Skinny/weak arms

[Bicuriousaussie]

So i was just noticing my arms seem to be a real bottleneck for strength and aesthetically, so i want to make em a priority for a while.

eg. I will feel it in my arms before i feel it in the lats if im doing a pullup.

appearance wise i'd say its the medial head of the triceps (my arms seem ok from the side but looking down my forearm is probably the same thickness lol) - can i target this specifically? Im also thinking that would help bring up arm strength? Would like it to be w/o machines though.

 

[KaraBulut]

What are you currently doing for arms?

Would you be able to post a picture?

 

[Bicuriousaussie]

What are you currently doing for arms?

Would you be able to post a picture?

hey mate, well in the past i have just done dips (not to sure about my elbows) and chinups with pullups which both seem to hit the arms a bit. Last session i have added 4 sets each of preacher curls and skullcrushers. my workouts are all over the place i prefer to be adaptable to how your body feels.

generally ill squat 3x a week
back (with arms) 2 or 3x
chest 2

i post pics when i can

 

[Ambrocious]

A lot of people do not take into consideration their bone structure of their own bodies. If you have a thinner bone structure, no matter what exactly you do, your not going to look as great as the next Joe blow.

 

[Telstra]

A lot of people do not take into consideration their bone structure of their own bodies. If you have a thinner bone structure, no matter what exactly you do, your not going to look as great as the next Joe blow.

yeah, some people are built to look like a bull (stocky look).

 

[Nephelauxetic]

generally ill squat 3x a week
back (with arms) 2 or 3x
chest 2

Sounds like total random to me. You should either do a full body workout 2-3x a week or a Front/Back split 2-3x times a week.
I think you're maybe overdoing. For how long have you been working out? Did you make any progress using your current training style?
How well do you eat? Do you get enough protein from your diet?

I seriously doubt that you need any isolation work for your arms. Better don't bother to much about french press, curls, trizeps extensions etc.

 

[lostnfound]

Some of the exercises you are doing are good--it's always better to use compound movements instead of isolation exercises, so keep up with the pull-ups (try various groups: underhand, overhand, and neutral), dips, and you should try adding a bench press (dumbbell or barbell)--as long as your workout isn't primarily just isolation movements (i.e. curls), but it is okay to add some curls at the end. Try Googling "Hypertrophy workout" and browse around. Again, the best results with arms are doing the big stuff like bench pressing, rows, pull-ups, and dips. Curls and tricep extensions just help a little bit.

Anyways, it's not what you do for exercises that makes the difference, but it's how much you eat. When trying to add muscle mass, the general rule of thumb is to eat about 300-500 calories above maintenance level, and to consume about 1-1.5g of protein per 1lb of lean body weight. It seems like to me that you're not getting your results because the diet aspect. If you tend to gain fat easily, then make sure those calories are really clean, meaning lots of lean meats, vegetables, beans, and whole grains--not junk food. However, if you burn fat at a high rate, then you could get away with eating a little bad stuff.

Good luck!

 

[Bicuriousaussie]

Thanks for the help

i forgot to correct myself it is the lateral head of the tricep.

i don't think im overtraining i integrate squats into the other w/o's and dont do heaps of excercises on the same muscles maybe 1 more likely 2. Just enough to stimulate growth and be able to do them more often.

 

[Nephelauxetic]

i don't think im overtraining i integrate squats into the other w/o's and dont do heaps of excercises on the same muscles maybe 1 more likely 2. Just enough to stimulate growth and be able to do them more often.

Overtraining is mainly a neurological issue. That's also to reason why these high splitz with 5 workouts a week not really work (for natural body builders). I still think (from the rough guess from what you wrote) if you're doing complex compound movements (squats, deadlift, push, pull, lunge) more than 3x a week is usually to much.


Pictures would help.

 

[lostnfound]

Overtraining is mainly a neurological issue. That's also to reason why these high splitz with 5 workouts a week not really work (for natural body builders). I still think (from the rough guess from what you wrote) if you're doing complex compound movements (squats, deadlift, push, pull, lunge) more than 3x a week is usually to much.

Excellent point. A full-body 3x a week should suffice.

To quote the old bodybuilding adage: "Stimulate, not annihilate!"

 

[spencer]

pull ups, chin ups, dips and leg workouts to help signal your muscles to grow.