[quote]lboro21 wrote:
[quote]jy6537 wrote:
[quote]lboro21 wrote:
Hi, I know you mentioned that you want to include direct arm work, but for what its worth, I tried a different approach and have had great results in arm growth the last three or four weeks…
For triceps I don’t do any direct work, instead I have 2 pressing days like you, but I pick variations that really challenge the triceps; I have one push press session and one decline bench from pins session. Both of which really challenge the lockout portion of the press therefore involving the triceps quite a lot. As a result my triceps are so much thicker and wider from the front (lateral head).
For briceps I don’t do any direct work either. My only main workout that involves the elbow flexors is the SGHP done once a week. Instead i just do what CT told me a while back; chin ups done after every session. I only started doing 30 as quick as I could, and every week I added 1 rep to the total…
All in all my arms have grown an inch the last 4weeks, without sacrificing gains in any other muscle group. I don’t think I’ll ever do direct arm work again haha. Good luck to you though whatever approach you decide[/quote]
First off thank you for your response! The reason why I have lagging arms is because I fell into the whole “you only need compound exercises to grow. And to stay away from isolation” I started out like this and I realized that I personally did need direct arm work. I’ve neglected them for so long that they are definitely one of my weakest parts, especially triceps. Now I’m not saying that focusing on compounds won’t make your tris big, but for me personally it did not help. Also, pressing exercises are predominantly lateral head focused and I’m looking at more long head recruitment.
As for bis I will most certainly try the chins after every session. Do you just aim for a certain amount of total reps? After saying this, do you feel my program is balanced? The arm day will most likely be more of a pump session so not too CNS draining, other than the cleans/sghp. What do you think?
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for every 10 people that say you NEED direct work for your arms to grow, there will be 10 people saying you ONLY need compounds for them to grow…
i think both are wrong… you only need TARGETED compound moves for them to Grow! switching from normal benching to benching from pins (3-4inches of the chest) or even using bands WILL force your triceps to take more of the load, and as long as the programming is sound and nutrition is reasonably good they WILL grow. -the main benefit of this is that you get to blast the triceps without changing your workout schedule or adding ‘arm days’ which extend your workout cycle, meaning your chest/back/legs/shoulder all have to wait an extra day to get hit!
as for Biceps, most people (inluding me) struggle to feel the biceps working in chin ups, my advice is to go slightly slower, really squeezing the bicep, aiming to pull the bar to your nose, not your chin.
i basically started doing 30 a day, using sets of 6 with as little rest as possible… the first three sets were never a problem, the last set or two i might have to pause before the last 1-2 reps.
i’m adding a rep each week, still doing them in 5 sets. it’ll take a while, but the aim is to be able to do 50 in 5 sets… i expect another 1.5inches on the old cannons by then!!!
-the best thing is, the lats and upper back get a great workout too! so i can really focus on Bench/PushPress/TBDL/SGHP -which i’m progressing in nicely!
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I understand what you are saying. But me personally I enjoy adding the extra pump day for arms as its something I’m looking to bring up. Like I said, I have stuck to compounds for the better part of my lifting career and since I was not satisfied with my arm growth I’m looking to switch things up. I’m not saying your methods are wrong at all, I’m glad you found something that worked for you. I don’t have access to pins for benching nor do I have bands. Maybe after I graduate in May I’ll be able to try your exercises. Also, I enjoy having an arm day and feel I made my best gains while adding a pump day. Yes, it does delay you from hitting the big muscle groups again but I feel it’s a nice change of pace and since arm growth is my priority right now I don’t mind waiting the extra day. However, if you look at my split above I am still pressing and pulling twice a week so my big muscle groups are still getting hit with a good amount of frequency.
As for feeling the bis with chins, I have no problem with. I feel a good MMC in my bis when doing them along with getting a nice lat stretch at the bottom of the movement.