Long Arm Lifters

Bigger Stronger Leaner Beginners
1

Does anyone have any suggestions for good chest workouts for those with really long arms? I am 28yrs old. 6’6" 220 with 38 inch arms (long, not around :slight_smile: and never really feel like I am getting a good chest workout. I usually do combinations of flat and incline press, along with secondary exercises like cable cross or butterflies. It just doesn’t feel like I am isolating my chest enough.

Thanks

2

I am 6’4, but I have the wingspan of an average 6’7 guy. I agree. When I bench, my triceps feel as if they are doing the brunt of the work.

We operate at a disadvantage in the weightroom I feel, we travel longer distances to complete repetitions, and as you said I feel back exercise become bicep exercise quicker…and chest exercise become tricep exercises quicker.

3

“Long arms” doesn’t mean longer than the short guys’. It means your arms are longer in proportion to the rest of your body. Plutusplutus has “long arms.” Wingspan longer than height. Measure yours.

I’m also 6’6" with a 6’6" wingspan. So my dimensions are balanced.

With that said…

You won’t place your hands on the bar in the same place that your 5’10" training buddy does. You’ll have to be much wider, and that may be a “medium” grip for YOU. For him, it’s impossible, but for YOU that’s medium.

FWIW, I put my 1st finger outside the rings on an olympic bar, and that puts my elbow joint at about 90 degrees at the bottom of a bench press (medium grip). My narrow grip bench press is much wider than my friends.

Occasionally, i go wider than that (but i can’t go much wider because the supports are only so wide. Try dumbbells.

4

Wider grip as mentioned, benching to your neck rather than chest gets more pectoral activation. CT also suggests doing “rep and a halfs” where you go down to chest, up halfway, back down to chest, then up to lockout for one rep. You could also follow CT’s OVT where you do a set of 5 moderate/heavy pressing followed immediately by a set of very slow, light flyes. Continue this for 5X5.

5

Thanks for the tips everyone. I will definitely give these a shot and see what works best.
Cheers