Why Do We Work Arms Separately?

Training
61

It’s interesting to note that in EMG studies, heavy weighted chins and pull-ups rate HIGHER in mean and peak fiber activation. More so than heavy barbell or dumbbell curls.

So I think if you are doing the right type of back training, your biceps can receive full stimulation. Hammer than heavy with the use of weighted chins/pull-up, then finish them off with some lighter isolation movements.Triceps definitely need more direct isolation training though.

And having a “Arms” day also addresses a higher frequency-based training. With this 5 day split, you will be working your triceps and biceps twice. Once on chest day and once on back day. And a little bit on shoulders day too for triceps for that matter (esp. if you are doing heavy overhead pressing).

But for optimal/maximum growth, I would agree they need their own day.

62

Professor X: Most professional strongmen will make even the biggest guy on this forum look like a hungry pygmy if standing next to them… funny how full body training seems to be working just fine for them and they’re HUGE! Who would have thought that heavy lifting and pulling would be optimal training for getting big!

63

[quote]Ricochet wrote:
Professor X: Most professional strongmen will make even the biggest guy on this forum look like a hungry pygmy if standing next to them… funny how full body training seems to be working just fine for them and they’re HUGE! Who would have thought that heavy lifting and pulling would be optimal training for getting big![/quote]

Professional Strongmen engage in full body training?

64

[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:

[quote]Ricochet wrote:
Professor X: Most professional strongmen will make even the biggest guy on this forum look like a hungry pygmy if standing next to them… funny how full body training seems to be working just fine for them and they’re HUGE! Who would have thought that heavy lifting and pulling would be optimal training for getting big![/quote]

Professional Strongmen engage in full body training?[/quote]

Yeah man those loaded carries are definitely isolation movements! Can’t imagine one’s arms growing let alone any body part for that matter!!! LOL.

The only isolation movement a strongman ever does is bending over to tie his shoes.

65

[quote]Ricochet wrote:

Yeah man those loaded carries are definitely isolation movements! Can’t imagine one’s arms growing let alone any body part for that matter!!! LOL.[/quote]

Are you talking about events day/training or as an approach in general? My understanding is that there are a variety of approaches, but typically you’ll see gym days that are based more around building a movement (like the squat, dead, overhead, etc) with either an event thrown in that one day or an events day done sometime in the week. I would say splits are used more than full body.

But when you bring up isolation movements, I now wonder if the conversation is more “compound vs isolation” rather than “full body vs splits”

EDIT: As for the second comment, I know curls are pretty popular in strongman training to help prevent bicep tears.

66

On those notes, here is some great strongman training from one of the greatest performers (and physiques) in the sport

67

My point was that when you lift heavy it is a full body movement no matter if it is a bicep curl or practicing a single movement in/for a particular event. Lifting Heavy = Makes you Huge! Strongmen are some of the biggest guys out there and they didn’t get there necessarily via bodybuilding body part splits which many think is the only way to get big and strong.

68

[quote]Ricochet wrote:
Guess my point is that when you life heavy it is a full body movement no matter if it is a bicep curl or practicing a movement in/for a particular event. Lifting Heavy = Makes you Huge! Strongmen are some of the biggest guys out there and they didn’t get there via bodybuilding and doing body part splits which many think is the only way to get big and strong.[/quote]

It seems as though you are redefining what full body means. I definitely agree that strongman train heavy, but I know of many that use bodypart splits.

It might be called “press day” or “deadlift day”, but it’s still splitting bodyparts.

69

Never heard or seen a strongman say “I am gonna train my arms today or… today I am going to do my chest… boy my rear delts are looking small I need to work those today”… They don’t think or train like this. An individual can get big and strong and huge outside of a traditional bodybuilding routine, simply put. Most will see strongman as being more full-body training than splitting body parts… which is due to the number of compound movements they need to perform for the many events they compete in. Powerlifters are another example of big guys training a few compound movements with some accessory work they also approach their training as full-body and not isolation work. Either you see my point or not.

I enjoyed the Mariusz video he is a real beast.

70

[quote]Ricochet wrote:
Never heard or seen a strongman say “I am gonna train my arms today or… today I am going to do my chest… boy my rear delts are looking small I need to work those today”… They don’t think or train like this. An individual can get big and strong and huge outside of a traditional bodybuilding routine, simply put. Most will see strongman as being more full-body training than splitting body parts… which is due to the number of compound movements they need to perform for the many events they compete in. Powerlifters are another example of big guys training a few compound movements with some accessory work they also approach their training as full-body and not isolation work. Either you see my point or not.

I enjoyed the Mariusz video he is a real beast.[/quote]

As a powerlifter and strongman competitor, I will have to respectfully disagree with your thoughts.

71

So you consider yourself a bodybuilder in the classic sense? You train by body parts only and not be lifts and compound movements? Or are you just arguing for argument sake? If so we can go around all day with this. My initial point was there are different approaches to getting big and isolation/body part splits is not necessarily the best or only way to get huge.

Strongmen and powerlifters are not considered bodybuilders (in the classic sense) nor do they focus on body-part splits and isolation exercises. They are all about the lifts and using their entire body to dominate that particular lift they are training.

72

[quote]Ricochet wrote:
So you consider yourself a bodybuilder in the classic sense? You train by body parts only and not be lifts and compound movements? Or are you just arguing for argument sake? If so we can go around all day with this. My initial point was there are different approaches to getting big and isolation/body part splits is not necessarily the best or only way to get huge. Strongmen and powerlifters are not considered bodybuilders (in the classic sense) nor do they focus on body-part splits and isolation exercises. They are all about the lifts and using their entire body to dominate that particular lift they are training.[/quote]

I don’t train full body. I split my training by movements or muscle groups and when I emply isolations movements (which I so every session), I focus on the muscle.

Again, I feel like you are confusing “compound” with “full body”. They are very different things. I used to train full body, but was not getting the results I needed. When I split and focused on muscles for my assistance work, things took off.

73

Yeah, maybe we are on totally different trains of thought…

I still don’t think you are training like a bodybuilder though. You are using your entire body to dominate a lift or event and when you train you’re still in that mindset… if not how in the hell can you compete well?

My response was initially at the “full-body” doesn’t make you big but isolation work does comment. I really believe there is a difference between bodybuilding, powerlifting, weightlifting, and strongman training. And that any of them can get you big and strong thru full body, compound, and/or isolation work… and all equally as well.

Any ways, I respect you and your dedication to training and I sincerely hope you crush your next comp! Lift big mate! Cheers and respects.

74

[quote]Ricochet wrote:
Yeah, maybe we are on totally different trains of thought…

I still don’t think you are training like a bodybuilder though. You are using your entire body to dominate a lift or event and when you train you’re still in that mindset… if not how in the hell can you compete well?

My response was initially at the “full-body” doesn’t make you big but isolation work does comment. I really believe there is a difference between bodybuilding, powerlifting, weightlifting, and strongman training. And that any of them can get you big and strong thru full body, compound, and/or isolation work… and all equally as well.

Any ways, I respect you and your dedication to training and I sincerely hope you crush your next comp! Lift big mate! Cheers and respects.[/quote]

I definitely use my full body with competition lifts, but when it comes to training other lifts, I try my hardest to train like a bodybuilder. It’s actually become a pretty popular sentiment in powerlifting these days, with Brandon Lilly’s Cube method speaking to it. Dave Tate also brought it up as well in his Iron Evolution piece, speaking to the value of bodybuilding training when it comes to assistance work.

It’s honestly one of the major pitfalls I see when it comes to new powerlifting trainees. They try to powerlift their assistance lifts, and in doing so don’t actually train the intended muscles. For example, if you have weak lats that are holding you back in the bench, rows are a great idea. However, if you try to apply your entire body to the row, your leg drive can detract from your lat activation, which defeats the purpose of training the movement.

In the same sense, I used to feel like everything I did had to be full range of motion, just like powerlifting, or else I was “cheating”. However, training like this made my assistance work useless. Once I started training like a bodybuilder and using the range of motion that targeted the exact muscle I wanted to bring up, my training really took off.

I think there is a lot to learn from all the iron disciplines, and rather than force them into a dichotomy, I think we can instead try to blend them.

75

Well said. I stand corrected. And I whole heartedly agree with your last sentence as it says best what my point was… as unclear as it was! However, I can’t promise I won’t go nuts again when I read that isolation exercise or body split training trumps full body or compound movement training for size. Respects.