More food.
I probably will get bashed, but I’m going to come right out and say it. The whole idea of squats making your arms bigger by some magical anabolic effect on your whole body is a load of crock. It has been my experience that anytime you tax the large muscles of your body, you’re taking away metabolic resources to build the other parts of your body. You want bigger arms? Make them your priority and work the other muscles less. Squats and deads are great if you want functional strength–it gives you a powerful look. But if you are a bodybuilder who only care about aesthetics, I suggest you do less squats and deads. That will allow your body to devote more resources to building the areas you are weak in. All you guys who believe in the squat myth have never tried it another way. Cut the squat out and see how much more energy you have to devote to lagging body parts.
At the risk of getting “disbarred” from the forum. My focus being solely the routine. I have to agree with the minority here and say that if you want big arms then train them. There is a guy right now at the gym who can not squat to save his life. His only focus is upper body and it is definitely payed off. ALbeit he looks like an idiot in shorts because he has chicken legs. I followed the Stuart Robert mentality that to get big, focus on the big lifts such as deads and squats. These by themselves IMO do not pack on the mass on your upperbody. I dead 275 for 20 reps and 245 for 20 in squats. Haven’t done low rep work in years. My physique has the “look of power” however my arms are what is lacking. I’ve realized that it’s not deads & squats by themselves BUT the addition of the other big lifts which HAVE to put mass on you. Weighted dips, weighted chins, military press…When you can push big weights in exercises such as these then the upperbody will come. This would be if you want a complete physique. If you merely want to have arms then just train them. As a side note, no offense, but the weights your using seem a bit on the light side for 2 years of training. As long as you’ve been pushing more & more weight then I apologize for discrediting your efforts in the gym. Finally, my recommendation would be to stick to the basics, lift big, eat big & clean and when not in the gym enjoy life and quit comparing yourself to others. You’ll drive yourself mad…Frank
I have a hell of a time putting on size on my legs as well. Some things to remember for us lower body hard gainers is that legs can take years to grow and catch up to the rest of your body. Make sure you prioritize the muscles you want to grow. If you want your legs to grow your going to have to work legs and almost nothing else - for a while. Split your posterior and anterior leg work up. Blast your hamys and calves and then blast your quads and calves. Always try and use more weight than the last workout - even if you cant get the reps - get a spot or take a small rest between reps. Arnold used to say “pick a weight you can do 6 reps with, and then do 12” Train legs for a couple months and then hit your upper body and it will fucking explode.
No flame here, but more a question and some observations:
Is it just me, or has the point been totally missed here? I fail to believe that anyone has ever suggested that doing squats or deads will build you arms. OF COURSE a lagging body part should, at some point, be prioritized in your training. There is no question about that. However, the major point is this:
big, “basic” lifts, done with intensity, 1) increase the overall anabolic environment of the body as a whole (via the stimulation of the largest muscle groups) and 2) increase the overall metabolism of the body as those larger muscle groups grow.
The net result is that the growth of smaller muscle groups is enhanced, however we choose to train them, by being in the enhanced metabolic environment of the body as a whole.
I think that for those whose “biceps grew when they stopped doing squats” probably needed to beef up their nutrition, rest and recovery for continued growth, NOT stop doing the big lifts.
As a final point, the “big biceps/big chest/bird leg” syndrome has been around as long as gyms have been around. Power to you if that’s what you want. We all are different…
Peace
bump
i agree with mufasa. As far as mass goes, the standard deadlift is the best excercise ever just from the sheer amount of muscles that get worked. laters pk
The idea of overall growth from these big movements is as Mufasa alluded to: using more muscle mass in a movement creates an overall anabolic environment due to the release of more growth hormone. Isolation movements don’t do this (not that I’m saying you’re doing isolation movements).