My Arms Will Not Get Any Bigger

[Kepnitreel]

I have been working out fairly consistently for about 3 1/2 to 4 years. My arms have stopped growing around 16 1/2 inches about 1 1/2 years ago. I have tried 5 x 5 building workouts. I have tried 5-8 reps workouts with about 22-28 sets.

I lift heavy on arm day doing 4 sets of 5-8 reps of skull crushers (100-110 lbs), tricep extensions (110-135 lbs), close grip bench (185-225 lbs), cable push downs (120-150 lbs), and dips (bodyweight + 45 lbs) I have continually increased in weight but measured little to no gain in my arm size. My Bicep is similar in volume and weight.

I do HIT in lue of long cardio training 1-2 a week to try and stay somewhat lean and minimize muscle loss.

I may not eat enough protein, it is difficult and to get the recommended amount of 1 gram per pound of body mass. I probably only eat 75% of my weight in protein. I find it expensive to buy enough meat and protein powder to get that 190 grams that I need.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

[71Avido]

75% of your body weight in protein should be fine as long as you're consistently gaining weight with it.
1g/lb is just a rule of thumb with a built in safety margin.

Do you ever train over 8 reps?

[Iliander]

try 50 reps

[ThickAsABrick]

16.5 inches at 190 is pretty solid. You simply may not be able to get much bigger arms without also putting on more bodyweight. There's a limit to how much you can change your proportions, even with specialization.

[Tommy W.]

Your body overall needs to get bigger at this point. Add 10 more lbs and you'll probably gain another inch or so.

[Dan_S]

Got to agree with the above. Not really sure what you're expecting, but if you're a natural lifter, 16.5 inch arms at 190 is about as big as you're likely to get. So if you want bigger arms you're going to have to put on more weight.

You can Google genetic muscular potential or something similar to find the estimates of how big you can get based on wrist/ankle size and body weight. Use that to set a goal of how big you need to get for whatever your goal is.

I think the problem might be you see too many e-stats of people claiming 18 inch arms. Most natural bodybuilders at your size are rocking 16-17 inch arms.

[trev71]

16.5 inches at 190 is pretty solid. You simply may not be able to get much bigger arms without also putting on more bodyweight. There's a limit to how much you can change your proportions, even with specialization.

I'd agree..

[dhimaan997]

like everyone said at this point you have to increase your body weight I am stuck at 16.5-17 as well

[ironwill2008]

IN before "chin-ups."

[-Lucifer]

16.5 inches at 190 is pretty solid. You simply may not be able to get much bigger arms without also putting on more bodyweight. There's a limit to how much you can change your proportions, even with specialization.

this.

[2Legit2Quitt]

IN before "chin-ups."

OP you may want to try doing chin ups :-) but seriously, all you can do is eat, and keep lifting... if your sets of 8 reps havent been working, try mixing it up... one day do your normal arm routine with your normal amount of sets and reps, and the next arm day you may want to try raising your reps upwards to around 15-20 reps while lowering the weight a tad.... Of course you are still keeping constant tension and good form as well but like the others stated, you will only gain so much size naturally anyway..... Be proud of what you have!!!! My arms are right around there as well and Ive been going at it for 8 years now....

[Kepnitreel]

75% of your body weight in protein should be fine as long as you're consistently gaining weight with it.
1g/lb is just a rule of thumb with a built in safety margin.

Do you ever train over 8 reps?

I have trained in the 8-12 rep range when maintaining and 12-20 rep range when trying to tone down, but for the last six months I have mainly been focusing on gaining size by lowering my reps.

[kanis999]

I have trained in the 8-12 rep range when maintaining and 12-20 rep range when trying to tone down, but for the last six months I have mainly been focusing on gaining size by lowering my reps.

As everyone else has stated, your arms are big. Time to focus on getting your lats and lower back thickness up to par with your more advanced traps, arms and shoulders. And get that 35" waist back down to 30". See what your arm size when you have a 30" waist. If you're still over 16" with a small waist, you're far above average imo.

[davisj3537]

Have you tried eating in a 5x5 setting instead of just lifting 5x5? Dem extra foods will helps ya growz dem armz brah.

[Tommy W.]

As everyone else has stated, your arms are big. Time to focus on getting your lats and lower back thickness up to par with your more advanced traps, arms and shoulders. And get that 35" waist back down to 30". See what your arm size when you have a 30" waist. If you're still over 16" with a small waist, you're far above average imo.

5" of waist decrease is 25 lbs decrease in bodyweight minimum. Good luck keepin' dem gunz. They can actually LOOK bigger with more definition though.

[kanis999]

5" of waist decrease is 25 lbs decrease in bodyweight minimum. Good luck keepin' dem gunz. They can actually LOOK bigger with more definition though.

That's the point

[magician27]

try overtraining them maybe ? some guys with freaky arms doing crazy stuff like 7-8 drop sets every time ,hundreds of reps your arms are fine but if you wanna push it further you probably need to do something diffrent.

[NZninja101]

Got to agree with the above. Not really sure what you're expecting, but if you're a natural lifter, 16.5 inch arms at 190 is about as big as you're likely to get. So if you want bigger arms you're going to have to put on more weight.

You can Google genetic muscular potential or something similar to find the estimates of how big you can get based on wrist/ankle size and body weight. Use that to set a goal of how big you need to get for whatever your goal is.

I think the problem might be you see too many e-stats of people claiming 18 inch arms. Most natural bodybuilders at your size are rocking 16-17 inch arms.

This might just be the most realistic answer. People E-stat like crazy on here. Though gaining muscle when you're 5 foot 9 190 pounds really depends on how fat you are. If you're not pudgy then that's actually a respectable level for a natural lifter. Unfortunately gains can't be made at the same rate forever.

IN before "chin-ups."

In before pictures of well built gymnasts which 'prove' that chin ups are 'the' mass builder for biceps.

[alexb650]

I have trained in the 8-12 rep range when maintaining and 12-20 rep range when trying to tone down, but for the last six months I have mainly been focusing on gaining size by lowering my reps.

Size comes from eating at a surplus. If you want bigger arms then you have to eat more and add overall mass. If you feel arms are just lagging, try adding in an arms day. I like training arms in the 8-12 range on a bulk and the reps start to go down a bit when I cut but the weight stays the same. Kinda opposite of what you do.

[StfuandLiftPHAG]

Time for cell tech, srs.

[brokedown24]

Test tren anavar deca.. Gain 2" brah 2 months lol

[davisj3537]

Test tren anavar deca.. Gain 2" brah 2 months lol

That shyt is gonna get you banned. Keep the PEDS talk off this forum.