I've been lifting weights for 5 months. In that time, my bench press has gained 60 pounds, my chest has gotten much bigger, and I've added tons of weight to dips, chin-ups, etc.
My biceps on the other hand have not improved. They're still at 12.5 to 13 inches and weight has gone up maybe 5 pounds (25 to 30 for standing curls). It's got to be hilarious watching someone bench 185 with such thin arms.
I've been following the recommended workouts on here; everyone says that you don't really need to add a ton of bicep work -- that they'll grow naturally with compound movements. Well, they certainly have not. I mean, I know you've got to wait a while before noticing improvement, but nothing in 5 months? C'mon.
Been eating properly, plenty of calories, plenty of protein.
As someone whose biceps do not seem to be responding to only compound movements, what can I do to really stimulate mass improvements?
Thanks
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01-18-2013, 01:56 PM #1
Compound lifts are NOT helping biceps in my case
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01-18-2013, 02:00 PM #2
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01-18-2013, 02:04 PM #3
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How much size have you gained overall? Biceps are like the hour hand and the rest of your body is like the minute hand. They don't seem to change, but once a hour has gone by, you see the change all at once. If your weight hasn't gone up by a considerable amount, then I wouldn't expect to see much of a bicep change.
More bicep work will help with the right diet, but if you aren't putting on enough mass, your arms will stay the same.
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01-18-2013, 02:04 PM #4
Your smallest muscle groups will show the smallest improvements. Have you noticed that your hands havent gotten any bigger?? Well thats because the hands are made up of tons of tiny muscles.
The biceps are just going to progress much slower.
Anyway if you want to hit them a little bit extra, it certainly is not going to hurt. People say that bicep isolation isn't NECESSARY to build a strong foundation. But can you still do it? Sure. Take 3 minutes and do some isolation curls....not gonna hurt anything.
Is it going to make a world of a difference? Probably not...But even if it makes a slight difference it would be worth the couple minutes of extra exercise.
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01-18-2013, 02:07 PM #5
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01-18-2013, 02:07 PM #6
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01-18-2013, 02:08 PM #7
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01-18-2013, 02:10 PM #8
Chin-ups should work your back more.
For most people higher reps (10-15) are preferable for arm work. Do you do any isolation work for triceps? Also more variety is always good for arm work. Say bb curls/tricep pressdowns 1 day... Hammer curls/overhead tricep extensions the next...Home Gym Crew
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Pureblood
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01-18-2013, 02:13 PM #9
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01-18-2013, 03:02 PM #10
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01-18-2013, 03:10 PM #11
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01-18-2013, 09:03 PM #12
Try a totally different program, is my advice.
It sounds like the goals typically - and logically - associated with Starting Strength do not align with your own. So yeah, have a look around - there are a lot of options, even among the stickied threads in the Workout Programs forum, for example. Go for a "beginner's" or "novice" program, sure, but one more suited to where you want to be.
And remember that for size and aesthetics, not only does diet matter hugely, but technique as well. Maybe see what bodybuilders have to say on issues of form and stuff: people like Kai Greene, say, on Youtube. Just an idea; you can do however much or little research you like, in any areas, or none.
Good luck, mate.
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01-18-2013, 09:41 PM #13
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There are no muscles in the hands. The muscles in the forearm are what makes the fingers and wrist move.
I think there is something in the book about curls. But the general internet atmosphere seems to frown upon adding lifts to 'Starting Strength'
So someone can't worry about lagging body parts until they're almost at their natural limit? At say 10% bodyfat a 5 foot 10 200 lb natural physique is elite and very impressive.
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01-19-2013, 08:28 AM #14
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01-19-2013, 08:53 AM #15
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I agree too. OP, you need to realize, though, that it's going to take you years to get big arms. If your goal is to add an inch to your arms in a year, it would be optimistic, in my opinion. The other thing that I'm surprised wasn't mentioned is that for overall arm size, you need to realize that triceps are more important because they are 2/3 of your arm mass. Triceps are the main focus of my arm routine and bis are secondary.
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01-19-2013, 10:01 AM #16No brain, no gain.
"The fitness and nutrition world is a breeding ground for obsessive-compulsive behavior. The irony is that many of the things people worry about have no impact on results either way, and therefore aren't worth an ounce of concern."--Alan Aragon
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01-19-2013, 10:08 AM #17
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A much larger part of your arm is made up of the triceps, not the biceps. Hence if you want to gain arm circumference then know that 2/3rds of it is tris. Secondly you have to keep gaining mass to get bigger arms. 162lb at 5´10" isn´t all that big so don´t expect to get big muscles without weighing the part.
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01-19-2013, 12:01 PM #18
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well if you do starting STRENGTH, then what just do you expect to go up?????? strength, RIGHT!
it is not called "Starting to get giant biceps", now is it......
first: make up your mind what you want to do, and how you want to look, and then, pick and tailor the workouts that address that.
if you want bigger Biceps, you must CERTAINLY work them directly....Lift as MUCH as you can, for as MANY reps as you can,
while in complete control of the exercise.
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01-19-2013, 12:10 PM #19
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01-19-2013, 12:23 PM #20
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That's a pretty good bit of weight gain in only 5 months. How much body fat have you packed on during the weight gain? You've got to make up your mind what it is you want to accomplish. If it's strength...then you're starting with the right plan. But if you're specifically concerned with arm size...you must hit them directly. Spend more effort on triceps than biceps if you want bigger arms.
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01-19-2013, 12:47 PM #21
It seems to be a bb.com cool thing to do to tell people to avoid isolation work and just do compounds. In general, compounds are very effective at building overall size as they can overload the muscle more. However, since this is BODYBUILDING, doing isolation exercises as a secondary phase of your routine can give the extra edge. For body building, each on their own are not optimal, however, if you were to only use one of the 2(compounds or isolations), compounds would be the way to go.
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01-19-2013, 12:55 PM #22
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01-19-2013, 01:11 PM #23
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Here we go again. "bro it doesnt matter if your 137lbs @ 6'2, you need to focus on abs & biceps thats all thats important, dont listen to that fat guy telling you to build a base of strength/muscle mass first! Abs & bicepls aaaahhh!"
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01-19-2013, 01:38 PM #24
Haha, I remember that, and thought it was still sort of the cool thing around here in 2012 haha.
This is quite true, however, the starting strength programs are often sufficient for beginners and extra isolation moves just burn up the precious calories for them. Going from nothing to deadlifting, squats, rows, pullups, presses etc is already stressful enough, let alone adding in some fancy isolation work. Don't get me wrong, isolation work has its place, maybe even a few lat raises or tricep extensions in the beginning, but compounds SHOULD be the focus when starting out. Once they been to adapt, then it may be better to add in some isolations. Think of it as hitting the NOS switch in a car, right off the start it doesn't do much, but with some speed it can do great.
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01-19-2013, 01:46 PM #25
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01-19-2013, 01:59 PM #26
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Im in college right now. Isolation movements are used to bring up lagging body parts(bb'ing) or to strengthen weak muscles in the chain(IE your bench lock out sucks). Tell me why somebody that is 5 months into lifting with little muscle mass at all needs to worry about weakness/lagging muscles? You know why he thinks his biceps are too small? Because he looks at muscle mags/pics online and see's these guys with huge arms and thinks "wow I need bigger arms". Its a waste of time/effort to worry about delts 1 week into lifting.
I know these same guys, they told me they stopped flexing when you came around to throw you off from finding out thier secret bicep routines.My Training Log: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=149612633
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01-19-2013, 02:03 PM #27
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01-19-2013, 02:04 PM #28
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Yes they are, all the powerlifters you hang out with that row 500lbs for reps told me so. Its thier secret. Didnt they tell you?
The 500lbs rowing powerlifters told me you cant. They said you have to do iso movements, but not to worry about calves if you've only been lifting a few months.My Training Log: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=149612633
Crew Log: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=157295413&p=1141543273#post1141543273
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01-19-2013, 02:08 PM #29
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01-19-2013, 02:09 PM #30
Good for you. 1. Because they are not used just to bring up or strenghten bla bla.. Why shouldn't he worry? Not everyone wants to grow to 250. Not everyone has the same goal. Not everyone wants to be a real bodybuilder, they wanna look good in their own eyes. EVERYONE has the right to try to improve something, NOW.
2. He said Cmon, nothing in 5 months. That's why he thinks his biceps are to small.
fawking rippeto borgsbb.com, a place that turned Deadlift into a forearm isolation exercise
and a place where 99% of 21 year olds have bad back and knees.
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