What I love about you is that your not just some theoretical guy that only focuses on "the studies" without actual applications. You yourself are a case study and you put it to the test on your own body. Respect.
@@RishabhSharma10225 It’s good to be a bit science based and anecdotal evidence based (bro science) but some people get too far caught in the extremes Jeff nipples being the science based poster boy of UA-cam.
@@psilocybinenthusiast3695 Can you mention somethings Jeff bases on studies that is wrong though? Also I don’t think Jeff has ever said research is set in stone. He often highlights contradictions within the literature before giving a final conclusion. And while he might not be at the level of people like Alex and BOM he still has some relatively big numbers, Alex and BOM are niche outliers in the grand scheme of things
@@KurokamiNajimi that deloads are a a must. He wasn't open to lover volume but a complete break from the gym. This is the right advice for powerlifting (to get your 99% strength) but not hypertrophy (where 80% consistently would give better growth)
You killed it, man. This is the advice I needed. I remember fighting from a 55-pound to a 250-pound bench press, and from assisted chin-ups to 80-pound chin-ups, and being so confused about why I still had 11-inch arms. When I programmed biceps curls and triceps extensions into my workout routine, I was able to bring my arms from 11 inches up to 15.5 inches. When I finally started progressively overloading the right exercises, I finally started to see a link between arm strength and arm size.
What was your preferred biceps and triceps exercise if you had to pick only one for each? I'm looking to just add 1 set of isolation after my compound upper body training.
@@robinegberts2616 cable tricep push down, then lower the cable to do standing cable curl will be really good and fast. might even have time for a second set lol. 1 set wtf if u can do 1, u could spare 3 more minutes to squeeze 3 super sets in.
@@DrTopLiftDPT Thanks for advice! I have the time haha, but for some reason tolerate low arm volume. If I do too many sets, it will negatively impact my next pullups and dips sessions.
Glad you mentioned Geoffrey in this video, his arm tips have really been helpful in getting rid of my torso dominance. Those overhead extensions in particular feel pretty amazing lol
When I first started training, my friend who taught me everything basically pushed me towards starting strength. He was already advanced when we were in high school, so taking advice from him made a lot of sense at the time. So for a year I ran starting strength and after that I ran madcow and texas method. I got really strong, but aside from my lower body, I was a DYEL. I was such a DYEL, that I was secretive about the fact that I trained. People outside of my main friends and family didn't even know I trained as much as I did. My friends who all lifted would actually make fun of how lacking my gains were. We were all so immersed into powerlifting dogma at the time that we all just thought my upper body genetics were trash. I stopped lifting for a couple years then got back into it without giving a shit about numbers or strength or even the big 3. Surprisingly, I followed kinobody and Austin dunham and alphadestiny vids, and just cared about building an impressive weighted pullup, focus on that upper chest and upper back and have a lean physique. I trained purely for hypertrophy. My physique got pretty crazy really fast training this way. I realized, flat benching wasn't doing shit for my chest, especially doing reps of 3 to 5. I also realized I was neglecting the upper back which I learned from ALphas vids. I now have the physique I wanted that I thought these powerlifting programs would give me lol. My friend who got me into these routines never needed to isolate as much tbh because he's super short and stocky, while I'm tall and lanky. I learned that we need to train with our leverages being kept in mind.
There are chins and weighted chins in the program. Also lying tricep extensions were there too, at the point your presses slows down. It’s there in the book and youtube. SS is not as bad as you think honestly. Edit: there’s barbell curl in the book too if you wanted to do for sets of 10 with increasing load. I don’t see why it’s misleading.
Word on the bench press for chest. All I did was injure my shoulder constantly. Personally for me, I started doing machines only for chest and since they've seen gains like I've never seen before. I was so dogmatic about not using machines that I wasted time
@@huylifts he did the strength training program without actually specialising into his chosen sport (body building). SS tells you to specialize at the intermediate level.
I mean Rip famously doesn't like bodybuilding and doesn't give a shit about physique so it's a wonder to me that people think following his programs are gonna make you aesthetic lmao that said I definitely got huge on them, everyone reacts differently to training due to anthropometry. But eventually I started doing more bodybuilding because I wanted to get big and strong, especially in my extremities. Plus Rip has always said that once your novice gains are done you should do a bodybuilding program if that's what your goal is. And tricep isolations are eventually recommended in intermediate programming if triceps are a limiting factor so it's not like there is no targeted movements at all. The hate towards SS is 99% of the time due to dumb people not doing their research. The other 1% is Rip intentionally riling people up like throwing the trap bar into a dumpster 😂 A lot of coaches have the luxury of working with people who are already determined and skilled at lifting. Guys like SS take on the much more difficult task of making strength training digestible for normal people and athletes which is why, despite not agreeing with Rip on everything, I have a ton of respect for his approach to training. IDGAF if it's not the most oPtiMaL training for powerlifters or bodybuilders. It's one of the best introductions into strength training for the vast majority of people who just want to be athletic and in shape and not necessarily freakishly buff and strong and still gives you an excellent base if you decide to specialize.
I've been a torso dominant guy for the longest time. I decided to do EXACTLY what he says on this video..Do an arm day, do more isolation work for arms after compounds and that's when I saw results in my arms. This video is quality my brotha 👌
Ok tell me where i can do an arm day.I train Chest arms then legs and then Back shoulder then i do rest then chest arms again then back shoulder then rest again.Where can i add an arm day.Don‘t wanna go 6 times a week to the gym.Is there any option?
Ever since i saw that podcast you did with basement bodybuilding, ive realised i was deluded into training like a powerlifter to get jacked with some half assed bodybuilding movements for the last like 2 years. Goal now is to build a physique like Steve Reeves( huge calves, big arms and wide lats). Appreciate the bodybuilding content mate.
I totally agree with the body diamorphia one, like it is not easy to train, and you want to see gains, but when you are torso dominant you start to question what you are doing and say"I want big arms too bro" since that I started training arms and it went preety well, I train mostly calisthenics. It is not bad itself the body dismorphia if there are flaws in your trai ing, it is bad when you can't do something to change it but still you want to.
I'm so much more happier with my training and life since admitting to myself I want to look good first and foremost. Fully doikg bodybuilding type training now, none of that powerbuilding nonsense. The funny thing is I'm nowhere near what I'd like to look like, but I'm enjoying the process and knowing that I'm on the way to that goal is really fulfilling. And somehow my training is harder in ways I want it, but less stressful to my overall body and joints. Instead of focusing on hitting a set rep and weigh goal, it's about putting in the appropriate effort, while of course making sure performance goes up gradually.
@@Aslan-ut2ex I'm following Mike Israetel style of training. Search something like RIR mesocycle or something. I use a push pull legs, rest, upper lower, rest split, but what matters is you do one you enjoy.
One arm advice that took me 2 months to figure out : Grip the weight as tight as you can. That will give you a good forearm activation on almost all exercises and allow you to exert more strength as the weight and your arm are more stable.
Man... I'm totally guilty of neglecting arms. I also brought into the whole "get stronger at the basics" I'm natural slight and tall with long arms so I've always been at a disadvantage.
@@brendanmichel5313 nah I'm actually way stronger at benching then rows but that's probably because I love pressing and haven't prioritized rows like I should have until recently.
@@Alejandro-sr8by lol, that's what's up. Only time having these long ass arms is reaching for stuff and when it's time to throw hands. Fucking sucks for aesthetics 😅🤦🏼♂️... Way it's looking is I'll probably have to be repping 300 before I actually look like I fucking lift, smdh. Current max on bench is 245 and you wouldn't be able to tell by looking at me IMO. Maybe I just have a little dysmorphia going on though🤔😅🤷🏼♂️
Never heard a better way of describing big chest/back and arms that aren't exactly proportional than "Torso dominance". Hit the nail on the head with this video
Strong agreement from me Alex. As a natty I’m feeling torso dominant. My 16.5 inch arms (without pump) confirms this. Thinking about going on an arm specialisation phase for a while. I’m weak at dumbbell curls too relative to chin ups. I said this to a mate yesterday and he reckons I have body dismorphia. Maybe. But no harm in doing some arm focus anyway I think. Great video mate.
I'd also add that 16.5 inch arms are objectively big arms no matter how you slice it. Not best on the planet arms but bigger than 99.9% of the population.
Alex this is the first time I’ve thought “maybe Alex doesn’t look Torso dominant anymore?” And that’s a huge testament to your hardwork and how amazing your physique is becoming. You’re the real man of this game! Ultimate respect 🙏🏼
Good job at addressing your past biases and growing in your training ideology. The points you touched on in this were really great and beneficial overall and this video was basically the perfect thing you could have posted at this time. Good job man. Keep up the good work
My experience confirms this. When I just started out in the gym a dude in his mid 20s approached me as I was doing some curls and told me to leave that and focus on compound movements because that's what makes your arms grow, not isolation. For some reason I believed him so I did pretty much only compound movements and worked my way up to weighted pull ups and benching my bw for reps yet my arms were still very small. Only when I reworked my training split and decided to set some time aside to really focus on my arms they started looking better.
i think another good example is jonnie candito. his physique was way more aesthetically impressive back when his total was smaller, because he was leaner, but also consistently trained db curls, more pulling movements, and i think he did a lot of seated db ohp too, whereas when his training became way more specific to powerlifting, his physique drastically changed.
I used to ignore arm isolation movements so my arms are lagging a bit. Now I prioritise arm isolation movements near the start of my upper body days, and now I am gradually seeing a difference.
Very true. Louie Simmons used to always say that the long head of the tricep is nicknamed the "lazy head" because it doesn't do much work at all for power movements. The only way to get that muscle to work hard is to isolate it. That's coming from Louie, the arguable godfather of powerlifting.
I think you're actually my favourite fitness/lifting content creator. No clickbait or gimmicks. Just straight up info that's invaluable to someone like me with an interest in resistance training. I got into the gym after I got sober and it's become an obsession of it's own. Thanks for all the great videos man!
I just want to say brother. Your advice is extremely valuable; through your channel i discovered concurrent training which gave me huge size and strength gains ( best way to train for bodybuilders with strength goals in my opinion). Keep up the good work.
Isn’t exactly the focus of the conversation, but the problem I had was small forearms compared to my upper arms. They have caught up now because of Old School Strength’s advice as well as ofhers.
My issue is the other way around. I started hitting arms and they have gone up. My forearms are 16+ inches but my upper arm is only 15+ inches after a pump lol. Keep grinding. Ps. I used to only do farm work as well no workouts to get 16+ inch forearms.
Great advice man! I’ve been on your novice program for a couple months now and within the past 3 weeks I’ve been increasing arm volume a ton. Two bicep and two tricep per exercises per workout has been great.
In my opinion, the main reason why certain strength trainees develop such torso dominance is because of their poor understanding of how big limb muscles (I.e biceps and triceps) actually work biomechanically. The biceps, and the long head of the triceps, will never be fully developed from multi joint exercises, because they cannot fully stimulate during such fundamental movement patterns. The scientific explanation to this is the biarticular muscle theory. Since the biceps and the long head of the triceps are biarticular muscles, their muscle length doesn’t change much during multi joint exercises. Because of that, they cannot produce enough tension, Therefore not being able to contribute much during such exercises. The short and lateral head of the triceps will grow very well from heavy pressing. Pull-ups and rows will develop your brachialis and brachioradialis to a magnificent extent. These limb muscles, mentioned in this paragraph, aren’t biarticular and therefore could contribute fully to multi joint exercises, and depending on the trainee, they could be serious limiting factors during the execution of multi joint exercises. This theory also applies to why squats don’t train the hamstrings. To sum up- We need to understand how and when certain muscles work. Biarticular muscles, like the biceps and the long of the triceps, will never be fully developed through execution of compound exercises simply because it is impossible to fully stimulate them during such exercises. If you want to fully develop a muscle, you should train it directly. This applies to any group of muscles, but most importantly for your biarticular limb muscles.
I'm glad you brought up Geoffrey's programming. I absolutely love that overhead extension tricep exercise, and have been seeing some really clear results.
Bro, you are honestly becoming the best fitness youtuber on the whole platform. It seems like this and the next year is really yours to take. Keep pumping out quality content bro
I did not see my long head until I started isolating it with skull crushers. Your short head might develop with just compounds but isolation work is a must for the long head. I don't think anyone developed the long head with just compounds. Another great video Alex.
Hey Alex I know you did a pod with Basement Bodybuilding but can you do another one with him (hosted by you this time?) I love the way he explains things and I could listen to you talk for hours. Keep up the high quality videos!
As a torso dominant i always focused on compound movements to grow my arms. I tried everything that i could to recruit my biceps during chin ups, literally every advice out there, don’t pull the elbow down and back, pull with the arms, bend the wrist outwards, i practiced my technique day after day to engage my biceps, same with dips for triceps. I never felt my biceps during chin ups nor my triceps during dips. I always felt my forearms, back, chest and shoulders despite all the effort to focus on the arms. I guess some people are just genetically gifted or know how to recruit a given muscle with any exercise. My arms went from 12 to 15 inches since i started to incorporate isolation exercises and I started to feel my biceps and triceps sore after the workouts which never happened with chin ups and dips. This is the best advise for bigger arms, don’t rely on compound movements. You’re the best, Alex!
On a side note, I think it largely depends on the size of the ribcage and the length of the clavicles. I've observed this with myself and friends. One of my friends in particular has a very different rib structure than me. Whereas I've got a more barrel chest that is large in the sagittal plane (front to back), his is flatter but larger in the frontal plane (left to right). My theory on how this plays out is that the more the ribs are protruding, the more room for stretching the chest and back musculature has. It sort of works as a pulley for the muscle. Consequently the exposure to mechanical stress should be higher, because the muscle elongates and shortens more. The length of the collar bones determines how far away from the torso your arms extend. I think the longer the clavicles are, the greater the mobility of the shoulder is. What's strange about that is that the farther from the torso your shoulders extend, the more vertical your arms stand. That by itself allows for better alignment of the biceps' and triceps' fibers with gravity. Going back to my friend he always feels his arms working in any exercise and has no trouble growing them. His chest and back are very poorly leveraged and I think because of that he has trouble developing them.
I think this is some really great content. Just wanted to say the video flowed very well and literally answered everything I wanted to hear on torso dominance. Really appreciate the info!
I just discovered your channel and damn you're a true gem in the fitness industry along with the likes of Sean Nalewanyj. No bullshit, just true advice and help for natural lifters
I am arm, shoulder and trap dominant, so pretty much the opposite of your physique (I think I resemble more to GVS for example). I almost don't isolate my arms and shoulders anymore and they are just fine. Your advice has been super helpful, entering the weighted dip is really bringing up my chest, which is the bodypart that I want to improve the most, as well as continuing to grow my lats. Thanks to you and the other natty tubers progressing has never being easier, so thank you so much. Greetings from Spain! PS: You should try to take a look at the spanish community, where the knowledge is very sub-par in the majority of cases and maybe you guys can do something about it. Just some thoughts.
That’d be a win for the fitness community if he decided to expand into other languages. I won’t hold him to it though cause that’s double the time for very little gain to his own channel.
@@itsjustme5097 That's true, however we are talking about the second biggest online community in the world, and let me tell you that our presence on UA-cam and Twitch, specially Spain which has a shit ton of content creators with millions of followers from all over the world (I don't know if you heard all the Andorra thing). If the message that these guys preach expands to such a large extent, it would have an amazing impact, giving how fresh it would be. But you are totally right, it is very difficult. Keep going strong brother!
@@IvanDraco01 Thank you for the insight. I’m not particularly familiar with any other fitness communities with other languages. Just that they tend to be smaller and misinformed compared to the English speakers. Stay strong
@@itsjustme5097 normally you'd be right but Spanish is one of the 5 most spoken languages in the world like english or mandarin. Keep in mind it's the language in most Southamerica and central america apart from Spain + lots of people in the USA...but in many topics like this one the content is not so 'advanced' so it's a viewing mine ready to be exploited 😆
Every person had different experience in terms of training. I always trained like a bodybuilder with more isolation exercises free weights and cable. I used to hate deadlift and squats and never did them only leg press and leg extensions etc etc. I always used to say to myself and others that i am a bodybuilder i don't care about strenght, then i watched a video on youtube about a year ago and the guy spoke about how deadlift and squats, weighted dips and weighted pull ups was the best thing he ever did and how it changed his body so that inspired me to try it and i can tell you honestly it was the best thing that i did and it made me feel and look stronger. Now a days i do my compound exercises and then follow up with couple isolation exercises. From my experience changing the style you train will give your body different stimulus and that will make it to grow. You dont stick to only bodybuilding style or power lifting style, it is best to go through phases. I remember when i first started doing weighted dips and my tricep was sore and it was sore in an area that i have never been sore before and i was training for years so in my mind i was like is my tricep sore or did i injure my tricep, i was baffled coz i never had that soreness in that particular area and my tricep blew up so the best thing to do is once your body get used to certain exercises and style of training change it and you will benefit alot from it and by the way deadlift transformation was even crazier lol
Embrace your torso dominance, Alex. As an arm dominant lifter, I get constant injuries and/or pain in my shoulders, hips, knees, etc. The torso is where the true functional muscles are, and you're lucky to be naturally dominant in that area.
Totally true, i have elite Vertical Pull strenght (just above 70kg chinup right now) but my Biceps are the worst part of my body, while my back absolutely exploded. I need to bring in more bb work for sure
Theres an old Elliot Hulse video where he explained he doesnt like bodybuilding because it "fucking hurts", and that lifting heavy was more fun. If you watch any CT Fletcher video, the people training arms under him are in serious pain. I think its safe to assume that direct arm work is a test in pain tolerance. Perhaps one can even build pain tolerance in the same manner they build their nervous system for strength gains.
Sadly I kind of have this type of physique, I injured my right bicep 3 years ago while armwrestling, so I can't train it anymore. But I'm too lucky to be blessed with good tricep and great forearms genetics
I have 16 inch arms I’m 5 feet 8 1/2 I’ve got a relatively low total on my Big three 235 benchpress 275 squat and 405 dead lift I always feel like my shoulders and arms are lagging My chest and upper back our way oversized for what I can lift Yet everyone I speak to says I am in proportion I have a large rib cage and very wide hips At the end of the day we are only able to play the cards life deals us Strive to do better part of the things you want to achieve I really don’t think torso dominance or limb dominance exists I think it’s down to bone structure and I think the Internet breaks people and makes us believe we have to look a certain way You are one of the best Alex as you encourage people to be a better version of themselves rather than expecting people to look like you
This is a great Video Alex. Being a long armed lifter, I definitely had the spider physique from focusing on the big 3. I started doing a Powerbuilding style program like Jeff Nippard. Adding some arms or delt work at the end of each day and a specific Arms "Pump Day" at the end of the week was extremely helpful.
my arms lagging behind my fat stomach, that's why I'm torso dominant 😂 that's why my 18,5 inch arms are looking small. you forgot that point in the vid! btw. Alex, I'm watching your videos for nearly 5 years now and your advices have really improved, you're on the right way bro.
Torso dominant here at 5'10'' with a 6'1'' wingspan after training for 7 years even with isolation work but done incorectly, for the past 6 months with NH advice's for arm training i gained 0.25 inches at the same bf, haven't done that since i was a noob.
I totally agree with ya! I have recently got back in to training, but being heavily depressed, I have only been doing the 3 major movements, push-up, pull-up(rows) and squats. I noticed that my arms weren't really gaining as fast as my chest and back. Mind you, I don't do very many reps/sets/week, like 1-5 reps, maybe 2 sets, sometimes, twice a week, normally once. I went from doing doorway rows to being able to do 3 pulls-ups(messy 3rd, but it was just to see where I was). I only added doing 2 sets doing 3-5 reps, in a circuit with only 10 second rest between sets. Was surprised to see my biceps were outgrowing my tris as I was doing bis first in the circuit and just started switching up which I start with and now my tris are finally getting a little bigger, like the way they should be. Still lagging behind compared to the size of my chest/back, but definitely gaining as I only added them in 6 months ago. Forgot to add, I think I will be adding calf-raises back in as well, as they're not growing, at all, still the same size I started back up 2 years ago lol
I'll admit that I've been that "train arm at the end of upper body day" group for years. I done a dedicated arm day the other day and I've got arm DOMS for the first time in ages! I can even feel the long head of my triceps bulging in ways I've never felt before. I even had to delay my next upper body day because of the DOMS. I want more arm days now...just means that rest day becomes once a month instead of week😂
The long head of the triceps don't receive enough work from presses (no matter if it's close or wide grip), so you'll never get your full arm potential by doing compounds only.
For calisthenics I heard somebody advice a beginner who wanted just to build aesthetic physique to build big arms with hefesto. It just blew my mind. Like yeah, if you can do it you will have big arms but it takes years and it's more risky
I find the problem is there is way too much dogma in peoples training where people can take what is considered a good guideline and treat it as a rule such as you should do compounds before isolation movements on a given day. What is really needed in peoples training and programming is critical thinking. If you want big biceps consider starting one of your pull workouts with bicep isolations or train biceps on a push or chest day or do an arm day. Free your mind from all preconceived ideas, norms and “good guidelines” and try different things like a different body part split based on what you are trying to achieve and what your goals. You can train any body parts together that you want on any given day. When doing things that do deviate on the accepted norms do take the time to really understand and critically think about your choice though. Do take the time to understand the positives and negatives as well as making sure that doing this is in line with your goals and will help achieve it. eg. I want my biceps to grow more evenly with my back so my first pull workout is back first followed by biceps and the second pull workout is biceps first followed by back afterwards
Absolutely bang on with your comments. I fell for the Arthur Jones theory that if you get very strong at chin ups and dips your arms, will be pfetty much as big as they are going to get. It's just not true. I got up to chin ups with 66 extra pounds for 8 clean reps, one rep with 120 pounds. 35 years of workouts with chin uos being one of the key movements. I used to work biceps directly and they were bigger, but I dropped them years back (mistake) and I also found my arms were more prone to injury. Once you get good at chin ups, you learn to isolate more and more the back, cutting the biceps out more and more. You dare to tell it as it is. Excellent content!
I did a 405 lb bench with 16" arms at 5'10" and 215 lbs. I got that spider build, it kinda sucks. I am working on arms more now, but it is a slow process.
I used to think my biceps would blow up from chins and pullups. They didn't. Reps in one arm chinups, my own bodyweight extra added to weighed chinups, and puny little biceps! Only now they've grown massively after I added heavy curls with progressive overload.
Great vid. I focused on getting strong at pull-ups and expected it to grow my arms as well as lats. It resulted in me having a wide back but underdeveloped arms.
As a short torso and long limbed fellow, I say I naturally look torso dominant. That's my build, very similar to a ufc fighter physique. I also fell victim of the falacy "just get strong at compounds". What Alex says about this being brainwashing is real. For me even if you have good arms genetics, if you want to get them bigger you better focus and isolate them. My current program is legs, upper, arms. When I see my body after the pump from an arm session that's what I want to look like and that's what matters. Power to you all my fitness fellows, let's get those shirt's sleeves filled up!
Bro I feel the reason ppl have this reason is because they approach the isolations and light work and do very high reps instead of using lower reps at a higher intensity where they will actually enjoy training so they will push harder.
I can absolutely relate to the bicep point. I used to do strongman and did no bicep work because i was convinced i did not need it. I got enough through back work. My back got fucking STRONG. However, when Norway opened up arter Covid i got back to work as personal trainer and i noticed alot of my clients who were beginners would almost or actually would match my curl weights
I ended in Brian Alsruhe's camp on this one. When you do a few strongman training movements, along with heavy barbell compounds, your puny biceps can barely keep up with the rest of your body. It zeros out any room left for isolation work. As far as triceps go I think you have a pretty valid point. However the only way I can even hit the longhead outside of pressing is with lat pullovers, because my elbows would get smoked just as much if I did something like LTE's in combination with all the pressing. If somebody hates isolation movements I think there are plenty of valid work arounds that still defy minimalism.
I’ve come to agree with many of the points u made. Getting strong at chins and pressing compounds did grow my arms a bit but I am def gonna be adding 3-5 sets of curls and extensions on my upper days.
im 6'1 and 180 lbs when im at my leanest and around 195 at my heaviest bulk. i have extremely long legs and arms and definitely have the spider monkey physique but i noticed doing certain exercises for my triceps and biceps have definitely helped for triceps i do 2 exercises 3 sets each for the long head, 1 exercise 3 sets for the medial head aka focusing on the lock out, a simple one is just a bench pushup, and 2 exercises 3-4 total for the lateral head. i makesure each set is intense with around 12-15 reps and damn near to failure with maybe 1 rep left each set for biceps i kept it pretty simple. 3 exercises 3 sets each. spider curls, incline curls, and standing curls just like triceps 12-15 reps with maybe 1 rep left in the tank each set also making sure to put some work in on my forearms i feel has helped as well doing a solid mix of farmer walks, reverse curls, and wrist extensions or whatever they're called my arms were around 13.5 inches about a year ago and are now are a little over 14 inches as of august of 2022. if you read all of this i hope you found it helpful
Literally started going to the gym after 2 gym of calisthenic and consumen UA-cam videos about bodybuilding and all this kind of information are been promote like crazy, thanks to all of you, Natty bodybuilding is the way!!
It’s only until the pandemic that I only trained purely for strength and performance with bodybuilding training with friends a few times a year. I never wanted to get bigger but even back then I knew that higher reps and certain isolation exercises were necessary. I was always a big guy naturally but in 2020 I realised I was 26 and I’m not going to be this young for much longer so let’s see how big I could get. I started doing A LOT more high volume work and I look like I’m in better shape aesthetically than ever before despite being in a high body fat percentage. I also perform a lot better on callisthenic work and even my absolute overall strength has improved- I went from a 385lbs bench pre pandemic to 426lbs from Aug 2019 to Jan 2022- including a year off of gym. Saying hypertrophy training is fluff is complete BS if you know how to train properly.
Good job man I’ve have also found success adding a Arm day I’m tryna get them to 16 Inches currently at 15 inches but I’ve plateaued and they refuse to grow
really shot me in the gut on this one chief. i had tried a wide variety of routines and splits during my cut this year since i was just looking to maintain what i had as i got leaner anyway. i tried everything from 6 different sessions every week to a full body routine done every 2 or 3 days. i had just narrowed myself down to a classic pull push legs split to get used to doing as i approached a maintenance phase and a bulking phase where i could actually make significant progress. now, this video comes out and i'm considering adding an arm day and really upping the volume on the isolation work (although i suppose that i'll just have to wait until i am gaining again to see if i need it.)
Let's all unite in the fight against Spider Physiques! Another great video Alex
Thank you my man. Death to the spider physique, once and for all!!
Being a curl bro has finally paid off for me
Yes them Square shaped Spider physiques are ugly
@Neil sk8 What do you mean you wouldn’t train arms “because it’s for bros.” I don’t understand.
@@aidaninsua what spider timestamp?
Bro is becoming a real master in the game
Preciate that Narcis
@@AlexLeonidas for sure mybrother
Thats how I see it.
What I love about you is that your not just some theoretical guy that only focuses on "the studies" without actual applications. You yourself are a case study and you put it to the test on your own body. Respect.
Dissing Jeff Nippard lol
@@RishabhSharma10225 It’s good to be a bit science based and anecdotal evidence based (bro science) but some people get too far caught in the extremes Jeff nipples being the science based poster boy of UA-cam.
@@psilocybinenthusiast3695 Can you mention somethings Jeff bases on studies that is wrong though? Also I don’t think Jeff has ever said research is set in stone. He often highlights contradictions within the literature before giving a final conclusion. And while he might not be at the level of people like Alex and BOM he still has some relatively big numbers, Alex and BOM are niche outliers in the grand scheme of things
@@RishabhSharma10225 I like Jeff tho. Jeff puts things to the test too.
@@KurokamiNajimi that deloads are a a must. He wasn't open to lover volume but a complete break from the gym. This is the right advice for powerlifting (to get your 99% strength) but not hypertrophy (where 80% consistently would give better growth)
You killed it, man. This is the advice I needed. I remember fighting from a 55-pound to a 250-pound bench press, and from assisted chin-ups to 80-pound chin-ups, and being so confused about why I still had 11-inch arms. When I programmed biceps curls and triceps extensions into my workout routine, I was able to bring my arms from 11 inches up to 15.5 inches. When I finally started progressively overloading the right exercises, I finally started to see a link between arm strength and arm size.
Now that's an INSANE difference my man!!
read your name as bony to brony lol
What was your preferred biceps and triceps exercise if you had to pick only one for each? I'm looking to just add 1 set of isolation after my compound upper body training.
@@robinegberts2616 cable tricep push down, then lower the cable to do standing cable curl will be really good and fast. might even have time for a second set lol. 1 set wtf if u can do 1, u could spare 3 more minutes to squeeze 3 super sets in.
@@DrTopLiftDPT Thanks for advice! I have the time haha, but for some reason tolerate low arm volume. If I do too many sets, it will negatively impact my next pullups and dips sessions.
Glad you mentioned Geoffrey in this video, his arm tips have really been helpful in getting rid of my torso dominance. Those overhead extensions in particular feel pretty amazing lol
Geoffrey has some of the BEST natural bodybuilding content I've seen.
Love his arm training advice 🔥🔥🔥
Alex I love this constant bodybuilding content!!!
Thanks brother, more on the way!!
When I first started training, my friend who taught me everything basically pushed me towards starting strength. He was already advanced when we were in high school, so taking advice from him made a lot of sense at the time. So for a year I ran starting strength and after that I ran madcow and texas method. I got really strong, but aside from my lower body, I was a DYEL. I was such a DYEL, that I was secretive about the fact that I trained. People outside of my main friends and family didn't even know I trained as much as I did. My friends who all lifted would actually make fun of how lacking my gains were. We were all so immersed into powerlifting dogma at the time that we all just thought my upper body genetics were trash. I stopped lifting for a couple years then got back into it without giving a shit about numbers or strength or even the big 3. Surprisingly, I followed kinobody and Austin dunham and alphadestiny vids, and just cared about building an impressive weighted pullup, focus on that upper chest and upper back and have a lean physique. I trained purely for hypertrophy. My physique got pretty crazy really fast training this way. I realized, flat benching wasn't doing shit for my chest, especially doing reps of 3 to 5. I also realized I was neglecting the upper back which I learned from ALphas vids.
I now have the physique I wanted that I thought these powerlifting programs would give me lol. My friend who got me into these routines never needed to isolate as much tbh because he's super short and stocky, while I'm tall and lanky. I learned that we need to train with our leverages being kept in mind.
Wow!!!!! From being misled from Starting Strength minimalism go absolutely crushing it!!! This is what I'm talking about 🔥🔥🔥🔥💯
There are chins and weighted chins in the program. Also lying tricep extensions were there too, at the point your presses slows down. It’s there in the book and youtube. SS is not as bad as you think honestly.
Edit: there’s barbell curl in the book too if you wanted to do for sets of 10 with increasing load. I don’t see why it’s misleading.
Word on the bench press for chest. All I did was injure my shoulder constantly. Personally for me, I started doing machines only for chest and since they've seen gains like I've never seen before. I was so dogmatic about not using machines that I wasted time
@@huylifts he did the strength training program without actually specialising into his chosen sport (body building). SS tells you to specialize at the intermediate level.
I mean Rip famously doesn't like bodybuilding and doesn't give a shit about physique so it's a wonder to me that people think following his programs are gonna make you aesthetic lmao that said I definitely got huge on them, everyone reacts differently to training due to anthropometry. But eventually I started doing more bodybuilding because I wanted to get big and strong, especially in my extremities.
Plus Rip has always said that once your novice gains are done you should do a bodybuilding program if that's what your goal is. And tricep isolations are eventually recommended in intermediate programming if triceps are a limiting factor so it's not like there is no targeted movements at all.
The hate towards SS is 99% of the time due to dumb people not doing their research. The other 1% is Rip intentionally riling people up like throwing the trap bar into a dumpster 😂 A lot of coaches have the luxury of working with people who are already determined and skilled at lifting. Guys like SS take on the much more difficult task of making strength training digestible for normal people and athletes which is why, despite not agreeing with Rip on everything, I have a ton of respect for his approach to training. IDGAF if it's not the most oPtiMaL training for powerlifters or bodybuilders. It's one of the best introductions into strength training for the vast majority of people who just want to be athletic and in shape and not necessarily freakishly buff and strong and still gives you an excellent base if you decide to specialize.
NH made me realize that what I want the most are big arms
NH made us realize a lot of what we really want. Going back to the original motivations for training 💯
How so
NH?
@@BAAa-tw7lo Channel named Natural Hypertrophy
I've been a torso dominant guy for the longest time. I decided to do EXACTLY what he says on this video..Do an arm day, do more isolation work for arms after compounds and that's when I saw results in my arms. This video is quality my brotha 👌
Hell yeah Omar!!
How big are your arms?
Ok tell me where i can do an arm day.I train Chest arms then legs and then Back shoulder then i do rest then chest arms again then back shoulder then rest again.Where can i add an arm day.Don‘t wanna go 6 times a week to the gym.Is there any option?
@@ak.8161 16 inches bro
@@Difnekkdkkw Prioritize your arms bro. I do an arm day. Then a 3 day full body. I do 2 exercises after the full body training for bis and 2 for tris.
Ever since i saw that podcast you did with basement bodybuilding, ive realised i was deluded into training like a powerlifter to get jacked with some half assed bodybuilding movements for the last like 2 years. Goal now is to build a physique like Steve Reeves( huge calves, big arms and wide lats). Appreciate the bodybuilding content mate.
I totally agree with the body diamorphia one, like it is not easy to train, and you want to see gains, but when you are torso dominant you start to question what you are doing and say"I want big arms too bro" since that I started training arms and it went preety well, I train mostly calisthenics. It is not bad itself the body dismorphia if there are flaws in your trai ing, it is bad when you can't do something to change it but still you want to.
I'm so much more happier with my training and life since admitting to myself I want to look good first and foremost.
Fully doikg bodybuilding type training now, none of that powerbuilding nonsense. The funny thing is I'm nowhere near what I'd like to look like, but I'm enjoying the process and knowing that I'm on the way to that goal is really fulfilling.
And somehow my training is harder in ways I want it, but less stressful to my overall body and joints. Instead of focusing on hitting a set rep and weigh goal, it's about putting in the appropriate effort, while of course making sure performance goes up gradually.
Happy for you, OG!! Awesome that so many of us are finally training for what we REALLY want!
Speaking facts, brother. Hypertrophy-oriented training is incredibly enjoyable and rewarding
Would you be able to share a program
@@Aslan-ut2ex I'm following Mike Israetel style of training. Search something like RIR mesocycle or something.
I use a push pull legs, rest, upper lower, rest split, but what matters is you do one you enjoy.
@@muscleandmath2910 fellow Mike Isratael lover 🤝, RP, Alex and GVS are the only fitness content I’ll never miss on UA-cam
One arm advice that took me 2 months to figure out : Grip the weight as tight as you can. That will give you a good forearm activation on almost all exercises and allow you to exert more strength as the weight and your arm are more stable.
Man... I'm totally guilty of neglecting arms. I also brought into the whole "get stronger at the basics" I'm natural slight and tall with long arms so I've always been at a disadvantage.
I'm with you bro. I'm 5'10.5" with a 6'2" wingspan so even though I have 15" arms I barely look muscular at all😔
Get strong at the basics and then gear the training for your chosen sport/activity. Can't keep doing a beginner program forever
@@GOASTizeI know this is late af but we literally have the exact same stats
@@brendanmichel5313 nah I'm actually way stronger at benching then rows but that's probably because I love pressing and haven't prioritized rows like I should have until recently.
@@Alejandro-sr8by lol, that's what's up. Only time having these long ass arms is reaching for stuff and when it's time to throw hands. Fucking sucks for aesthetics 😅🤦🏼♂️... Way it's looking is I'll probably have to be repping 300 before I actually look like I fucking lift, smdh. Current max on bench is 245 and you wouldn't be able to tell by looking at me IMO. Maybe I just have a little dysmorphia going on though🤔😅🤷🏼♂️
Never heard a better way of describing big chest/back and arms that aren't exactly proportional than "Torso dominance". Hit the nail on the head with this video
Strong agreement from me Alex. As a natty I’m feeling torso dominant. My 16.5 inch arms (without pump) confirms this. Thinking about going on an arm specialisation phase for a while. I’m weak at dumbbell curls too relative to chin ups. I said this to a mate yesterday and he reckons I have body dismorphia. Maybe. But no harm in doing some arm focus anyway I think. Great video mate.
yeah looking at your videos there is no way you should be classified as torso dominant. i agree with body dismorphia.
@@ShOcKTeh thanks mate. Easy to lose perspective sometimes.
I'd also add that 16.5 inch arms are objectively big arms no matter how you slice it. Not best on the planet arms but bigger than 99.9% of the population.
@@TheGreektrojan good point brother
Alex this is the first time I’ve thought “maybe Alex doesn’t look Torso dominant anymore?” And that’s a huge testament to your hardwork and how amazing your physique is becoming. You’re the real man of this game! Ultimate respect 🙏🏼
Thank you Teo!!!
Good job at addressing your past biases and growing in your training ideology. The points you touched on in this were really great and beneficial overall and this video was basically the perfect thing you could have posted at this time. Good job man. Keep up the good work
My experience confirms this. When I just started out in the gym a dude in his mid 20s approached me as I was doing some curls and told me to leave that and focus on compound movements because that's what makes your arms grow, not isolation. For some reason I believed him so I did pretty much only compound movements and worked my way up to weighted pull ups and benching my bw for reps yet my arms were still very small. Only when I reworked my training split and decided to set some time aside to really focus on my arms they started looking better.
never trust any random dude that approaches you in the gym, broscience aura literally oozing from their presence
Man Alex you're an absolute legend. People in the natural community will be crediting you for years to come 🔥
i think another good example is jonnie candito. his physique was way more aesthetically impressive back when his total was smaller, because he was leaner, but also consistently trained db curls, more pulling movements, and i think he did a lot of seated db ohp too, whereas when his training became way more specific to powerlifting, his physique drastically changed.
I used to ignore arm isolation movements so my arms are lagging a bit. Now I prioritise arm isolation movements near the start of my upper body days, and now I am gradually seeing a difference.
Very true. Louie Simmons used to always say that the long head of the tricep is nicknamed the "lazy head" because it doesn't do much work at all for power movements. The only way to get that muscle to work hard is to isolate it. That's coming from Louie, the arguable godfather of powerlifting.
I think you're actually my favourite fitness/lifting content creator. No clickbait or gimmicks. Just straight up info that's invaluable to someone like me with an interest in resistance training. I got into the gym after I got sober and it's become an obsession of it's own. Thanks for all the great videos man!
I suffer from this condition. Thank you Alex for bringing me back into the light
I just want to say brother. Your advice is extremely valuable; through your channel i discovered concurrent training which gave me huge size and strength gains ( best way to train for bodybuilders with strength goals in my opinion). Keep up the good work.
Isn’t exactly the focus of the conversation, but the problem I had was small forearms compared to my upper arms. They have caught up now because of Old School Strength’s advice as well as ofhers.
That's a big one too!! "Just get strong at deadlifts and your forearms will be massive!"
Isolating forearms can be helpful for a lot of people.
My issue is the other way around. I started hitting arms and they have gone up. My forearms are 16+ inches but my upper arm is only 15+ inches after a pump lol. Keep grinding.
Ps. I used to only do farm work as well no workouts to get 16+ inch forearms.
old school strength is the youtube messiah of forearm training
Great advice man! I’ve been on your novice program for a couple months now and within the past 3 weeks I’ve been increasing arm volume a ton. Two bicep and two tricep per exercises per workout has been great.
Awesome man, glad you're recovering from it and getting even bigger arms!
In my opinion, the main reason why certain strength trainees develop such torso dominance is because of their poor understanding of how big limb muscles (I.e biceps and triceps) actually work biomechanically.
The biceps, and the long head of the triceps, will never be fully developed from multi joint exercises, because they cannot fully stimulate during such fundamental movement patterns.
The scientific explanation to this is the biarticular muscle theory. Since the biceps and the long head of the triceps are biarticular muscles, their muscle length doesn’t change much during multi joint exercises. Because of that, they cannot produce enough tension, Therefore not being able to contribute much during such exercises.
The short and lateral head of the triceps will grow very well from heavy pressing. Pull-ups and rows will develop your brachialis and brachioradialis to a magnificent extent. These limb muscles, mentioned in this paragraph, aren’t biarticular and therefore could contribute fully to multi joint exercises, and depending on the trainee, they could be serious limiting factors during the execution of multi joint exercises.
This theory also applies to why squats don’t train the hamstrings.
To sum up-
We need to understand how and when certain muscles work. Biarticular muscles, like the biceps and the long of the triceps, will never be fully developed through execution of compound exercises simply because it is impossible to fully stimulate them during such exercises.
If you want to fully develop a muscle, you should train it directly. This applies to any group of muscles, but most importantly for your biarticular limb muscles.
Lots of wisdom here, thanks for sharing!!
@@AlexLeonidas Thank you for responding, Alex! You always put out great content for us ❤️💪🏻🙏🏻
Real talk man. No one gives better information regarding these issues
You are one of the strongest natural lifters in the world....congrats bro
Really enjoy the frequent output from Alex !
on point!!!
strict curl is a very famous competition for pure biceps strength...
I'm glad you brought up Geoffrey's programming. I absolutely love that overhead extension tricep exercise, and have been seeing some really clear results.
Bro, you are honestly becoming the best fitness youtuber on the whole platform. It seems like this and the next year is really yours to take. Keep pumping out quality content bro
I did not see my long head until I started isolating it with skull crushers. Your short head might develop with just compounds but isolation work is a must for the long head. I don't think anyone developed the long head with just compounds.
Another great video Alex.
Hey Alex I know you did a pod with Basement Bodybuilding but can you do another one with him (hosted by you this time?) I love the way he explains things and I could listen to you talk for hours. Keep up the high quality videos!
Out of every single YT fitness influencer out there, I’d train with Alex first over any of them. I think he’d have the most to teach me.
I really liked this video! Its clear that you have learned a lot from guys like BOM an NH and always learning and growing is the most important thing.
As a torso dominant i always focused on compound movements to grow my arms. I tried everything that i could to recruit my biceps during chin ups, literally every advice out there, don’t pull the elbow down and back, pull with the arms, bend the wrist outwards, i practiced my technique day after day to engage my biceps, same with dips for triceps. I never felt my biceps during chin ups nor my triceps during dips. I always felt my forearms, back, chest and shoulders despite all the effort to focus on the arms. I guess some people are just genetically gifted or know how to recruit a given muscle with any exercise. My arms went from 12 to 15 inches since i started to incorporate isolation exercises and I started to feel my biceps and triceps sore after the workouts which never happened with chin ups and dips. This is the best advise for bigger arms, don’t rely on compound movements. You’re the best, Alex!
9:46 that is so true i can rep bodyweight (65kg) chinups for 18 reps but only curl 10kg dumbbells for 10 reps
When the video is only available in 360p you know you're early. Already know it's a banger though Alex!
Mon: Big 5
Tues: Arm day
Wed: Push/Pull Day
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Chest Calfs Core
Saturday: Rest
Sun: Calisthenics, Bench
All natural, 47yrs old
On a side note, I think it largely depends on the size of the ribcage and the length of the clavicles. I've observed this with myself and friends. One of my friends in particular has a very different rib structure than me. Whereas I've got a more barrel chest that is large in the sagittal plane (front to back), his is flatter but larger in the frontal plane (left to right). My theory on how this plays out is that the more the ribs are protruding, the more room for stretching the chest and back musculature has. It sort of works as a pulley for the muscle. Consequently the exposure to mechanical stress should be higher, because the muscle elongates and shortens more. The length of the collar bones determines how far away from the torso your arms extend. I think the longer the clavicles are, the greater the mobility of the shoulder is. What's strange about that is that the farther from the torso your shoulders extend, the more vertical your arms stand. That by itself allows for better alignment of the biceps' and triceps' fibers with gravity. Going back to my friend he always feels his arms working in any exercise and has no trouble growing them. His chest and back are very poorly leveraged and I think because of that he has trouble developing them.
Can't wait to see your numbers for arms in the future and the lnowledge you'll being back to the community!
The reason some people are torso dominant is the obsession with bench press. Build your shoulders instead people. Its far more aesthetic
I think this is some really great content. Just wanted to say the video flowed very well and literally answered everything I wanted to hear on torso dominance. Really appreciate the info!
Alex u kinda quoted Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, he said “ worry on what u can control” progressive overload, long term grain…great content Bro!
I just discovered your channel and damn you're a true gem in the fitness industry along with the likes of Sean Nalewanyj. No bullshit, just true advice and help for natural lifters
Great video, the most important point at the last. Left me thinking.
I am arm, shoulder and trap dominant, so pretty much the opposite of your physique (I think I resemble more to GVS for example). I almost don't isolate my arms and shoulders anymore and they are just fine. Your advice has been super helpful, entering the weighted dip is really bringing up my chest, which is the bodypart that I want to improve the most, as well as continuing to grow my lats. Thanks to you and the other natty tubers progressing has never being easier, so thank you so much. Greetings from Spain!
PS: You should try to take a look at the spanish community, where the knowledge is very sub-par in the majority of cases and maybe you guys can do something about it. Just some thoughts.
That’d be a win for the fitness community if he decided to expand into other languages. I won’t hold him to it though cause that’s double the time for very little gain to his own channel.
@@itsjustme5097 That's true, however we are talking about the second biggest online community in the world, and let me tell you that our presence on UA-cam and Twitch, specially Spain which has a shit ton of content creators with millions of followers from all over the world (I don't know if you heard all the Andorra thing). If the message that these guys preach expands to such a large extent, it would have an amazing impact, giving how fresh it would be. But you are totally right, it is very difficult. Keep going strong brother!
@@IvanDraco01 Thank you for the insight. I’m not particularly familiar with any other fitness communities with other languages. Just that they tend to be smaller and misinformed compared to the English speakers. Stay strong
@@itsjustme5097 normally you'd be right but Spanish is one of the 5 most spoken languages in the world like english or mandarin. Keep in mind it's the language in most Southamerica and central america apart from Spain + lots of people in the USA...but in many topics like this one the content is not so 'advanced' so it's a viewing mine ready to be exploited 😆
You are the man big homie. Always keeping it real!
You become what you fear. And I’m arachnophobic.
Loving the content & frequency alpha, big love from the UK 🇬🇧 keep them coming dude💪🏾
Keep grinding Alex. Good content frequency and volume.
In conclusion. If you want a muscle group or specific muscle to grow. Dedicate isolation work to that specific muscle or or muscle group.
It's honestly that simple!
Man to man Alex I give you props on building that impressive physique bro
Every person had different experience in terms of training. I always trained like a bodybuilder with more isolation exercises free weights and cable. I used to hate deadlift and squats and never did them only leg press and leg extensions etc etc. I always used to say to myself and others that i am a bodybuilder i don't care about strenght, then i watched a video on youtube about a year ago and the guy spoke about how deadlift and squats, weighted dips and weighted pull ups was the best thing he ever did and how it changed his body so that inspired me to try it and i can tell you honestly it was the best thing that i did and it made me feel and look stronger. Now a days i do my compound exercises and then follow up with couple isolation exercises. From my experience changing the style you train will give your body different stimulus and that will make it to grow. You dont stick to only bodybuilding style or power lifting style, it is best to go through phases. I remember when i first started doing weighted dips and my tricep was sore and it was sore in an area that i have never been sore before and i was training for years so in my mind i was like is my tricep sore or did i injure my tricep, i was baffled coz i never had that soreness in that particular area and my tricep blew up so the best thing to do is once your body get used to certain exercises and style of training change it and you will benefit alot from it and by the way deadlift transformation was even crazier lol
Embrace your torso dominance, Alex. As an arm dominant lifter, I get constant injuries and/or pain in my shoulders, hips, knees, etc. The torso is where the true functional muscles are, and you're lucky to be naturally dominant in that area.
Great content as always Alex! I fell into this trap for a long time, and am now paying the price. Minimalism does not work for the arms.
Totally true, i have elite Vertical Pull strenght (just above 70kg chinup right now) but my Biceps are the worst part of my body, while my back absolutely exploded.
I need to bring in more bb work for sure
Thanks Jeff nippard for suggesting this great channel I learned a lot
Great advice man, especially regarding squeeze and stretch points! Even though I like spiders, it's time for me to combat my spider physique 😁
Theres an old Elliot Hulse video where he explained he doesnt like bodybuilding because it "fucking hurts", and that lifting heavy was more fun. If you watch any CT Fletcher video, the people training arms under him are in serious pain. I think its safe to assume that direct arm work is a test in pain tolerance. Perhaps one can even build pain tolerance in the same manner they build their nervous system for strength gains.
Sadly I kind of have this type of physique, I injured my right bicep 3 years ago while armwrestling, so I can't train it anymore.
But I'm too lucky to be blessed with good tricep and great forearms genetics
My maaan, didn't expect you to drop it this fast. Thank u. 🦍⚡️
I have 16 inch arms I’m 5 feet 8 1/2
I’ve got a relatively low total on my Big three
235 benchpress 275 squat and 405 dead lift
I always feel like my shoulders and arms are lagging
My chest and upper back our way oversized for what I can lift
Yet everyone I speak to says I am in proportion
I have a large rib cage and very wide hips
At the end of the day we are only able to play the cards life deals us
Strive to do better part of the things you want to achieve
I really don’t think torso dominance or limb dominance exists
I think it’s down to bone structure and I think the Internet breaks people and makes us believe we have to look a certain way
You are one of the best Alex as you encourage people to be a better version of themselves rather than expecting people to look like you
This is a great Video Alex. Being a long armed lifter, I definitely had the spider physique from focusing on the big 3. I started doing a Powerbuilding style program like Jeff Nippard. Adding some arms or delt work at the end of each day and a specific Arms "Pump Day" at the end of the week was extremely helpful.
my arms lagging behind my fat stomach, that's why I'm torso dominant 😂 that's why my 18,5 inch arms are looking small. you forgot that point in the vid!
btw. Alex, I'm watching your videos for nearly 5 years now and your advices have really improved, you're on the right way bro.
Torso dominant here at 5'10'' with a 6'1'' wingspan after training for 7 years even with isolation work but done incorectly, for the past 6 months with NH advice's for arm training i gained 0.25 inches at the same bf, haven't done that since i was a noob.
Excellent!! More gains incoming 💪🏻💪🏻
I totally agree with ya! I have recently got back in to training, but being heavily depressed, I have only been doing the 3 major movements, push-up, pull-up(rows) and squats. I noticed that my arms weren't really gaining as fast as my chest and back. Mind you, I don't do very many reps/sets/week, like 1-5 reps, maybe 2 sets, sometimes, twice a week, normally once. I went from doing doorway rows to being able to do 3 pulls-ups(messy 3rd, but it was just to see where I was). I only added doing 2 sets doing 3-5 reps, in a circuit with only 10 second rest between sets. Was surprised to see my biceps were outgrowing my tris as I was doing bis first in the circuit and just started switching up which I start with and now my tris are finally getting a little bigger, like the way they should be. Still lagging behind compared to the size of my chest/back, but definitely gaining as I only added them in 6 months ago.
Forgot to add, I think I will be adding calf-raises back in as well, as they're not growing, at all, still the same size I started back up 2 years ago lol
I'll admit that I've been that "train arm at the end of upper body day" group for years. I done a dedicated arm day the other day and I've got arm DOMS for the first time in ages! I can even feel the long head of my triceps bulging in ways I've never felt before. I even had to delay my next upper body day because of the DOMS. I want more arm days now...just means that rest day becomes once a month instead of week😂
8:51 that lat spread is just🤌
The long head of the triceps don't receive enough work from presses (no matter if it's close or wide grip), so you'll never get your full arm potential by doing compounds only.
Fact!!!
This totally aligns with basement bodybuildings philosophy. I love this
For calisthenics I heard somebody advice a beginner who wanted just to build aesthetic physique to build big arms with hefesto. It just blew my mind. Like yeah, if you can do it you will have big arms but it takes years and it's more risky
Your strength and mass progression throughout the duration of your channel is so inspiring. Especially being one of the few true naturals
I find the problem is there is way too much dogma in peoples training where people can take what is considered a good guideline and treat it as a rule such as you should do compounds before isolation movements on a given day.
What is really needed in peoples training and programming is critical thinking. If you want big biceps consider starting one of your pull workouts with bicep isolations or train biceps on a push or chest day or do an arm day. Free your mind from all preconceived ideas, norms and “good guidelines” and try different things like a different body part split based on what you are trying to achieve and what your goals. You can train any body parts together that you want on any given day.
When doing things that do deviate on the accepted norms do take the time to really understand and critically think about your choice though. Do take the time to understand the positives and negatives as well as making sure that doing this is in line with your goals and will help achieve it. eg. I want my biceps to grow more evenly with my back so my first pull workout is back first followed by biceps and the second pull workout is biceps first followed by back afterwards
great video, very valuable information! especially to a stronglifts survivor with 26inch thighs & 14 inch arms
Absolutely bang on with your comments. I fell for the Arthur Jones theory that if you get very strong at chin ups and dips your arms, will be pfetty much as big as they are going to get. It's just not true. I got up to chin ups with 66 extra pounds for 8 clean reps, one rep with 120 pounds. 35 years of workouts with chin uos being one of the key movements.
I used to work biceps directly and they were bigger, but I dropped them years back (mistake) and I also found my arms were more prone to injury. Once you get good at chin ups, you learn to isolate more and more the back, cutting the biceps out more and more.
You dare to tell it as it is. Excellent content!
I did a 405 lb bench with 16" arms at 5'10" and 215 lbs. I got that spider build, it kinda sucks. I am working on arms more now, but it is a slow process.
Damn man. Grats on the 405 bench but I do feel you.
I used to think my biceps would blow up from chins and pullups. They didn't. Reps in one arm chinups, my own bodyweight extra added to weighed chinups, and puny little biceps! Only now they've grown massively after I added heavy curls with progressive overload.
Just modified my workout rn. Will try this tomorrow. Thanks man! My arms are my weakest part in my opinion so this will definitely help!
Great vid. I focused on getting strong at pull-ups and expected it to grow my arms as well as lats. It resulted in me having a wide back but underdeveloped arms.
Bloody excellent video man keep pushing bro its gonna be insane to see u with 17 inch arms
Calisthenics, farmers walks, squats, neck exercises, arm work with a strap is what I've chopped things down to for this summer.
As a short torso and long limbed fellow, I say I naturally look torso dominant. That's my build, very similar to a ufc fighter physique. I also fell victim of the falacy "just get strong at compounds". What Alex says about this being brainwashing is real. For me even if you have good arms genetics, if you want to get them bigger you better focus and isolate them. My current program is legs, upper, arms. When I see my body after the pump from an arm session that's what I want to look like and that's what matters. Power to you all my fitness fellows, let's get those shirt's sleeves filled up!
I feel you big time, Vinicius!!
Bro I feel the reason ppl have this reason is because they approach the isolations and light work and do very high reps instead of using lower reps at a higher intensity where they will actually enjoy training so they will push harder.
In general their proximity to failure is terrible and progressive overload isn't emphasize enough!
I can absolutely relate to the bicep point. I used to do strongman and did no bicep work because i was convinced i did not need it. I got enough through back work.
My back got fucking STRONG.
However, when Norway opened up arter Covid i got back to work as personal trainer and i noticed alot of my clients who were beginners would almost or actually would match my curl weights
I ended in Brian Alsruhe's camp on this one. When you do a few strongman training movements, along with heavy barbell compounds, your puny biceps can barely keep up with the rest of your body. It zeros out any room left for isolation work.
As far as triceps go I think you have a pretty valid point. However the only way I can even hit the longhead outside of pressing is with lat pullovers, because my elbows would get smoked just as much if I did something like LTE's in combination with all the pressing.
If somebody hates isolation movements I think there are plenty of valid work arounds that still defy minimalism.
What a great video Alex, thanks for all this info.
Dude. I didn't even know how to look for this condition. I've been suffering from it for a while. Will take more advice from you!
I’ve come to agree with many of the points u made. Getting strong at chins and pressing compounds did grow my arms a bit but I am def gonna be adding 3-5 sets of curls and extensions on my upper days.
im 6'1 and 180 lbs when im at my leanest and around 195 at my heaviest bulk. i have extremely long legs and arms and definitely have the spider monkey physique but i noticed doing certain exercises for my triceps and biceps have definitely helped
for triceps i do 2 exercises 3 sets each for the long head, 1 exercise 3 sets for the medial head aka focusing on the lock out, a simple one is just a bench pushup, and 2 exercises 3-4 total for the lateral head. i makesure each set is intense with around 12-15 reps and damn near to failure with maybe 1 rep left each set
for biceps i kept it pretty simple. 3 exercises 3 sets each. spider curls, incline curls, and standing curls just like triceps 12-15 reps with maybe 1 rep left in the tank each set
also making sure to put some work in on my forearms i feel has helped as well doing a solid mix of farmer walks, reverse curls, and wrist extensions or whatever they're called
my arms were around 13.5 inches about a year ago and are now are a little over 14 inches as of august of 2022. if you read all of this i hope you found it helpful
Literally started going to the gym after 2 gym of calisthenic and consumen UA-cam videos about bodybuilding and all this kind of information are been promote like crazy, thanks to all of you, Natty bodybuilding is the way!!
I agree to 100%. After I started training my arms really hard and with a higher frequency, they are improving months by months!!
It’s only until the pandemic that I only trained purely for strength and performance with bodybuilding training with friends a few times a year. I never wanted to get bigger but even back then I knew that higher reps and certain isolation exercises were necessary. I was always a big guy naturally but in 2020 I realised I was 26 and I’m not going to be this young for much longer so let’s see how big I could get. I started doing A LOT more high volume work and I look like I’m in better shape aesthetically than ever before despite being in a high body fat percentage. I also perform a lot better on callisthenic work and even my absolute overall strength has improved- I went from a 385lbs bench pre pandemic to 426lbs from Aug 2019 to Jan 2022- including a year off of gym. Saying hypertrophy training is fluff is complete BS if you know how to train properly.
Looks like that last video had Alex spending a little too long in the sun. Love the content.
having an arm day actually helped go from 13.75 inch arms to 15.35 while maintaining the same arm leanness
Good job man I’ve have also found success adding a Arm day I’m tryna get them to 16 Inches currently at 15 inches but I’ve plateaued and they refuse to grow
@@Bigbiceps301 Just be patient bro, maybe change up exercises
@bigking2743 How long did that take?
really shot me in the gut on this one chief. i had tried a wide variety of routines and splits during my cut this year since i was just looking to maintain what i had as i got leaner anyway. i tried everything from 6 different sessions every week to a full body routine done every 2 or 3 days. i had just narrowed myself down to a classic pull push legs split to get used to doing as i approached a maintenance phase and a bulking phase where i could actually make significant progress. now, this video comes out and i'm considering adding an arm day and really upping the volume on the isolation work (although i suppose that i'll just have to wait until i am gaining again to see if i need it.)
Some things to think about but you got this man!