Getting rid of arm exercises

[ajarvis]

Going off the back workout thread I have a couple of questions.

I would love to get rid of the bicep/tricep exercises, and stick to bigger exercies, like dips, pullups, bench press etc.

So my question is if I want to get rid of these exercises I am assuming I should add in more different ones. I prefer exercises that use more muscles. So right now I just do flat BP. I guess I'd add in incline? I do db rows for back what else could I add in? I am very pressed for time at the gym and am definitely not worried about building size in my arms lol. Any ideas are welcome. let me know if i didn't leave enough info.

[.V.]

To quote my big 300lb off season 260lb onstage friend.

"You need to deadlift and squat. When in doubt, deadlift or squat. If there is a question, deadlift or squat. If you want to work your arms, deadlift or squat instead. Arms are gay, don't waste your time".

OK so arms aren't gay but seriously if you are doing squat, dead, bench, and row that really IS all you need. OHP and abs aren't harmful but again if you are doing those 4 "real lifts" then they aren't totally necessary.

Want to be out of the gym in 30 minutes then here is your workout.
Squat
Row - preferably with a barbell, but dumbells are good too (or do pullups instead)
Bench (flat is fine)
Deadlift (however you like it, sumo, conventional, stiff legged)
Overhead press
crunch if you have time.

There you go, a full body workout that will give you full body results and save you a lot of time.

[ajarvis]

That would really save a TON of time. I could even do the same workout a couple times a week since I'm not getting in all that often....

Overhead press are you talking shoulder press?

[.V.]

military press, shoulder press, yeah, anything where you are pushing the barbell or dumbells from about the level of your chin or nose to fully extended over your head.

I do mine 3x a week and it works 4 me. I was doing something a little different, but have been doing 3x a week full body workouts for over a year now and really love it.

Hi Amanda,

I don't know if you are comfortable with these, put I have found that doing handstand holds with my feet against the wall for balance, is a great and very-fast way to get a workout of my shoulders, triceps and ab/core muscles.

For me, very-fast means 90 seconds or less.

You may not have access to a pullup bar, but if you do, hanging from the bar in the fully-extended position with a very slight bend in the arms to take the strain off the shoulders will work your biceps nice. Again, it's a very-fast workout, taking me 120 seconds or less.

Unless you have bodybuilding goals, you can work your biceps and triceps sufficiently with pullups and bar dips.

[ajarvis]

I usually do shoulder press standing bringing my hands down to my ear level - I could definitely do that.


Never thought oh handstand holds. I am doing dips, but am still working on being able to do chinups/pullups again. I'm almost there I attempted two last week, and got almost to my chin on both

[bodyshop20]

Sorry but i believe a balance body is achieved by a balanced workout.
Big A (welch) how are you my friend ?
If you ignore arms they will look skinny to rest of frame.
I ignored forearms and now with 18 inch bicep need to gain size on forearms.
Grow a complete physic, ignore no muscle

[.V.]

But the arms aren't being ignored. They are used for the real lifts. And they get worked pretty well on those lifts.

Sure, with specific bodybuilding goals they might need some extra, but it's really not mandatory. For us mere mortals, the basic lifts are enough.

[etothepii]

Originally Posted by bodyshop20

Sorry but i believe a balance body is achieved by a balanced workout.
Big A (welch) how are you my friend ?
If you ignore arms they will look skinny to rest of frame.
I ignored forearms and now with 18 inch bicep need to gain size on forearms.
Grow a complete physic, ignore no muscle

If you are dead lifting (heavy) a couple times per week, your forearms will get really big!!

[CF-OC_gal]

I'll bet that Amanda's arms won't get "super big" from deadlifting nor will they get super big from isolation exercises.

I agree with the others Amanda. Drop the arm exercises and go for bigger compound lifts unless of course your goal is to bodybuild. My arm and calf strength has not suffered since I gave up specific work on them alone.

Building a routine around basic compound lifts is a very balanced workout especially if you continue to work on skill.

[Maxgain]

Not to hijack thread but to expand it.
My goal is to bodybuild and I wonder whether I should drop arm exercises.

They just dont grow. I mean they are actually out of proportion to my size.

I have tried high, low reps high, low sets high intensity isolations compunds tried it all.

My current routine is 5x5 with cardio Im losing weight 7lbs but keeping and gaining strength. Lost half an inch of the arms which is out of proportion to rest of losses so I just dont know what to do with them

[bodyshop20]

Maxgain i wonder if your doing compound movements and arm isolation which in turn over work the arm.
Some people's bodies work that way.
Try leaving arms alone for a month (hard i know) but if you then see growth you know they are over working

[Maxgain]

I have tried that many a time and they just stay the same size that way.

No matter how hard an arm workout is they dont grow or how much I neglect them. The only thing that gives any doms to bis are close grip pull ups.
Tris get big doms when worked but little growth.

I have gained 12 lbs in last year and arms did not grow. Thing is they have gotten stronger just not bigger.

[.V.]

maxgain, once I was doing that, getting stronger but no bigger. MostMuscle got me to try a routine with no direct arm work. It was the same routine he was doing. They did grow a little after changing the stumulus. However, I wasn't able to tough that program out for very long, it was that tough. But yeah, it's possible that you are simply overtraining the arms.

Got to find the balance for your body. Maybe you need direct arm work, maybe you need it 3-4 times a week, maybe you don't need it at all...

Perhaps you should simply eat more. 5x5 does take a lot out of the body and if you aren't feeding it, it will turn into a cutting workout. And although we know that it IS possible, burning fat while building muscle at the same time is damn hard, hard to the point that it seems nearly impossible and you won't do great at either.

[ajarvis]

Brat I definitely don't think I'm going to get "super big" from anything either lol. I have been told that I have "big arms for a girl", but I don't know if that's true or not, and either way I don't care lol. Once I loose a few pounds they'll be back to being more defined, and I'll be happy.

So thanks all. I'll be dropping my arm exercises, and focusing on compound lifts, and BW exercies