Why won’t my arms grow?

[Brain5ick]

My biceps and triceps get stronger rather quickly but don’t really size up as much. I can easily curl 40lbs dumbbells for 20 reps but not sure what my 1RM is for curls, I feel like I’d injure myself if I went above 55s. Tricep cable pulldowns are 140 for 14 or 120 for 20-25. My chest and back are pretty damn big so my arms I feel look disproportionate. Any advice?

 

[SDPonce63]

I had some trouble with my arms growing out so I dedicated a day for biceps and triceps separately. This is my regimen, everyone’s got different opinions but I found this to be effective.
Monday: chest
Tuesday: back
Wednesday: legs
Thursday: shoulders
Friday: biceps
Sat: triceps
Sunday: rest
I’ve seen drastic improvement in my arms doing this. I am able to effectively hit each head on the biceps and triceps with dedicating a day to each. Hope this helps!

 

[SDPonce63]

I had some trouble with my arms growing out so I dedicated a day for biceps and triceps separately. This is my regimen, everyone’s got different opinions but I found this to be effective.
Monday: chest
Tuesday: back
Wednesday: legs
Thursday: shoulders
Friday: biceps
Sat: triceps
Sunday: rest
I’ve seen drastic improvement in my arms doing this. I am able to effectively hit each head on the biceps and triceps with dedicating a day to each. Hope this helps!

Also, don’t focus on the numbers on weights. Pick up something you can do SLOW and CONTROLLED. Time under tension grows. Don’t be an ego lifter LOL

 

[Brain5ick]

Also, don’t focus on the numbers on weights. Pick up something you can do SLOW and CONTROLLED. Time under tension grows. Don’t be an ego lifter LOL

Normally 40s are as high as I’ll go because I can’t get good contraction or pump with anything heavier as far as dumbbells go. I try to do pause reps with 35s. I do PPL for my split though.

 

[BEAST73]

My biceps and triceps get stronger rather quickly but don’t really size up as much. I can easily curl 40lbs dumbbells for 20 reps but not sure what my 1RM is for curls, I feel like I’d injure myself if I went above 55s. Tricep cable pulldowns are 140 for 14 or 120 for 20-25. My chest and back are pretty damn big so my arms I feel look disproportionate. Any advice?

How long have you been training Your Arms,because training the body for size improvements,might take months or Years.

 

[hairygrandpa]

My biceps and triceps get stronger rather quickly but don’t really size up as much. I can easily curl 40lbs dumbbells for 20 reps but not sure what my 1RM is for curls, I feel like I’d injure myself if I went above 55s. Tricep cable pulldowns are 140 for 14 or 120 for 20-25. My chest and back are pretty damn big so my arms I feel look disproportionate. Any advice?

My guess is genetics have a lot to say. I almost don't curl -only to chase a pump. My arm growth is due to: elevated push ups, dips (weighted and bw), chin ups (weighted and BW). Triceps , using cables to chase a pump -mostly moderate weight and sh1tload of volume once a week.

 

[Brain5ick]

How long have you been training Your Arms,because training the body for size improvements,might take months or Years.

About 2 years now.

 

[BEAST73]

Brain5ick,try adding dumbbell Hammer curls to your arm workout.

 

[jameschoi]

About 2 years now.

How old are you.

 

[Dmc9336]

Maybe it’s a back problem. Do you really engage your lats when working back? If not, you could be just over training your bi’s. They need 72 hours to recover before the next workout. Just thought from an old bro.

 

[Brain5ick]

Brain5ick,try adding dumbbell Hammer curls to your arm workout.

I do, normally 3 sets from different angles every time. Plus isolated hammer curls and spider curls on incline.

 

[Brain5ick]

Maybe it’s a back problem. Do you really engage your lats when working back? If not, you could be just over training your bi’s. They need 72 hours to recover before the next workout. Just thought from an old bro.

I do, sometimes I even drop the weight if I can’t get a good enough squeeze on my lats.

 

[BEAST73]

I get best results for my body from the proper eating and recovery.

 

[Dmc9336]

Do you have long arms? I do at 6’5”. I have to do incline DB curls at 45 degrees to get a stretch to grow. I believe the stretch is what has added my size. Also higher reps in the 15 to 20 range or more. You know the kind when about rep 8 the work begins.

 

[Brain5ick]

Do you have long arms? I do at 6’5”. I have to do incline DB curls at 45 degrees to get a stretch to grow. I believe the stretch is what has added my size. Also higher reps in the 15 to 20 range or more. You know the kind when about rep 8 the work begins.

I’m only 6 foot but I kinda do have longer arms. I’ll attach a pic I took tonight so you guys can see my general dimensions although it’s not a good pic to see my arms.

 

[Brain5ick]

Added another recent one. Lemme know what you think. I’ve got a big chest and pretty traps.

 

[DemntedCowboy]

Brain5ick,try adding dumbbell Hammer curls to your arm workout.

This, I love doing incline bench DB Hammer Curls. You can really feel these.

 

[BEAST73]

You don’t need to go too heavy. Just add more sets and reps to each arm exercise.

 

[Dmc9336]

You don’t need to go too heavy. Just add more sets and reps to each arm exercise.

Agreed. Target the lower bi. Standing lateral cable curls to the forehead. You get good inner size from other pulling moves. So go isolation and maximum pump.

 

[R1balla]

Train arms twice a week. Include close grip pull ups on back day, reverse grip bench and close grip bench.

 

[Humble]

Some things you may want to consider.

I recently started spending 30 minutes on the elliptical before lifting and changed from a strength routine (4-8 reps) over the past 12 months to a stamina routine (10-15 reps) for my biceps and triceps. The other thing I am doing is starting a new set once my heart rate gets to 60% of maximum and working up to 80% to 90% on each set. I use a Polar H10 heart rate monitor while working out.

After just a few weeks, I am already seeing noticeable size increases and strength in my arm muscles. I also upped my calories from 2400-2500 to 2800-3000 calories the past few weeks thinking I was starving my muscles. With these results, I’m liking the more food, 30 minute aerobic training, and higher reps routine.

I hope this helps!

Good luck!

 

[muscleupcrohn]

Are yo getting a full ROM on Curls? All the way down, but not losing tension in the biceps, and all the way up to a strong flex, but still not resting it relaxed at the top?

Have you ever tried offset dumbbell Curls? Imagine holding dumbbells like you’re doing hammer curls, then let the dumbbells slide down in your hands so your grip is now touching the top of the dumbbell where it meets the handle (so more dumbbell is hanging down that is above your hand). Now so normal, not hammer, Curls this way. So not only are you doing your normal curls, which uses the biceps to curl the arm up, but now you have to use your biceps to supinate your wrist, since the dumbbell is putting a moment/torque on the dumbbell; you have to work to keep it straight and not fall back down to a hammer grip position. It’s a lighter weight than normal or hammer curls, but you get an amazing flex on the top, and it works both functions of the biceps. So it starts like hammer curls at the bottom of the rep, and ends like normal (palms up) curls at the end, but you have to work to rotate the dumbbells to that position as opposed to it not normally requiring any real effort, as there’s no real net moment on the dumbbell with normal curls since the weight is evenly distributed at equal distances relative to the point of rotation (your hand).

 

[AlexPowell]

If you're not gaining weight then your arms are not going to get bigger

I have this problem as well. In fact I have decided that I will only train arms and squats for a while

I have a hypothesis that for a lot of guys, especially not taking drugs, the body cannot grow rapidly all at once. Whenever I gain, my shoulders and back tends to grow and not much else. Even when I do a lot more volume on the lagging areas it seems that just my strong areas want to grow

So I will test this out, arms and squats only, seeing as these are the parts that are really lagging for me. I might even drop squats and just do calf raises. I will see how dips, curls and squats go for a month first

 

[BennyMagoo79]

My biceps and triceps get stronger rather quickly but don’t really size up as much. I can easily curl 40lbs dumbbells for 20 reps but not sure what my 1RM is for curls, I feel like I’d injure myself if I went above 55s. Tricep cable pulldowns are 140 for 14 or 120 for 20-25. My chest and back are pretty damn big so my arms I feel look disproportionate. Any advice?

Dude i am in the same boat. Lately however, i have noticed my arms have been getting thicker, and I think its because I have started doung a lot of dropset stuff with preacher curls and cable tris.

 

[muscleupcrohn]

If you're not gaining weight then your arms are not going to get bigger

I have this problem as well. In fact I have decided that I will only train arms and squats for a while

I have a hypothesis that for a lot of guys, especially not taking drugs, the body cannot grow rapidly all at once. Whenever I gain, my shoulders and back tends to grow and not much else. Even when I do a lot more volume on the lagging areas it seems that just my strong areas want to grow

So I will test this out, arms and squats only, seeing as these are the parts that are really lagging for me. I might even drop squats and just do calf raises. I will see how dips, curls and squats go for a month first

Dips does work Chest a bit too, so at least you’re not entirely neglecting your chest haha. Could you consider adding at least some chin-ups too? They’re biceps intensive, but should also provide at least enough back stimulation to maintain its current level. Not to mention doing a compound movement that hits biceps may help them grow as well.

Maybe:

-Dips
-(and some Pushdowns maybe?)
-Curls
-Chin-ups

So you get a compound and isolation movements for each muscle.

 

[hairygrandpa]

Smith drag curls could be beneficial too

[video=youtube;HAZh0XfEZFA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAZh0XfEZFA[/video].

 

[AlexPowell]

Dips does work Chest a bit too, so at least you’re not entirely neglecting your chest haha. Could you consider adding at least some chin-ups too? They’re biceps intensive, but should also provide at least enough back stimulation to maintain its current level. Not to mention doing a compound movement that hits biceps may help them grow as well.

Maybe:

-Dips
-(and some Pushdowns maybe?)
-Curls
-Chin-ups

So you get a compound and isolation movements for each muscle.

Now I just think, "what is the worst that can happen?"
I know that after taking two years off, my muscle came back after 8 weeks. How bad can a month of not training back and shoulders really be?

Perhaps if this is successful, I will follow it with a month of chin ups, triceps extensions and calve raises!

 

[Humble]

Smith drag curls could be beneficial too

[video=youtube;HAZh0XfEZFA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAZh0XfEZFA[/video].

I always enjoy the new YouTube exercises you post, hairygrandpa!

Thanks again!

 

[hairygrandpa]

I always enjoy the new YouTube exercises you post, hairygrandpa!

Thanks again!

Those are the exercises I do, I just look them up on youtube to avoid filming myself. I only post vids on exercises I found to have made a major difference for me. Glad you like em!

On the smith drag curls, its normal that you use only the index -and middle finger to hold the bar, don't try to get a firm grip

The burn is almost unbearable, if you do them like the guy, with a squeeze on top. It also does isolate the biceps and does not involve your front delts. Awesome exercise!

 

[AntM1564]

Try different exercises and training techniques, 10x10, 8x8, drop sets, rest pause, countdown sets, blood flow restricted training, etc. Play around with rest times and rep ranges as well.

 

[ericos_bob]

You don’t need to go too heavy. Just add more sets and reps to each arm exercise.

This, and focus on isolating the tri's and bi's. The weight you're moving suggest you're not truly isolating your arms. Given your larger muscle groups are much more powerful I suggest spend time on isolation exercises training with higher volume, lower loads and training for the pump. A high number of sets and reps (12-15) coupled with short rest periods (30 seconds). Supersetting biceps and triceps works great as do other methods. An arm training sesson should have you dripping in sweat. It will be a shock to the system and chances are you'll see some nice results.

 

[muscleupcrohn]

This, and focus on isolating the tri's and bi's. The weight you're moving suggest you're not truly isolating your arms. Given your larger muscle groups are much more powerful I suggest spend time on isolation exercises training with higher volume, lower loads and training for the pump. A high number of sets and reps (12-15) coupled with short rest periods (30 seconds). Supersetting biceps and triceps works great as do other methods. An arm training sesson should have you dripping in sweat. It will be a shock to the system and chances are you'll see some nice results.

Yep. I see guys swinging around way too heavy weight for biceps. The form may not always be terrible, but it’s almost always not ideal for actually getting sufficient time under tension or maximum contraction for the biceps. The way I see it is I can throw around heavy weights for curls for an hour or two a week, or I can build my biceps to look good for the other 99% of the time.

 

[Country]

Same issue b4 till my split was
Back and lite bi work
Chest and lite tri work
Legs
Delts
Arms but heavy movements my tris didn't grow big until heavy closegrip press,weighted dips then the cable work. Bis straight bar curl heavy but not where its hurting your forearms,strict incline curls, concentration curls all the big basics. Once i got the size i started more of the cable work for bicep peaks and the horseshoe tri

 

[R1balla]

I love drag curls!

Anyways, I forgot to mention one thing. Every time I do arms (usually on its own day) I never do the same routine or exercises as I did before. Always changing it and I BLAST them. My arms are always sore the day after. Not saying being sore = growth just stating that they do get worked.

 

[hairygrandpa]

I love drag curls!

Anyways, I forgot to mention one thing. Every time I do arms (usually on its own day) I never do the same routine or exercises as I did before. Always changing it and I BLAST them. My arms are always sore the day after. Not saying being sore = growth just stating that they do get worked.

My biceps and triceps get stronger rather quickly but don’t really size up as much. I can easily curl 40lbs dumbbells for 20 reps but not sure what my 1RM is for curls, I feel like I’d injure myself if I went above 55s. Tricep cable pulldowns are 140 for 14 or 120 for 20-25. My chest and back are pretty damn big so my arms I feel look disproportionate. Any advice?

I figured that rest is important.
Try to have at least 2 days between back day/chest day and arms day, like monday: chest/thuesday: back/wednesday legs+shoulders/thursday off/ friday: arms

 

[AntM1564]

Just to revisit the thread, this article was in an email on Sunday from T-Nation. I have noticed my arm growth has slowed as well although strength is up. I am going to go with the train arms less option.

https://www.t-nation.com/training/7-surprising-tips-for-bigger-arms

This made me evaluate my training. I follow a 5/3/1 PPL hybrid and think I need less direct arm training. On my heavy push day, I do 5/3/1 bench and OHP with some accessory work, I am going to drop the few isolation sets I do for triceps since I am doing a bunch of heavy pressing. I also noticed on those days that my biceps get a little sore from the heavy pressing, so I am going to drop my direct bicep training from 12 sets per week, split into two days of 6 sets, down to a single day of 6 sets.

Look over your training and think about how often you are hitting your biceps and triceps, even if it isn't with isolation work. Remember, compound movements will still break down muscle fibers in those muscles and then if you are doing more direct work on top of that, you may need to look things over.

 

[BEAST73]

Just to revisit the thread, this article was in an email on Sunday from T-Nation. I have noticed my arm growth has slowed as well although strength is up. I am going to go with the train arms less option.

https://www.t-nation.com/training/7-surprising-tips-for-bigger-arms

This made me evaluate my training. I follow a 5/3/1 PPL hybrid and think I need less direct arm training. On my heavy push day, I do 5/3/1 bench and OHP with some accessory work, I am going to drop the few isolation sets I do for triceps since I am doing a bunch of heavy pressing. I also noticed on those days that my biceps get a little sore from the heavy pressing, so I am going to drop my direct bicep training from 12 sets per week, split into two days of 6 sets, down to a single day of 6 sets.

Look over your training and think about how often you are hitting your biceps and triceps, even if it isn't with isolation work. Remember, compound movements will still break down muscle fibers in those muscles and then if you are doing more direct work on top of that, you may need to look things over.

I agree 100%