How To Build Big Arms
Q: I've been working out for two years now. I definetly notice a huge difference especially when I'm in the gym. However, I feel like no matter what, my arms don't satisfy me when I'm not in the gym. They are bigger than before, but they don't look as cut, defined, and as big as they would in the gym so I was wondering if there was a solution to that. Thankyou
A: Unless you're one of the lucky few, arms will not be easy to build up in just two years. If you are tall and/or have long arms, it'll be even more difficult. So, first of all, prepare for a long haul battle to build up your arms. In the meanwhile here're things you should be doing:
- You should be putting on weight and muscle mass. The amount of muscle your body can build without a gain in weight is limited and it certainly won't make your arms big by itself. So you should be bulking (gaining weight and muscle). If you haven't done so already, check out my Articles section and read the Nutrition article specifically to learn how to structure your bulk.
- Going along with the previous point, your arms won't grow much unless the rest of you grows. The rule of thumb is that you'll gain 1 inch around your arm for every 10 pounds of muscle you put on your body (though of course it will vary a lot for different people). So focus on those big compound exercises, including lower body ones, as described in the Weighttraining article.
- Find what works best for you! Chances are good that your training has been pretty constant for those entire two years -- every week you spent roughly the same number of sets in the same rep range on arms and the rest of your body as well. What you'll need to do is try different things. Try very low-volume programs, try strength-specific programs, try very high volume for some time (just don't do high volume year-round -- this will only burn you out), try doing only your arms for a few weeks, then try not doing arms at all but just the major muscle groups, try different rep ranges, etc. You can find many such programs in that same weighttraining article. Give each one an honest try for 1-2 months and notice the results or lack of them. Then you'll know what works and doesn't work for you.
A good personal trainer would take note of your slow progress and make these adjustments to your program. If you don't have a trainer, you'll have to do it yourself. The main thing to focus on however is your diet and slowly gaining weight and muscle.
You also asked for definition in your muscle -- that will only come with low body fat levels. I would not try to work towards making your muscle both big and defined at the same time since the two are almost mutually exclusive. Pick one goal and focus on it. The advice I gave above is for size and I would focus on that first and worry about definition later.