how many of you dont train your arms directly?

[Powers|ave]

im finding it hard to fit in direct arm work these days without feeling overtrained, as i do a leg day, a pressing day, and 1-2 back days.
the back days especially drain my arms.
is this enough work for arms or is there no substitute for direct work?

[getgot211]

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[worker1]

I do two sets of ezbar curls on back day. (once/week)
I do tris twice a week.

[Dominik]

im finding it hard to fit in direct arm work these days without feeling overtrained, as i do a leg day, a pressing day, and 1-2 back days.
the back days especially drain my arms.
is this enough work for arms or is there no substitute for direct work?

Aside from a few sets of 2-arm OH DB extensions here and there, I haven't done any direct work for close to 6 months. No regrets.

Chins and dips, at least 2x a week, around 5 sets each. That's all I've done for about 4 months now. They also allow me to go really heavy for low reps which is something I'd never do on a single-joint/iso movement. The best part is they're two of my favorite exercises so I'm in no hurry to go back to curling weights which I never liked much anyway.

[J.L.C.]

I do some tricep work, standing OH BB extensions.

But I don't usually do any direct bicep work. I have relied on weighted pullups and bent over BB rows to hit my arms for the last 4 months or so. It seems they've grown in that time as well....that might be the extensions though

[jmurjr]

I only hit an arm day once every few months. It's just back and chest work for my arms. They seem to grow mass just fine but not detail.

[RU4A69]

Once or twice a month

[Winterlong]

I do a good amount of heavy back work w/ anywhere from 6-8sets of bicep isolation. I only do this once a week.

[mike_d]

I went for at least 6 months with no direct bicep training, and very little direct tricep training. Just for the hell of it I started curling dumbbells again - I have 2 movements lol. 2 arms with an ez-curl bar (straight bar kills my wrists+elbows), or I guess "regular" dumbbell curls.

I kinda like them for the first time in my life. I was always weak before and struggled to get 8 reps with the 30's and it was so much work after back day I just hated curls. Now they're alot easier, I can do them everyday if I want and I dont get tired. Not to mention I can curl the 50's for decent reps or throw the 45 plates on an ez-curl bar and bang out 8 reps now. Its funny, I remember back in the early summer cringing at the thought of having to finish my workouts with 25's on each side of the same bar. Sometimes I just wouldnt have the strength or the will to get past 2 10's on each side, now I get less tired using alot more weight.



So yeah, for all you guys who train biceps through chins, rows, pullups, etc... expect big gains when you come back to curling-land I probably wont keep them in my routine forever, I'm still not a huge fan of them, but I've been liking them lately so we'll see where it goes. The way my elbows flare out I dont think I'll ever curl a straight bar again, so no worries of me ever curling in the squat rack




BTW my biceps are finally starting to grow again, especially my right :/ I gained alot of mass over the months from doing chins and all that, but it just looked like I had big ass arms, not nice biceps. They're starting to look more like biceps now

[iron_on_my_mind]

I rarely do any, but on occasion I indulge.

Heavy dips, heavy chins, and the other compounds do a good job of adding thickness.

It's all about the tris, anyway.

[mike_d]

It's all about the tris, anyway.

no kidding.




I guess I should say that dips for me are a "direct arm training exercise". I dont feel them in my chest, ever. 100% tricep for me, or at least thats what it seems like.

[iron_on_my_mind]

no kidding.




I guess I should say that dips for me are a "direct arm training exercise". I dont feel them in my chest, ever. 100% tricep for me, or at least thats what it seems like.

Yep.

If you flare out your elbows and lean forward slightly, you'll hit the chest.

[hailfire777]

im finding it hard to fit in direct arm work these days without feeling overtrained, as i do a leg day, a pressing day, and 1-2 back days.
the back days especially drain my arms.
is this enough work for arms or is there no substitute for direct work?

as much as you dont have to work your arms out if you dont want to and still get decent size, if you DO they will get even bigger and more defined.

heck arms are my favorite workout since you only need to do like 6 sets for each and you get the biggest pump in the world.

[aqua-beowulf]

Aside from a few sets of 2-arm OH DB extensions here and there, I haven't done any direct work for close to 6 months. No regrets.

Chins and dips, at least 2x a week, around 5 sets each. That's all I've done for about 4 months now. They also allow me to go really heavy for low reps which is something I'd never do on a single-joint/iso movement. The best part is they're two of my favorite exercises so I'm in no hurry to go back to curling weights which I never liked much anyway.

As usual, count me in. Aside from the last week, and a couple of changes I just made in my routine, I haven't done any direct arm work in at least a few months... dips, chins, rows, and presses do a great job. This has been discussed many times, and as I've said before, I believe for a competition level physique some direct arm training is necessary, but for those of us who like working out with heavy weights in a low rep range with the goal of increased strength/mass, heavy compounds can do the trick. As for my own testament, I put on a dress shirt this morning that I haven't worn in a couple of months (I don't dress up that often). My arms would barely fit, and my wife had to peel it off so I could try and find a looser fitting shirt, which proved rather difficult... it was freakin' fantastic! Looks like I'll be going clothes shopping... again. So no, I can't say I have any regrets not training arms the past few months.

[jmurjr]

As usual, count me in. Aside from the last week, and a couple of changes I just made in my routine, I haven't done any direct arm work in at least a few months... dips, chins, rows, and presses do a great job. This has been discussed many times, and as I've said before, I believe for a competition level physique some direct arm training is necessary, but for those of us who like working out with heavy weights in a low rep range with the goal of increased strength/mass, heavy compounds can do the trick. As for my own testament, I put on a dress shirt this morning that I haven't worn in a couple of months (I don't dress up that often). My arms would barely fit, and my wife had to peel it off so I could try and find a looser fitting shirt, which proved rather difficult... it was freakin' fantastic! Looks like I'll be going clothes shopping... again. So no, I can't say I have any regrets not training arms the past few months.

Oh come on next time just flex and rip the seams. Your only gonna get bigger you wont need that shirt any more.

[PlatinumPlus]

i work my biceps and triceps twice a week, on top of the normal sh*t i do such as bench press etc. which indirectly works tric.

so say monday i do my bench press's etc which pre fatigue my tric as you already know and towards the very end of my day i will blast out a couple sets of tric ext to finish them off . and like thurs or fri i will work them out again.

i have always had big arms so its hard to say if this style makes em go better or not and ive only been working out for about a year. my arms are currently 16" after a good excercise they swell to about 16.5"-16.7"

[pepingtom]

So then if I don't train arms directly they will still be in proportion with my chest and back?

[BigRagu]

9 sets bi
9 sets tri

[nads786]

Oh come on next time just flex and rip the seams. Your only gonna get bigger you wont need that shirt any more.

hahahahh ya that would be pretty badass

[iron_on_my_mind]

Any form of pressing will do alot more for your tricep development than any amount of pushdowns and extensions. The same can be said about rows and chin ups with respect to bicep development.

Direct arm work is not an absolute necessity and is sometimes better left out of your program until you have been training for a significant period of time using heavy compound movements. Unless you have gained an appreciable amount of mass, direct arm work can be a waste of time and recovery ability.

So, it is strongly advisable that before anything else is considered, one should become a specialist in the basic, big compound movements, and put plenty of time into doing them correctly and with progressively heavier weight. You will not regret having skipped the pec deck flyes and the concentration curls . . . those are best left to the little guys.

[ExtremistPullup]

im finding it hard to fit in direct arm work these days without feeling overtrained, as i do a leg day, a pressing day, and 1-2 back days.
the back days especially drain my arms.
is this enough work for arms or is there no substitute for direct work?

3 times a week
on back days I do
Pullups
Squats (and calfs)
Preacher Curls
Rows
Extentions
Standing Curls
Shrugs
Hammer Curls

[AnaerobicAndrew]

I used to train arms directly, but I'm on a full body that revolves around compounds now, and I have no regrets. They seem to get all the stimulation they need just from that. But we will see....I am going to go back to a body part split after I'm done with this routine, just to see what happens.

[DiamondDelts]

Hmmm.

[Valley Dude]

I tried skipping direct arm work (since so many people say it isn't necessary). My pullups/chinups immediately went to hell, and my arms shrunk.

'Nuff of that. Like they say, one experiment is worth more than a thousand expert opinions.

[DiamondDelts]

Like valley dude said. I tried to drop all direct arm work for a while. But my arms ended up shrinking. Now I just do a mix of both. Here is my current arm routine. Though I still HATE standing barbell curls and refuse to ever do them again.

Biceps

Close grip chins(partial rom, only using top 3/4 of movement)
Close grip pullups(replaced reverse curls)
Close grip hammer chins or hammer curls with tricep bar
Though I will still throw in some preacher/spider curls every once in a while. Plain old seated barbell curls used to be an old favorite of mine as well.

Triceps

Close grip military press(favorite exercise by far)
Floor presses
Decline extensions

[nads786]

Like valley dude said. I tried to drop all direct arm work for a while. But my arms ended up shrinking. Now I just do a mix of both. Here is my current arm routine. Though I still HATE standing barbell curls and refuse to ever do them again.

Biceps

Close grip chins(partial rom, only using top 3/4 of movement)
Close grip pullups(replaced reverse curls)
Close grip hammer chins or hammer curls with tricep bar
Though I will still throw in some preacher/spider curls every once in a while. Plain old seated barbell curls used to be an old favorite of mine as well.

Triceps

Close grip military press(favorite exercise by far)
Floor presses
Decline extensions

close grip mil press are an awesome tri builder

[DiamondDelts]

close grip mil press are an awesome tri builder

Yep. Yet I rarely see anyone else listing them around here. They have literally built my tris and anterior delts simultaneously from scratch. Awesome exercise that I do every 1-2 days. I can't get enough of it. I now also do mine seated on a very slight incline. Works great.

[R.O.D.]

not I

[nads786]

Yep. Yet I rarely see anyone else listing them around here. They have literally built my tris and anterior delts simultaneously from scratch. Awesome exercise that I do every 1-2 days. I can't get enough of it. I now also do mine seated on a very slight incline. Works great.

point of the slight incline? increase the poundages?

[Powers|ave]

why have i never thought of that....
next time i go to the gym im trying close grip military presses