The secret to massive arms!!

SQUAT! ... I'm serious ...

Just an anecdotal testimony to perhaps reinforce the validity of squats in a new lifters routine according to what seems to be the ultimate metric for the modern man... arm size!!

Preface: I've been squatting 3 times a week and drinking 2-3L of milk (along with eating a shyteload of food) for the past 2 weeks. I've gone from a bodyweight of 77 to 81kg and my lifts are all increasing.

I got into my favourite shirt this afternoon and found it has all of a sudden become an arm hugging muscle shirt (I've just moved house and it has been in a box until last night). Seriously I look like one of those tools who buys his shirt 3 sizes too small to show off his guns!!

Fortunately/Unfortunately I am not concerned with the size of my arms and so didn't measure them at any stage (and I do not see myself doing so any time soon) so from an empirical standpoint this experiment sucks but I have not curled a weight in 3 years and have squatted consistently for 2 weeks and now my arms don't fit (comfortably) into my shirts... make of that what you will.

My conclusion: Squats (and food) make your body grow all over.

P.S. now have to buy a new shirt ... such are the sacrifices one must make to progress eh?!

I've noticed the same as well, havent done any bicep work and shirts are a bit tighter around the arms and shoulders

ditto. i was saying to some 'pretty boys' at the gym today, i don't remember the last time i did curls but my physique keeps getting bigger & better, while squatting 3-4 times a week, with a if your hungry go for it diet approach. I'm of course keeping my bf% at a sensible level, but yeh.

I tried on a shirt that i use to comofortably wear, now....it just wont do...too tight,..now i look like one of those 3-4 times a week bicep trainees

Have you chinned, rowed, bench pressed or overhead pressed?

If yes I can garauntee this would have somethning to do with your increase upper arm girth.

Oh c'mon,

A few curls and close grips at the end of the week never hurt anyone, and they're better than no arm work at all.

Oliver04 said:

A few curls and close grips at the end of the week never hurt anyone, and they're better than no arm work at all.

Click to expand...

They never hurt anyone, it's true. But I would suggest that - if you're a beginner, so Oliver is excluded from this - if after doing a few compound lifts you still have enough energy to do curls, then you are not training very hard.

I trained two people today. All we did was squats, rows or chins, and Tabata thrusters for 4'00". Workout was under 30'00" in all, including some stretches afterwards. One was sobbing and close to collapse, another was crumbling like a biscuit in milk, saying that he was going to kill me afterwards.

Afterwards I asked each of them if they wanted to do some bicep curls, both replied with some very rude words.

As I said, this is different for experienced people. But most people lifting aren't deadlifting twice their bodyweight as Oliver is. Don't talk to me about a bicep curl if you can't do a single chinup, or about dumbell front raises if you can't even put the bar overhead.

I posted that in 2006 on another forum.

What hasnt been explained in the OP, which is why he is being ridiculed by some, is the reason your arms grow when you squat.

Your arms will grow 1" for every 7kg of bodyweight you gain. Your arms wont get larger unless you get heavier, no matter how many curls you do, its the same with every bodypart.

If this wasnt the case, those 65kg guys curling all day would have 25" arms, never going to happen.

Now whats the best way to gain weight? Squats and milk. All the PTC crew know this, as does most of ns.com

This explains why I tell people that the gym is for strength gains, the dinner table for physical transformation.

Everybody thats lifted for a few months knows you cant spot reduce, yet most ignore that it works both ways. You can improve development, but not size without a weight increase. A bigger muscle is a heavier muscle.

I was going to wait for my experiment to run the full 4 weeks before saying anything, but this is the perfect thread.

A few newsletters ago Max was stung into action about my observations. Last tuesday he decided to try the 5 litres of milk diet. Nothing else changed, not the rest of his meals, not his training.

His starting weight, first thing in the morning in his jocks, 70kg. One week later it was 72.4kg. He is around 75-76 in the evening, but we only count his Tuesday morning weight.

You wouldnt believe how much difference 2.4kg makes to a lean physique, but I'll let others tell you about that.

He squats every day and drinks 5 litres of milk. He will be close to 10kg heavier in a month. wanna guess if he'll have bigger arms?

The whole thing will be covered in a later newsletter.

The OP is right, now you have the reason.

Right, that's it....i want to gain 21kg of LBM....i want those 3 extra inches!!

The curl is an exercise that few really push to get stronger at.

It's all about the buuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrn

PS - I don't do curls

Morgan said:

It's all about the buuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrn

PS - I don't do curls

Click to expand...

I do.

Actually- I've read the proper way to do a curl is to actually curl to the point where the hand is behind the head.

Those preacher benches are all wrong, if you are going to, find a half moon preacher bench.

To see my point: the bicep inserts over the shoulder, bring your clenched fist up over your head, try to touch the space between the shoulder blades, once there fully contract the bicep hold for about 5 seconds then release, you'll feel a pretty good cramp.
Design a machine that can mimic that and you'll make a buck.

Just gives you a picture of the importance of the exercise, if anything it's good for shoulder health.
Dr ken has his people do curls as a finisher.
If it's good for him it's good for me.
Don't discount any exercise.

Sorry PTC but i have to disagree with this sentance

Your arms will grow 1" for every 7kg of bodyweight you gain. Your arms wont get larger unless you get heavier, no matter how many curls you do, its the same with every bodypart.

What your talking about here is overall Mass and that it can only expand on a structure of a certain size therfore not only your arms but other body parts will undoubtably increase- I call this the balloon theory and like most baloons it pops

But you are all correct with squats will help increase your size.
When you squat you are using the largest muscle group in the human body therfore rcovery takes its toll on the human body causing it to produce more Testosterone, GH etc to repair and grow.

Now at an elite level Squats actually become a full body lift just like Olympic Bench where you use your legs quiet alot.

But one thing i will re-enforce is squating is one of the essential exercises for Growth

I have no idea what you just said.

Are you saying your arms WONT grow if you get heavier?

Are you saying squats and milk WONT make you heavier?

What baloon?

WTF is an Olympic bench?

I don't think you should completely neglect arms, they play a pretty big role in most lifts, particularly presses and pulls from the floor.

However they're such a small muscle - biceps are no bigger than a softball at max, and don't require that much work.

3x10 curls and dips on a friday are as much as you need, and you're probably better off than without them.

I recently started a compund strength program (e.g inc Squats and Deadlifts and other fun things), which I note included Standing BB Curls.

Whilst only been on the program for about 1 month, I've noticed I can now pull much bigger weight and more reps on the BB Curls (with good form). I've initially put this down to the strength I've recently created on the program (e.g. weighted dips, BB bench press), but may be wrong.

Either way, absolutely loving the new program.

Is that the Reg Park 5x5 program? I've seen it around this forum, its not too bad.

Gotta remember though - in the article in which it was first written Reg Park says the first two sets of the 5x5 were warm ups (so essentially its 3x5). Also, if you're doing regular deadlifts Reg only used it once for one set a week as he sound them so brutal.

Please, please tell me you dont think Reg only ever used one program lol....or that he ever named it.

Why the facination with putting someones name to a group of exercises that were done before he was a glint in his old mans eye.

Curls are important, after your squats

Hows that belt Oli, anymore rowing PB's ?????????????????????????

Lol, tomorrow I'll do my squat/bench/deadlift so I'll get back to you.

I'm tempted to go beltless though so I can show off my 170kg PR (I move up with 25kg discs so this is a pretty cool moment).

are you going to count the bar when you report to us your belted squat! lol

I love bb curls supersetted with tricep pushdowns. Can one ever really polish the guns too much? LOL

Do whatever you want AFTER you have squatted, pulled, pressed, rowed, ect.