# what is the secret behind big arms



## paul25601 (Jul 5, 2011)

how do you get 18 inch + arms, iv been trainin years and everything but them seem to grow, i work my tris ect and do all the compounds, i mean everyone cant be taking synthol, can they? (how good is that stuff?) iv just started my first test cycle so i hope that will help them, ther currently 16", can any1 give me abit of advice.


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## Cythraul (Oct 5, 2011)

18+inch arms? steroids. (unless you mean fatceps, then just bulk and dont do cardio)

But if your taking steroids, before you've 1. fixed your diet. 2. fixed your sleep. 3. trained for ADLEAST 2 years fek maybe more i dunno.

your cutting yourserlf short. whey short.

in my honest opinion, steroids shouldnt even be considered till you come close to your "physical limits" many may disagree.


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## Trevor McDonald (Mar 30, 2010)

Can doing Deadlifts with one hand at an alternate grip effect the size of your arm? By that I mean basically it's the only exercise I train with arms facing a different directions and my right is definately slightly bigger. Hope that makes sense lol


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## paul25601 (Jul 5, 2011)

i think im ready things have started slowing now, iv been training nearly 7 years, but only 2 years properly and iv done my research and done many different trials etc.


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## vetran (Oct 17, 2009)

i dont train my arms bro i hate doing them but there not bad for my age every one has a good bodypart that seems to respond quite well i put it down to genetics and of course the bits lol


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## kreig (May 12, 2008)

Mey said:


> Can doing Deadlifts with one hand at an alternate grip effect the size of your arm? By that I mean basically it's the only exercise I train with arms facing a different directions and my right is definately slightly bigger. Hope that makes sense lol


Yes it can cause an imbalance, switch your hands around for each set


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## paul25601 (Jul 5, 2011)

id guess not tbh i like most people do that for better grip, what are your arm measurments? try doing more dumbell weighted lifts so 1 arm is not doing more work than the others which could happen on a smith maching etc, other thing could be if its the hand you write with and you a job such as a builder of mechanic that will be constantly in use


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## paul25601 (Jul 5, 2011)

i hope they fill out abit more with time


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## Avena (Jul 12, 2011)

If you say you train hard and everything else grows ok, then it's just the genetics limiting size of your arms. Most probably by adjusting your diet and training you could bulk up more, but in proportion arms still would be small-ish. I'm in the same boat - hard work goes in to my upper body but it doesn't respond like my quads! Genetics.

If it's bigger arms by all costs, roids it is then...


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## Trevor McDonald (Mar 30, 2010)

I've got 16.5inch arms last I checked. That's my bigger arm by the way lol. I don't do any arm workouts. Just body weighted exercises and compounds


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## Barker (Oct 1, 2009)

Genetics


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## tomo8 (May 29, 2010)

what do you currently do for your arms?

im a brickie and my left arm i hold my trowel with is definetly bigger,ive got a vein in my bicep an the bicep seems longer and thicker than my right an my triceps thicker where it meets my elbow. So ive been training alot more with dumbells to try and even it out.


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## Ash1981 (Jun 16, 2009)

Everyone has an inbalance between right and left no matter how big it is


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## Pictor (Jan 10, 2011)

Have you tried doing bicep curls in the squat rack...? Seems to work for others


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## s&amp;ccoach (May 18, 2011)

Hit them tri's hard, bigger muscle than the biceps so will make arms bigger.

Plenty of weighted dips and close grip bench press.

Along with barbell curls for bicep mass.

I swear kids in my gym train biceps 4 times a week!


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## OJay (Mar 7, 2008)

How about not training them separately for a few weeks?

Sounds wrong to most but when you think about the assistance the bi and tris do in all the other days work they are ones that a lot can easily over train allowing insufficient growth for the arm muscles. Simple backing off allowing more recovery growth time can be just as beneficial in the long run


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## Benchbum (Apr 20, 2011)

Squats


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## Ahal84 (Jun 2, 2010)

Try every approach, it's what works for you.

For me its when I do arms on a separate day for example bis and tris on Friday.


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## Ahal84 (Jun 2, 2010)

Benchbum said:


> Squats


I hope you are joking!


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## OJay (Mar 7, 2008)

morgan84 said:


> I hope you are joking!


Technically if not working lower body as hard as should then this can be correct

Leg training due to the muscle size can effect the release of growth hormone and testosterone to the rest of the body allowing it to be utilised for way more growth


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## Ahal84 (Jun 2, 2010)

OJay said:


> Leg training due to the muscle size can effect the release of growth hormone and testosterone to the rest of the body allowing it to be utilised for way more growth


I disagree, if you want your arms to grow you have to train your arms (unless genetics), if you want your legs to grow you have to train your legs and etc.

I believe it's another broscience that has been parroted.


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## big silver back (Jan 17, 2009)

Stop training them directly and slam the major compound exercises. I dont train arms, so easy to overtrain.


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## Mingster (Mar 25, 2011)

big silver back said:


> Stop training them directly and slam the major compound exercises. I dont train arms, so easy to overtrain.


X2.

If you get a big chest and shoulders it isn't often you see a skinny arm hanging off them lol. Heavy pressing and rowing builds size on arms not curls and pushdowns.


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## Benchbum (Apr 20, 2011)

I have plenty of gun....and i very rarely train gun, they get plenty of work on back day, if you want big arms go hard and heavy on all your compounds.


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## Rob68 (Sep 16, 2008)

Mingster said:


> X2.
> 
> If you get a big chest and shoulders it isn't often you see a skinny arm hanging off them lol. Heavy pressing and rowing builds size on arms not curls and pushdowns.


Funny how you see folk who think they have "big guns" but when you look at chest developement etc that part is none existent lol

But hey a tight armed t-shirt shows them off a treat,pity its saggy round the chest lol


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## Rick89 (Feb 27, 2009)

I very rarely train my arms these days, just started training them directly, 2 times since about april I would say and they are tad under 18 and half.

But as many have said above I work hard on the compounds, push press,military press,log press, axle clean and press, weighted chins,barbell rows, heavy deadlifts and rack deadlifts, doinG tHese built the bulk of my arms IMO


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## mal (Dec 31, 2009)

You could try one of these


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## SteamRod (Oct 1, 2007)

has to be arm blaster...

try some forced reps and partials on the last set for 6 weeks and see how that works for you.

heavy oly bar curls helped too.


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## Matt 1 (May 8, 2010)

The best way to get bigger arms isnt biceps, but triceps.

Triceps make up 2 thirds of the arm, so getting some serious growth in these with give the illusion of much bigger arms, then saying working biceps until they pop


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## Rob68 (Sep 16, 2008)

SteamRod said:


> has to be arm blaster...
> 
> try some forced reps and partials on the last set for 6 weeks and see how that works for you.
> 
> heavy oly bar curls helped too.


Im guessing it must be different for some folk as the 3 guys who posted above who dont train them directly have huge arms


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## peanutbob69 (Aug 26, 2010)

It's all down to genetics...

Some people have huge arms but no chest/back, others have big chest/shoulders but smaller arms.

Try doing more reps per set when training arms 10-14 instead of 6-8. I found that my stuborn bodyparts like my calves,triceps etc respond better when i do more reps with them. Stick to 6-8 reps per set for compound excersises.


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## Ahal84 (Jun 2, 2010)

Everybody is different. But we also have to remember that a lot off posters are on gear (no pun intended). Where a person that hasn't touched steroids he would need to train arms.


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## Rob68 (Sep 16, 2008)

morgan84 said:


> Everybody is different. But we also have to remember that a lot off posters are on gear (no pun intended). Where for a natural person he would need to train arms.


I dont get this,so if a natural trainer trained heavy compounds for a good few years his arms wouldnt grow cos of it?


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## eezy1 (Dec 14, 2010)

lots of w4nking


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## Rick89 (Feb 27, 2009)

when you get to do heavy chins with over 100k bodyweight for reps, or benching 140 for reps your arms are going to have not much choice than to adapt and grow


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## eezy1 (Dec 14, 2010)

close grip pull ups and build those tri`s. go slow with ur reps


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## Chelsea (Sep 19, 2009)

Surely the answer is: Find what works for you. If your are not seeing any change in your arm development then try a different training method, however, make sure you give the training long enough to show results. If you do not have any luck change the training.

If you find you are changing the training and still not getting any results then i would say that it is diet that you need to work on, more protein = more muscle.

There is no quick fix in or out of the gym, there are methods that can be used to speed the process up but it all comes down to consistency of diet and training. Progress (however slow) is progress.


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## Ahal84 (Jun 2, 2010)

Rob68 said:


> I dont get this,so if a natural trainer trained heavy compounds for a good few years his arms wouldnt grow cos of it?


They would, but not so much (again genetics play a big role). Like anything if you want big chest, tris, hams, shoulders etc you train them.


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## Ahal84 (Jun 2, 2010)

Chelsea said:


> Surely the answer is: Find what works for you.


Exactly what I've been saying by everybody is different.


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## Benchbum (Apr 20, 2011)

If your scared of compounds and going heavy just say rather than coming up with excuses


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## Mingster (Mar 25, 2011)

morgan84 said:


> Everybody is different. But we also have to remember that a lot off posters are on gear (no pun intended). Where a person that hasn't touched steroids he would need to train arms.


I got my arms to over 18 inches without much direct arm work long before I took any gear. And I haven't taken any gear in years and I still have arms over 18 inches.

But, yes, we are all different in what works for us.

However, compounds will work better for the vast majority I would wager.


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## Redbeard85 (Mar 26, 2011)

If thats you in your avi mate...you look good! I wouldn't worry about the measurements. It's like weighing yourself all the time, you'll never be happy, lol. Just stick to what your doing and you'll get your 18+ arms. Mines, last time i checked were 16.5...after that i stopped measuring. It was only p1ssing me off, lol


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## Ahal84 (Jun 2, 2010)

Mingster said:


> I got my arms to over 18 inches without much direct arm work long before I took any gear. And I haven't taken any gear in years and I still have arms over 18 inches.
> 
> But, yes, we are all different in what works for us.
> 
> However, compounds will work better for the vast majority I would wager.


Like I said in my previous posts genetics.


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## Rick89 (Feb 27, 2009)

morgan84 said:


> Like I said in my previous posts genetics.


Strongly disagree, what ever your genetics the body will still respond the same, granted some will grow bigger faster than others but compounds will work better than isolation movements on anyone IMO as they tax more muscle fibers and there for recruit more growth.


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## Ahal84 (Jun 2, 2010)

Sy. said:


> Enhanced guys don't need to train arms? :S


Lol


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## Mingster (Mar 25, 2011)

morgan84 said:


> Like I said in my previous posts genetics.


Genetics are very important, and I do have favourably genetics for building and holding muscle mass.

When I started training, however, I had 13 inch arms, had a skinny athletic physique, and competed in long distance running events. Many years of heavy squats, deadlifts and pressing exercises, eating a lot of food and resting as much as possible built my physique assisted by genetics. It's not as if having good genetics means you can train half-assed, eat crap and stay up all night.


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## Ahal84 (Jun 2, 2010)

Rick89 said:


> Strongly disagree, what ever your genetics the body will still respond the same, granted some will grow bigger faster than others but compounds will work better than isolation movements on anyone IMO as they tax more muscle fibers and there for recruit more growth.


No genetics give you the edge that others don't have. You just answered my and your own question "the body will still respond the same, granted some will grow bigger faster than others"


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## Rick89 (Feb 27, 2009)

Mingster said:


> Genetics are very important, and I do have favourably genetics for building and holding muscle mass.
> 
> When I started training, however, I had 13 inch arms, had a skinny athletic physique, and competed in long distance running events. Many years of heavy squats, deadlifts and pressing exercises, eating a lot of food and resting as much as possible built my physique assisted by genetics. It's not as if having good genetics means you can train half-assed, eat crap and stay up all night.


Great post

IMO People over look genetics and make excuses for themselves and create a mental block in there had that they will never have certain size this and that.

Obviously I know people have better genes than others but some are too quick to say "im naturally this and will never be that bla blah"


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## Rick89 (Feb 27, 2009)

morgan84 said:


> No genetics give you the edge that others don't have. You just answered my and your own question "the body will still respond the same, granted some will grow bigger faster than others"


Yes what I was saying though was that compounds are btter for everyone what ever than genetics.

if anything people with poor genetics should focus more on compounds and less on iso


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## Ahal84 (Jun 2, 2010)

Mingster said:


> Genetics are very important, and I do have favourably genetics for building and holding muscle mass.
> 
> When I started training, however, I had 13 inch arms, had a skinny athletic physique, and competed in long distance running events. Many years of heavy squats, deadlifts and pressing exercises, eating a lot of food and resting as much as possible built my physique assisted by genetics. It's not as if having good genetics means you can train half-assed, eat crap and stay up all night.


Lucky sod  

Of course you still need to train properly.


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## Ahal84 (Jun 2, 2010)

I just want to make this clear I have never stated that because of genetics you don't have to train hard, eat and rest properly.


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## Rick89 (Feb 27, 2009)

Anyway to the OP

To answer the question, the secret is there is no secret, just hard graft in the gym and at the dinner table!!


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## Ahal84 (Jun 2, 2010)

Rick89 said:


> Anyway to the OP
> 
> To answer the question, the secret is there is no secret, just hard graft in the gym and at the dinner table!!


X2


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## m118 (Feb 4, 2011)

Rick89 said:


> Anyway to the OP
> 
> To answer the question, the secret is there is no secret, just hard graft in the gym and at the dinner table!!


agreed to the max


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## paul25601 (Jul 5, 2011)

cheers for replies, iv looked over my last few years measurements and theyve grown about .7 of an inch, so not to bad i guess. recent months have seen an improvement threw more compounds, target atm is whilst bulking hit 16 st rip up and maintain that over summer and really push for 18 biceps over the next year


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## Ste7n (Jul 12, 2011)

The secret to big arms..............is to have big legs!


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## Breda (May 2, 2011)

Squating to increase bicep size :confused1:

I suppose the secret to big legs is big arms :smartass:


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## BIGSCOUSE (May 11, 2011)

tomo8 said:


> what do you currently do for your arms?
> 
> im a brickie and my left arm i hold my trowel with is definetly bigger,ive got a vein in my bicep an the bicep seems longer and thicker than my right an my triceps thicker where it meets my elbow. So ive been training alot more with dumbells to try and even it out.


Im exactly the same tom, my right arm is a lot bigger than my left also my right pec is more defined than the left!


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## TAFFY (Jun 3, 2009)

genetics is massive advantage but tha doest mean you cant get decent size arms! form is the key weight will come isolate muscle there young boys in my gym curling 30k dumbells doing kickbacks with 25k! and they got skinny arms,make sure every rep is strict,squeeze at top,and mix it up!!

seated/standing/barbell/z-bar/cables/pull ups so on! i normally do two diff exercises that it!!


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## Ste7n (Jul 12, 2011)

Breda said:


> Squating to increase bicep size :confused1:
> 
> I suppose the secret to big legs is big arms :smartass:


Stronger legs and core muscles will increase your strength on upper body lifts and thus help upper body muscle development. The secret to big legs is a-ss to the grass...


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## gymjim (Feb 1, 2009)

Compound and body weight exercises with adequet rest and a big ass mothertrucking diet! clean of course  o and a little bit of AAS if you feel the need!


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## Breda (May 2, 2011)

anab0lic:2627633 said:


> I could put an inch or there abouts of solid arm muscle on every person that has posted in this thread if you followed exactly what I said to do for a month or two...


Bold claims


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## Jimmy1 (Aug 14, 2003)

Barker said:


> Genetics


this


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## Conscript (Sep 5, 2010)

Steroids, slin, lots of protein and big swings!


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## Jimmy1 (Aug 14, 2003)

TAFFY said:


> genetics is massive advantage but tha doest mean you cant get decent size arms! form is the key weight will come isolate muscle there young boys in my gym curling 30k dumbells doing kickbacks with 25k! and they got skinny arms,make sure every rep is strict,squeeze at top,and mix it up!!
> 
> seated/standing/barbell/z-bar/cables/pull ups so on! i normally do two diff exercises that it!!


and this

are genetic shape cant be changed....but the size can

if you have no peaks then you wont without site locations...and they are short term effects

but small arms are made bigger the same way the rest of the muscle groups are...training and food

shape however...is only a genetic blessing


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## Breda (May 2, 2011)

anab0lic:2627633 said:


> I could put an inch or there abouts of solid arm muscle on every person that has posted in this thread if you followed exactly what I said to do for a month or two...


You sound like an la muscle add.... An inch of solid muscle in a month or two... Hmmm!! Please point me to your magic methods


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## C.Hill (Nov 21, 2010)

anab0lic said:


> I could put an inch or there abouts of solid arm muscle on every person that has posted in this thread if you followed exactly what I said to do for a month or two...


I'll take you up on that!


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## Conscript (Sep 5, 2010)

Do I have to jelq my arms to gain an inch in 30 days?


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## Moonbeam (Jul 20, 2011)

Get bigger arms by smashing one out more often. Maybe go around arm wrestling in bars. That will get the blood pumping


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## maxie (Jan 31, 2011)

Has anyone got big arms without the big back and big muscle bodyweight to go with it?

If your rowing heavy,chinning and heavy close grips,bench etc your body should be growing and your arms following suit.

Biggest my arms have been is 17" at 240lb thats not good really but ive got longish arms,so for 20 inchers id need to be about 300lb! id reckon.

Id agree with the genetics thing as well first pro bodybuilder i seen had massive bis,wide as well as big,i knew then mine were never gonna be anywhere near.


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