Big Arms Theory!?!?

[killertiller]

Alright guys, I'm always doing a little research on the internet when im bored. Recently I stumbled upon an article about building big arms, and the article I was reading said to CUT OUT ALL arm specific workout and exercises completely. I had read about this strategy before but didnt pay it much attention, but this time It seemed to make sense. Compound movements do accelerate growth in the arms, I notice everytime my big lifts go up, my arms have grown. Supposadly the secret to big arms, Is to not train arms at all. Cutting out arms allows more time to focus on compound lifts also. What do you guys think? I might try this strategy for a month or two just to see the results for myself.

[VelezS]

i think ill stick with what im doing cuz its working nd ill let u expirment then rep u when ur done if u do it nd ill decide what ill do after its been done

[PumpinPaddy]

doesnt make much sense - of course your arms will still grow if you dont work them directly

link to article?

[765]

since alot of people over-train there arms, switching to compound movements will probably give them better results until they need to switch up the routine.

[Turbomunkey]

according to that theory If i did bench,deadlift,squat,rows,and shoulder press 3 times a week i would be a mass monster

[Saik]

weird, i've never heard of that, but post pics and the article and i would be more than glad to check it out

[pkirk330]

Originally Posted by Turbomunkey

according to that theory If i did bench,deadlift,squat,rows,and shoulder press 3 times a week i would be a mass monster

I dont really see how you gathered that out of what the OP said.

And I only do 2-3 sets of biceps in my Back/bi workouts, and maybe 4 or so sets of tris on chest/tri days.

I used to do lots and lots of arm work and ever since i cut my volume WAY down my arms have gone up 1.5 inches or more.

[Turbomunkey]

Originally Posted by pkirk330

I dont really see how you gathered that out of what the OP said.

And I only do 2-3 sets of biceps in my Back/bi workouts, and maybe 4 or so sets of tris on chest/tri days.

I used to do lots and lots of arm work and ever since i cut my volume WAY down my arms have gone up 1.5 inches or more.

because if arms can be indirectly trained than wouldnt that mean that you would also do that for other muscle groups in the legs, adomin, etc.? a lot of people dont directly train obliques on ab day, yet have very well developed ones.

[PumpinPaddy]

Originally Posted by pkirk330

I dont really see how you gathered that out of what the OP said.

And I only do 2-3 sets of biceps in my Back/bi workouts, and maybe 4 or so sets of tris on chest/tri days.

I used to do lots and lots of arm work and ever since i cut my volume WAY down my arms have gone up 1.5 inches or more.

thats still armwork - compounds only might be better than overtraining, but theyre not as good as a proper arms routine

[killertiller]

I dont have a link to the atricle, but im sure you could look it up on google. 765 and pkirk seem to be on the same pag I am. Many people are overtrining their arms, and some even advocate cutting arms out completely. Simple theory is that arms require little or no arm specific training to get big........

[pkirk330]

Originally Posted by Turbomunkey

because if arms can be indirectly trained than wouldnt that mean that you would also do that for other muscle groups in the legs, adomin, etc.? a lot of people dont directly train obliques on ab day, yet have very well developed ones.

Well you kinda took the OP and spun it. He said big arms can be acheived even with no direct arm work, and then you said if i do this this and this ill be huge. Thats not what the OP said.

Originally Posted by PumpinPaddy

thats still armwork - compounds only might be better than overtraining, but theyre not as good as a proper arms routine

Yes, it is still arm work, i realize that. But I was saying that to point out that way too much emphasis is placed on variations of curls and tricep work. And I know for a fact that its probably some of the least important lifts there are. The little bit of arm work i do is for detailing not for size.

One of my close friends very rarely does any arm work, hes strictly a power lifter, and he is bigger than probably 90% of people on these forums.

[Demon-seven]

Thats going to be a while until that becomes a law XD.

[ShadowBlaze]

hmm sounds interesting, maybe ill try that in sept. Any links to article or routine??

[Dude.Jon]

Well your arms will grow if you're using them at all. So I don't see why people wouldn't train them seperately.

[Giant_Killer]

I'm with pkirk on this one.

My arms started growing noticeably faster when I cut back on direct training. I generally do 4-6 sets for biceps at the end of back workouts with compound movements, and 3-4 sets for triceps at the end of chest/shoulder days with compound movements.

I would also agree that arms are grossly overtrained by many of your average gym-goers.

[R0Y]

No

I've already debunked this myth.

It's been proven to be garbage. Sure a little time off from direct arm training will help with plateaus but not doing direct arm work for an extended period of time is not going to help. Many people on Rippetoes have complained that without arm work their arms do not grow. I can also attest to this, after having been on a compound only routine focusing on bench, deadlift, squat, military press, and rows, my arms grew about 1/8" maybe even less after 4 months, while I gained a full 20 lbs. and significant gains in my chest, legs, and back.

Think about it, maybe you are "stretching" the biceps/triceps during heavy compounds, but you are not working them as they are anatomically supposed to function, as in they are not fully contracting. A pump doesn't mean anything.

[tulsa_ej2]

gotta try something new every now and then, i used to never work out my biceps since they overtook my triceps and they would go out on me on back day they got really weak but still looked overpowering

[DeathKnight]

Originally Posted by PumpinPaddy

thats still armwork - compounds only might be better than overtraining, but theyre not as good as a proper arms routine

Yes, Doing compounds won't stimulate the arm as well as a good arm routine. The problem is that guys overtrain their arms liek twice a week.

[SeizeTheWeight]

Originally Posted by Dude.Jon

Well your arms will grow if you're using them at all.

wow.. you literally couldn't be more wrong if you tried..

[RoPaWrastla]

Typical moronic broscience. If this is true, why haven't we read more about it... Hmm?

[IronAbrams]

I lost an inch and a half off of my pathetic arms after a year of following the "No Direct Arm work" BS. It was skinny fat, but still going from 13" to 11.5" arms is pretty pathetic.

[burningNun]

Originally Posted by R0Y

Think about it, maybe you are "stretching" the biceps/triceps during heavy compounds, but you are not working them as they are anatomically supposed to function, as in they are not fully contracting. A pump doesn't mean anything.

Are you saying the muscles that act across the elbow are supposed to work independently of the shoulder girdle muscles?



Really?

[T-REXXX]

preachor 3x8
negtive curls 3x10

.... thats all

[Turbomunkey]

Originally Posted by pkirk330

Well you kinda took the OP and spun it. He said big arms can be acheived even with no direct arm work, and then you said if i do this this and this ill be huge. Thats not what the OP said.




Yes, it is still arm work, i realize that. But I was saying that to point out that way too much emphasis is placed on variations of curls and tricep work. And I know for a fact that its probably some of the least important lifts there are. The little bit of arm work i do is for detailing not for size.

One of my close friends very rarely does any arm work, hes strictly a power lifter, and he is bigger than probably 90% of people on these forums.

lol sry im at work and tired as hell, just disregard my posts.

[Oxidane]

Originally Posted by killertiller

Alright guys, I'm always doing a little research on the internet when im bored. Recently I stumbled upon an article about building big arms, and the article I was reading said to CUT OUT ALL arm specific workout and exercises completely. I had read about this strategy before but didnt pay it much attention, but this time It seemed to make sense. Compound movements do accelerate growth in the arms, I notice everytime my big lifts go up, my arms have grown. Supposadly the secret to big arms, Is to not train arms at all. Cutting out arms allows more time to focus on compound lifts also. What do you guys think? I might try this strategy for a month or two just to see the results for myself.

why not do compounds and then after isolation?

chest, then tris
back, then bis

[bennutts929]

when I'm bulking I dont do direct arm work, prep for show I'll do some isolation exercises though.

For the most part heavy press's and heavy rows are all your arms need, think about how much your hitting your tricep when it has to extend with 300 pounds on a bench? or a really heavy bent over supinated row, thats alot for your bicep to pull, its almost overtraining the smaller muscles of the movement with that exercise alone! much less moving on to work the smaller muscles more then you do the large (5 sets of press's is 5 sets for chest and 5 sets for triceps, then moving on to do 5 more sets of triceps leaves you at 10 sets of tris and 5 of chest)

[R0Y]

Originally Posted by burningNun

Are you saying the muscles that act across the elbow are supposed to work independently of the shoulder girdle muscles?



Really?

No fool. I said they aren't contracting fully, they are merely having tension acted upon them. Since when do muscles grow from continual and static isometric exercise?

[BEhave]

your arms will grow as you gain weight. simple as that.

[backer36]

Originally Posted by Oxidane

why not do compounds and then after isolation?

chest, then tris
back, then bis

really? never heard of that...

/sarcasm..

[ny_chow]

i actually agree with this theory. ever since i started doing serious arm workouts in addition to compound movements, my growth has slowed. im actually gonna cut my arm workout and see how it goes