arms not growing or getting stronger

iv been training now for around 5 years but only been serious for about 18 month , my full body has grew and got stronger in this time but my arms never seem to change , it might be because of my body fat % being too high but i was wondering if anyone had any advice , i have got the horseshoe shape tricep and alot of strength in my triceps but my biceps are ridiculously weak , i struggle to do 15kg EZ preacher curls with ful ROM ! , my bicep workout varies but is this is my usual regime:
3 sets of cable curls 8-12 reps untill failure
3 sets of DB hammer curls 8-12 reps until failure
4 sets of barbell curls 8-12 reps until failure
3 sets of DB curls on incline bench 8-12 reps until failure
4 sets of preacher curls 8-12 reps until failure
i always feel the pump through my workout and my arms ache for hours afterwards , i make sure i get enough protein and plenty of rest to allow the muscles to grow but they just stay completely the same , any advice would be great

[QUOTE=bacon90;916681493]iv been training now for around 5 years but only been serious for about 18 month , my full body has grew and got stronger in this time but my arms never seem to change , it might be because of my body fat % being too high but i was wondering if anyone had any advice , i have got the horseshoe shape tricep and alot of strength in my triceps but my biceps are ridiculously weak , i struggle to do 15kg EZ preacher curls with ful ROM ! , my bicep workout varies but is this is my usual regime:
3 sets of cable curls 8-12 reps untill failure
3 sets of DB hammer curls 8-12 reps until failure
4 sets of barbell curls 8-12 reps until failure
3 sets of DB curls on incline bench 8-12 reps until failure
4 sets of preacher curls 8-12 reps until failure
i always feel the pump through my workout and my arms ache for hours afterwards , i make sure i get enough protein and plenty of rest to allow the muscles to grow but they just stay completely the same , any advice would be great[/QUOTE]

it is probably your form, but 15kg seems sort of light for a dude your size. at the same time, leave the ego outside the gym, and if thats what you can do, bust your ass with the 15kg. just make sure your back and shoulders dont move. try starting on the incline bench, then the preachers, so you get your stabilized movements first. even try the DB hammers on the incline bench. remember, hammer curls work the bicep and bracchialis (spelled wrong i think), so for you bicep peak and height, hammers wont help as much. the incline bench is good though because it allows full range of motion. make sure you are going all the way down and contracting the bicep extremely slowly. there are videos online of kai greene (placed 3rd at the Mr. Olympia) struggling with a 30 pound incline bicep curl. its meant to be a slow, controlled movement, so dont worry about the weight as much as the contraction and full ROM.

how many times are you doing this a week? do you do biceps after back and another day, or just this. no growth in 4 years probably means overtraining, but i have a feeling there has been growth, just not as much as your tricep. the tricep is about 60% of the arm while the bicep is a bit under 40%, so its normal for the tricep to be bigger, and its also normal for the tricep to show more in people with higher bodyfat. you usually gotta get lean to have a nice bicep peak.

[QUOTE=bacon90;916681493]iv been training now for around 5 years but only been serious for about 18 month , my full body has grew and got stronger in this time but my arms never seem to change , it might be because of my body fat % being too high but i was wondering if anyone had any advice , i have got the horseshoe shape tricep and alot of strength in my triceps but my biceps are ridiculously weak , i struggle to do 15kg EZ preacher curls with ful ROM ! , my bicep workout varies but is this is my usual regime:
3 sets of cable curls 8-12 reps untill failure
3 sets of DB hammer curls 8-12 reps until failure
4 sets of barbell curls 8-12 reps until failure
3 sets of DB curls on incline bench 8-12 reps until failure
4 sets of preacher curls 8-12 reps until failure
i always feel the pump through my workout and my arms ache for hours afterwards , i make sure i get enough protein and plenty of rest to allow the muscles to grow but they just stay completely the same , any advice would be great[/QUOTE]

It's not necessary to go to failure every set. Infact, I'd recommend you stop one or two reps short of failure. It's an easy way to burn out (that is, if you're actually going to complete muscular failure). Do fewer exercises for biceps; no real need to have so much volume when most back exercises involve the biceps anyways.

Also another thing...arms take awhile to grow anyways. So when you make the change to lower volume, be patient and keep up what you're doing as far as nutrition and rest.

Is that really your arm workout? All that sh!t isn't even necessary for an efficient arm workout.

[QUOTE=bacon90;916681493]iv been training now for around 5 years but only been serious for about 18 month , my full body has grew and got stronger in this time but my arms never seem to change , it might be because of my body fat % being too high but i was wondering if anyone had any advice , i have got the horseshoe shape tricep and alot of strength in my triceps but my biceps are ridiculously weak , i struggle to do 15kg EZ preacher curls with ful ROM ! , my bicep workout varies but is this is my usual regime:
3 sets of cable curls 8-12 reps untill failure
3 sets of DB hammer curls 8-12 reps until failure
4 sets of barbell curls 8-12 reps until failure
3 sets of DB curls on incline bench 8-12 reps until failure
4 sets of preacher curls 8-12 reps until failure
i always feel the pump through my workout and my arms ache for hours afterwards , i make sure i get enough protein and plenty of rest to allow the muscles to grow but they just stay completely the same , any advice would be great[/QUOTE]

two reasons...

1.) The tricep muscles are 2/3 of your entire arm. Train your triceps harder than your Bis...

2.) Two many sets for your bis. 8-10 sets PER WEEK for your Bis is plenty. They are a very small muscle. You should not be doing just as many sets for you bis as you do your chest, back, or shoulders.

[QUOTE=danamerican;916733913]it is probably your form, but 15kg seems sort of light for a dude your size. at the same time, leave the ego outside the gym, and if thats what you can do, bust your ass with the 15kg. just make sure your back and shoulders dont move. try starting on the incline bench, then the preachers, so you get your stabilized movements first. even try the DB hammers on the incline bench. remember, hammer curls work the bicep and bracchialis (spelled wrong i think), so for you bicep peak and height, hammers wont help as much. the incline bench is good though because it allows full range of motion. make sure you are going all the way down and contracting the bicep extremely slowly. there are videos online of kai greene (placed 3rd at the Mr. Olympia) struggling with a 30 pound incline bicep curl. its meant to be a slow, controlled movement, so dont worry about the weight as much as the contraction and full ROM.

how many times are you doing this a week? do you do biceps after back and another day, or just this. no growth in 4 years probably means overtraining, but i have a feeling there has been growth, just not as much as your tricep. the tricep is about 60% of the arm while the bicep is a bit under 40%, so its normal for the tricep to be bigger, and its also normal for the tricep to show more in people with higher bodyfat. you usually gotta get lean to have a nice bicep peak.[/QUOTE]


ive been following kai greene and i take alot of notice of the way he talks about the muscle mind connection and its more about the contraction than the weight you use , i only do biceps once a week , i do a 5 day split so i do chest , back , shoulders , legs and arms on seperate days , my biceps seem to be getting harder just not growing , im trying to get lean but im not great at dieting , im unemployed so cant afford much clean food and when i run out and have no money i find myself just snacking on junk food

[QUOTE=Anthony21;916829153]Is that really your arm workout? All that sh!t isn't even necessary for an efficient arm workout.[/QUOTE]

this is what i do for my biceps not because i think its what i need to do but because if i do less i feel like iv done nothing , alot of ppl tell me i overtrain my muscles because my workouts have so much volume to them but the reason i do so much volume is its because its how much i can handle , i see other peoples workouts and iv tried them myself and i feel nothing then feel lazy after my workout , i like to get home and feel like iv done something then that motivates my diet

[QUOTE=bacon90;916987163im unemployed [/QUOTE]

Get a job at a gym. Even if your just cleaning machines/folding towels your still in that atmosphere and will have access to good food via a weekly paycheck and the gym.

[QUOTE=ArmstrongBrah;916988773]Get a job at a gym. Even if your just cleaning machines/folding towels your still in that atmosphere and will have access to good food via a weekly paycheck and the gym.[/QUOTE]

iv tried been applying everywere but most gyms in my area are closing in the next few year and moving to a big sports village so theres no gyms that will take ppl on at the moment

Seems like an awful lot of work involved for a bicep workout. I work my biceps once a week and my workout is:

- EZ bar curls 4 sets of 8
- d/b hammer curls 5 sets of 8
- 21's - 3 sets

[QUOTE=dmg2;917012943]Seems like an awful lot of work involved for a bicep workout. I work my biceps once a week and my workout is:

- EZ bar curls 4 sets of 8
- d/b hammer curls 5 sets of 8
- 21's - 3 sets[/QUOTE]

alot of ppl say this to me yet i can manage that aswell as a tricep workout and do forearms and then do some cardio and only be in the gym 2 hours :/ , iv noticed tho that i do alot more than most , iv seen a shoulder workout on a website that everyone says kills them yet i worked shoulders today and done twice as much and still had alot more to give , and my shoulders grow really fast , i dont think im overtraining my arms i think its more about my body fat % but im not certain

Don't go to failure

and also, don't do more then 6 sets for biceps

[QUOTE=bacon90;917015573]alot of ppl say this to me yet i can manage that aswell as a tricep workout and do forearms and then do some cardio and only be in the gym 2 hours :/ , iv noticed tho that i do alot more than most , iv seen a shoulder workout on a website that everyone says kills them yet i worked shoulders today and done twice as much and still had alot more to give , and my shoulders grow really fast , i dont think im overtraining my arms i think its more about my body fat % but im not certain[/QUOTE]

Maybe you're not lifting as heavy as you could and that's why you're able to power through so many exercises?

[QUOTE=Zplasch;917017623]Don't go to failure

and also, don't do more then 6 sets for biceps[/QUOTE]

how will this help ? , i like to understand how what im doing is gonna effect my body , i have read alot about overtraining muscles is this whats happening ? but iv also heard from kai greene that you cant overtrain a muscle by doing good form and lots of sets/reps , overtraining only happens by using too much weight or is this not true for the smaller muscle groups ?

[QUOTE=dmg2;917017883]Maybe you're not lifting as heavy as you could and that's why you're able to power through so many exercises?[/QUOTE]

im lifting as much as i can so that i can go the full sets with correct form and the final 3 reps really burn , i can lift more weight on my biceps but not without breaking form and adding alot of stress onto my back and delts , iv always for some reason been able to do alot of exercises , i dont know if its because i was on steroids when i was younger for alot of years to treat my asthma , i dont even know if its the same stuff but iv been in the gym before and worked to my limits doing a full body workout and been in there 4-5 hours with hardly any rest , i have alot of muscular endurance and not much aerobic endurance

Lower your reps.... Your reps are too damn high. Shoot for a rep set of between 4-6 and do 4-5 sets

[QUOTE=HerbieJ;917020553]Lower your reps.... Your reps are too damn high[/QUOTE]

but isnt it true that 8-12 reps is optimum for building muscle ? as this is what the pro bodybuilders use during bulking

How about you forget about curls and concentrate on Squats, Deads and Presses. It's funny how guys with big arms give a sh*t about their accessory curl lifts and concentrate more on those other 3 lifts. Coincidence??

I might do 2 X 20-25 barbell/EZ curls every other week for recovery purposes only but it's not a priority.

[QUOTE=NC_Tarheel;917022113]How about you forget about curls and concentrate on Squats, Deads and Presses. It's funny how guys with big arms give a sh*t about their accessory curl lifts and concentrate more on those other 3 lifts. Coincidence??

I might do 2 X 20-25 barbell/EZ curls every other week for recovery purposes only but it's not a priority.[/QUOTE]

i do a lot of squats deads and presses , there my 3 main movements and the ones i concentrate on more than anything , would you suggest i do a 4 day split instead of 5 and just do some bicep work after my back workout and some triceps after my chest workout ?

Have you ever heard of 21's? It is something different that really shocks the bicep. I would advise a low weight to do it but you stand with your back against a wall with your elbows touching that wall and you do 3 separate movements. From arm extended you come up halfway, then from halfway to the top and then all the way. My explaining might not be too good but you can look at Bicep 21's on Youtube. Really contract the muscle. By the looks of what you are doing already, you seem to be overtraining them.

[QUOTE=ev0765;917024013]Have you ever heard of 21's? It is something different that really shocks the bicep. I would advise a low weight to do it but you stand with your back against a wall with your elbows touching that wall and you do 3 separate movements. From arm extended you come up halfway, then from halfway to the top and then all the way. My explaining might not be too good but you can look at Bicep 21's on Youtube. Really contract the muscle. By the looks of what you are doing already, you seem to be overtraining them.[/QUOTE]

yeh i used to perform 21's but they never had an impact atall on me so i swapped them for incline curls and these seem to have a much better feel and i can contract the muscle alot more this way

Check your form, get someone prof to see if you aren't doing any help with back and so on;
dont do failures on first sets like srsly and increase weight; do failures only on last sets..
because 17 sets to failure are too much; do 12sets and the last one to failure with bigger weight instead etc;

Oh and do longer negatives maybe, hope it helps dude.


[Youtube]DRllSSB7J9I&feature=channel&list=UL[/Youtube]

Trial and error man. Just keep lifting and changing things you will find what works for you. Don't ask people on here though, their all just going to give you different answers that aren't really going to do much for you in the end except confuse you because their body's are different from yours.

Read my article - [url]http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/neophytes-a-call-to-%E2%80%9Carms%E2%80%9D/[/url]