In regards to bodybuilding, numbers don’t necessarily mean that much. It’s more how you use the weight. I’m not saying they don’t mean anything, but they’re not a direct indicator of much.
Shit I definitely am out of proportion – I have 15.5’’ unflexed at 190 
I gotta start hittin those arms harder!
[quote]acelement wrote:
Shit I definitely am out of proportion – I have 15.5’’ unflexed at 190 I gotta start hittin those arms harder![/quote]
ALL biceps measurements in bodybuilding are taken FLEXED.
I think we’ve only been over that a few million times though so I could see how you missed it.
OP,
Why is it so hard to believe there are alot of strong people here? Much stronger than you?
I think part of the problem is that people put so much stock in a 3 bench, 4 squat, 5 deadlift. Maybe that’s why it takes people most of their life to hit those numbers.
One of the things I miss most about powerlifting, was working out with dudes that were much stronger than me, maybe two to three times stronger.
In that ennvironment, the holy trinity 3,4,5 was a joke and then I got it rather quickly. I put like 150 lbs on my deadlift in a year or two.
I will say this, be careful of the bullshit you let enter your mind:
There are a couple books by Stuart McRobert, and Brooks Kubik that I read when I was much younger that preach that whole hardgainer crap and not to do direct arm work, and that a 16 inch arm is very good, 17 is “Astonishing” and and a 340 lb bench is “astonishing.”
Thinking that small minded won’t get you very far.
Dang, I hope I can get 3,4,5 in the next few years. I work out very hard and consistantly. I hope ill have a crazy raw dead one day too, 600 or 700 would be great. How many years approximately would it take a determined lifter to hit 3,4,5 anyways? I mean for average folks.
[quote]chitown34 wrote:
What, people on this site inflate their numbers? And I thought everyone else really squatted 70 lbs more than they deadlift…[/quote]
I really do, well, not 70lbs more but near enough. Raw. I have some injuries.
OP, if you’ve only just started DL you don’t know what your DL max is. You don’t have a groove and your back is probably weak. Write back in a couple of months with a shit-eating grin and a 300lb DL, then in 6 months with a 350? 400?
[quote]greekdawg wrote:
OP,
Why is it so hard to believe there are alot of strong people here? Much stronger than you?
I think part of the problem is that people put so much stock in a 3 bench, 4 squat, 5 deadlift. Maybe that’s why it takes people most of their life to hit those numbers.
One of the things I miss most about powerlifting, was working out with dudes that were much stronger than me, maybe two to three times stronger.
In that ennvironment, the holy trinity 3,4,5 was a joke and then I got it rather quickly. I put like 150 lbs on my deadlift in a year or two.
I will say this, be careful of the bullshit you let enter your mind:
There are a couple books by Stuart McRobert, and Brooks Kubik that I read when I was much younger that preach that whole hardgainer crap and not to do direct arm work, and that a 16 inch arm is very good, 17 is “Astonishing” and and a 340 lb bench is “astonishing.”
Thinking that small minded won’t get you very far.[/quote]
Good post. Mental barriers are your greatest enemy. Working out with those really big/strong guys that some here are dumb enough to think are clueless and stupid is how you get big as well. Falling in with those who think everyone is a hardgainer is how you remain small and weak.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
greekdawg wrote:
OP,
Why is it so hard to believe there are alot of strong people here? Much stronger than you?
I think part of the problem is that people put so much stock in a 3 bench, 4 squat, 5 deadlift. Maybe that’s why it takes people most of their life to hit those numbers.
One of the things I miss most about powerlifting, was working out with dudes that were much stronger than me, maybe two to three times stronger.
In that ennvironment, the holy trinity 3,4,5 was a joke and then I got it rather quickly. I put like 150 lbs on my deadlift in a year or two.
I will say this, be careful of the bullshit you let enter your mind:
There are a couple books by Stuart McRobert, and Brooks Kubik that I read when I was much younger that preach that whole hardgainer crap and not to do direct arm work, and that a 16 inch arm is very good, 17 is “Astonishing” and and a 340 lb bench is “astonishing.”
Thinking that small minded won’t get you very far.
Good post. Mental barriers are your greatest enemy. Working out with those really big/strong guys that some here are dumb enough to think are clueless and stupid is how you get big as well. Falling in with those who think everyone is a hardgainer is how you remain small and weak.[/quote]
I third that, working out with someone bigger and stronger then me has always helped me use those “big weights” much quicker. I still love the workouts by myself, but even on the occasions when some stronger dude asks me if I want a workout partner, it just feels great.
[quote]elano wrote:
Dang, I hope I can get 3,4,5 in the next few years. I work out very hard and consistantly. I hope ill have a crazy raw dead one day too, 600 or 700 would be great. How many years approximately would it take a determined lifter to hit 3,4,5 anyways? I mean for average folks.[/quote]
That was the point of my post, if you go train with some strong fuckers who are twice as strong as you, you won’t see it as that hard to get anymore. Go see that it can be done, and what they are doing.
You must make your goals seem ordinary if that makes sense.
I either train alone, or people who are much stronger than me or want to be much stronger. It’s hard for me to go half assed or workout with someone who does.
And to answer your last question, nobody can answer how long it will take but you.
Prof, any advice for biceps training? Should I just go all out from now on and train them high volume every workout?
What program have you been doing CyruSeven? You might want to check out Madcow’s 5x5 intermediate version. I’ve been lifting as long as you (2 yrs) and was able to make very good gains on Bill Starr and Glenn Pendlay’s programs for the big 3. I started at 140lbs freshman college. Currently making great gains with the advanced version, (Glenn Pendlay’s version)
Get to it and try to improve your deadlift to 2x BW.
I would also expect someone who weighs over 180 and lifting for sometime to have 16" arms.
[quote]greekdawg wrote:
And to answer your last question, nobody can answer how long it will take but you.[/quote]
Yeah, I kind of figured it was one of those questions. How long did it take you personally to hit 3,4,5 after you started training on squats and deads?
Is this the wiener measuring contest? Mine is only the average 6 inches unflexed but that is around!
all right, let me clarify…yup, i’m not a powerlifter, i’m driven by the aesthetics of bodybuilding but want to be strong as hell too.
my numbers are low, as i said i just began the deadlift, doing 5*5 @ 225-250 range, i’ll keep going up once i get the groove/muscle memory for it, i pull sumo style because of my long legs.
arms tonight after shoulder arm workout 16.75in. it’s funny Prof X mentioned my arms as a weak point because my arms are one of my best features. Back and legs are where i lack, particularly legs.
Also, i’m not a heavy boned guy, my wrist circumference is 7 inches.
i’m not going to trip out at others progressions, i’ll build my house brick by brick, i’ll post pics in five years.
Also the avatar is from the end of year one lifting at about 170lbs; right now, as i said, i’m at 190 fluxing 3-4lbs both ways.
[quote]elano wrote:
greekdawg wrote:
And to answer your last question, nobody can answer how long it will take but you.
Yeah, I kind of figured it was one of those questions. How long did it take you personally to hit 3,4,5 after you started training on squats and deads?[/quote]
The first time I started “powerlifting” per se, I could barely do 365 deadlift. A year and a half, maybe 2 yrs later I could do 540 raw with only a belt.
Bench, my best bench is only like 305, and that took a little longer.
But really, this is not relevant because “it takes as long as it takes” once you start training consistently there is no way really to accurately predict how long it will take.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
AngryVader wrote:
crod266 wrote:
Professor X wrote:
josh86 wrote:
I don’t know about people lying about their numbers or not, and I don’t care either…but seriously to be completely honest for 190lbs you are weak. I’m not trying to be an ass, but you asked. I know many people in real life who don’t even look like they lift at all and are stronger than you have listed in here. And I have seen them lift with my own eyes.
His arms are very small as well for someone of that weight and height. Mine were 15" when I weighed 150lbs.
Just because someone posts better stats than you, it doesn’t mean they were lying. It could just mean you have a lot of work to do.
thats still preety big arms for only 150, what do you say to the guy whos 25 pounds heavier than that at the same hieght with 15 inch arms hah
I’d say they need to do more arm work.
For real.
It doesn’t look like that “don’t train arms directly” fad produced too many victories. [/quote]
I though you would say that, well what if i said that person not only did direct arm work but progressed in such things like curls and nada
[quote]crod266 wrote:
Professor X wrote:
AngryVader wrote:
crod266 wrote:
Professor X wrote:
josh86 wrote:
I don’t know about people lying about their numbers or not, and I don’t care either…but seriously to be completely honest for 190lbs you are weak. I’m not trying to be an ass, but you asked. I know many people in real life who don’t even look like they lift at all and are stronger than you have listed in here. And I have seen them lift with my own eyes.
His arms are very small as well for someone of that weight and height. Mine were 15" when I weighed 150lbs.
Just because someone posts better stats than you, it doesn’t mean they were lying. It could just mean you have a lot of work to do.
thats still preety big arms for only 150, what do you say to the guy whos 25 pounds heavier than that at the same hieght with 15 inch arms hah
I’d say they need to do more arm work.
For real.
It doesn’t look like that “don’t train arms directly” fad produced too many victories.
I though you would say that, well what if i said that person not only did direct arm work but progressed in such things like curls and nada[/quote]
If you have 15 inch arms you’re still a beginner and will probably have (relatively) lagging parts. If you progress in your direct arm work while gaining mass it’s probably something that will just fix itself as you train for longer.
I’m part of the small arms for my size crowd barely getting past 16s at a not-fat 6ft 210, but I’m progressing and they are growing so I’m not too concerned about it.
I think a person should only be worried about small arms if they have been training for awhile, progressing in their arm work and nothing is really improving.
Patience is important. This game takes time.
Hah…my arms were 12" when I started.
This is relative to the person and height of the person. A person at 5’6" or shorter will look pretty damn good with 15 or 16 inch arms…
Frank Zane… anyone?
He was no beginner and had 16" arms.
or does going from 15" to 16" arms make you a non-beginner? 
My arms were 9" when I started.
[quote]krazykoukides wrote:
My arms were 9" when I started. [/quote]
How old?
When people are saying “I gained X amount of muscle or X inches on my arms” you guys aren’t saying from when you were 13 years old and would have put on 20+lbs just existing and growing into being a teenager… are you?