Need Help with Arm Growth

Thats true, you cant emphasise it much, that’s not the same as saying you can’t grow them.

Its saying that you can’t grow them much without also growing the rest of your body.

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I’ve heard from a few different places that it takes 15lbs of mass for every inch on the arms.

So sad to hear

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Sounds about right

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I’m confused. What is this supposed to be ‘credentials’ for?

For believing in some training thing Rich Piana promoted called ‘feeder’ sets

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I’m not sure why anyone would take ANY advice from Rich Piana, other than ‘how to inject oil into your arms, and also die really really young.’

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Also: I realized I probably need a picture on here again since I was gone so long, new members don’t know who I am, haha.

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Did you miss the credentials?

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I must have…

For some reason the new picture made me think “jacked and sassy”. I like it.

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jazzy

Jesus Christ that’s a lot of volume; to much in my opinion. You’re obviously not training intensely enough if you can do like 50 sets of dedicated arm work. I understand that some people grow better with high volume training, but you have to have some intensity in there somewhere.

I literally do 2 actual working sets for each biceps and triceps (4 sets total on arm day), but they’re so intense that you wouldn’t want to do anymore.

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OP… by chance are you trying to emulate some of the ridiculous high volume arm routines that seem to be a trend as of late on Instagram?

totally agree with this. I’ve never done a ton of dedicated arm work, and my arms have never ‘lagged’. I’ve followed the general premises of 5/3/1 for years, which basically entail putting most of your time and effort into the ‘big’ compound movements to start your workout, and then the accessory work is less structured, it’s more about just getting it done efficiently. On my pressing days, I’ll pick 1 bicep exercise (usually either cable curls or dumbbell curls) and 1 tricep exercise, and either superset them for 3ish sets, or just do them back to back. That’s it.

Super high volume training, specifically for arms, is almost always going to be a terrible choice for a beginner.

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Agree with @flipcollar and @Veteq here. 95% of your direct arm work should be a few quality sets of a couple of exercises. Every now and again running some arm specialisation is fun and can break up the bordem but its not a sustainable or productive way to do it.

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Mine never did through prioritising compound lifts. Even with direct isolation I’ve struggled to get my arms to grow.

Not sure I agree with this. Prior to my recent surgery I had switched from bodybuilding to focusing on the big three. I got my DL near 500, bench was around 250 and I have no idea what my squat 1rm was (weight/height is similar to OP, but I’m much leaner). Anecdotally, I was bigger/more aesthetic when I couldn’t even squat 225lbs. Specialising in certain muscle groups to create a “v-shaped frame” served me better than training for strength ever did.

I did focus on getting stronger/progressive overload, but the progression was primarily directed at movements I felt gave me superior results in terms of aesthetics. Weighted pull-ups, dips, DB chest press, lateral raises with momentum, upright rows, t bar rows, leg press, leg curls and lat pulldowns made up the brunt of my work.

I worked arms 3-4x/wk (as @mnben87 said). This was the only time I ever believe I looked halfway decent. I managed to get my arms to a measly fifteen inches in circumference. I’m quite short and my wrists are only around 6-6.5 inches in circumference for reference.

Lagging/overtly developed body parts tend to be genetic, as does the “shape” or "fullness’ of a muscle belly. You can’t significantly change many of these parameters, though you can work with what you have. The tips I have are, the leaner you are the bigger you’ll look without a shirt EVEN if measurements shrink. Girls also tend to like the leaner look.

Above all else is consistency, building a good physique takes a long ass time and for some it takes far longer than others #genetics. Keep at it however and you’ll look better than 99% of the general population down the line. Most don’t have the energy/dedication to keep at it day in, day out for years. You don’t even have to go particularly nuts to end up looking better than the average Joe. Go to gym 3x/wk for five years whilst eating a nutritious diet… The key is consistency.

The “you NEED to deadlift/squat” dogma doesn’t reasonate with me. They’re fantastic exercises, and they’ll pack on mass like no tomorrow… But is the mass going to the right places? Through deadlifting I developed a thick lower back, well developed hamstrings and glutes… In terms of classical bodybuilding aesthetics (think 80s action movie star) this doesn’t do much for me.

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I am still doing this. I think since especially the biceps recover quickly, that high frequency works really pretty well. I can recover from 4-6 sets 3X a week no problem. Why wait a week to hit them again when they are good to go in two days.

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I think same to, or just give them a bit in the end of training, light weights, one exercices like curl or skull crusher’s and in the arms day “heavy” sets/ reps.

@unreal24278 " The key is consistency "