUILD THEIR BODY as optimally as possible AVOID training an entire muscle group directly?
Looking like these guys is more about NOT eating than building a lot of quality muscle. They are small and very lean. The ONLY reason they look big to you at all is because of their level of leanness. If you saw these same guys in clothes, you wouldnât notice them standing out much at all.
Hereâs what you doâŠgo ahead and completely avoid training arms directly. Then, in 5 years after you finally realize they are lagging, then you can play catch up for the next decade.
