# Best compound exercises for arms?



## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

What would be the best compound exercise to build mass on my arms? I have really skinny genetics so I am trying to keep my number of exercises to a minimum and the weight heavy. Usually main compound lift (deadlifts pyramid up and down for 6 sets finishing with a 10 to 12 rep dropset), heavy dumbbell press(4 to 8 rep range, or dips 6 sets to failure), 1 secondary lift (lunges for example) and 1 core exercise per workout session with 3 sessions a week.

I will be ordering my power rack in 2.5 weeks but won't be able to do bench press until then.


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## scooby (Jun 24, 2009)

Maybe some stuff like pullups, chin ups, lat pull downs, overhead press, bent over rows.


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## JH1983 (Nov 14, 2013)

Barbell bench press and weighted chin ups are hard to beat. Weighted dips and close-grip bench press would put more emphasis on the triceps than regular bench press.


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## 49erJT (Oct 18, 2010)

Noca said:


> What would be the best compound exercise to build mass on my arms? I have really skinny genetics so I am trying to keep my number of exercises to a minimum and the weight heavy. Usually main compound lift (deadlifts pyramid up and down for 6 sets finishing with a 10 to 12 rep dropset), heavy dumbbell press(4 to 8 rep range, or dips 6 sets to failure), 1 secondary lift (lunges for example) and 1 core exercise per workout session with 3 sessions a week.
> 
> I will be ordering my power rack in 2.5 weeks but won't be able to do bench press until then.


Based on my understanding, your arms will not grow in any significant manner without similar growth throughout your body. So you may have to put on 10-20 lbs of body weight to see several inches of growth in arms. I'm speaking solely about natural lifting with a calorie surplus. Obviously, there are PED's out there that transform the body in a way not possible naturally.

I spend my time lifting doing the basics like squats, presses, pulls, etc. Some people genetically have larger arms or chest in proportion to the rest of their bodies but obviously this is not the case for all of us. Simply doing preacher and hammer curls or pull ups will probably not develop massive arms for the most of us. That's not to say it wont enhance definition though depending on bf percentage.


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## goku23 (Nov 22, 2014)

work the muscle not the movement. i used to make the mistake when i started of getting caught up in the big movements and trying to get strong as i could on them thinking they would make my arms grow as a by-product. 
thought weighted chins would make my biceps grow along with my back and heavy presses would make my triceps grow along with chest and shoulders.

you'll lose connection with the target muscle if you genetically have weak arms because other muscle groups will take over the big lifts - weighted chins mostly back and delts, heavy presses mostly chest and/or delts.

biceps and triceps are only a small muscle group, big compounds work well for people who have good arm genetics because they will take a fair share of the work as they likely have a predominant share of muscle cells and fast twitch fibres in their arms.
if you have poor arm genetics though the more powerful muscle groups take the brunt of the work because the opposite would likely be true.

lunges and deads? yes for mass on your legs and back but they'll do next to nothing for your arms. 
this myth came from the old strongman theories and programs - squats and milk etc
logic was that the big movements - squats and deadlifts cause the greatest hormonal reaction...which is true but that isn't enough to cause growth in other muscle groups.
you have to work those muscles to cause hypertrophy. they won't grow unless they have a reason to cause change.

what made my arms grow and what will work for you 100% is isolating them to build a stronger connection with them. 
muscles wont know what movement you're doing - isolation or compound, they will only recognize trauma and tension.

you want what will give you most tension on the target muscles, in your case arms.
while weighted chins and heavy rows will likely be putting most of the tension on your back and rear delt muscles, heavy strict form barbell curls will place most of the tension on your biceps. they'll be subject to more trauma.
likewise overhead extensions and skull crushers for triceps.

once you've strengthened those fibres in your arms and caused hypertrophy to elicit growth, they'll be better placed to do more work on the big lifts and movements and the better they'll respond to them.

anecdotally, smaller muscle groups respond to frequency. i dont have any science to back this claim up because i frankly dont care for it! (i just know it works and thats what matters to me!) but causing a growth response more frequently always lead to better results for me.
muscles recover much quicker than given credit for imo, CNS however is what needs recovery and rest.
big muscle groups like back and legs tax the central nervous system more so you can't do these too frequently (not with high intensity anyway, can with low intensity)
but arms aren't nearly as taxing on the CNS so can be worked more often.

probably the most important facet is how you work the muscles! as in if you're training with enough intensity. training the muscle to absolute failure will require less volume etc
periods of high volume training though is extremely beneficial because of increased blood flow to the muscle and amino acid absorption/protein synthesis.


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## goku23 (Nov 22, 2014)

49erJT said:


> Based on my understanding, your arms will not grow in any significant manner without similar growth throughout your body. So you may have to put on 10-20 lbs of body weight to see several inches of growth in arms. I'm speaking solely about natural lifting with a calorie surplus. Obviously, there are PED's out there that transform the body in a way not possible naturally.
> 
> I spend my time lifting doing the basics like squats, presses, pulls, etc. Some people genetically have larger arms or chest in proportion to the rest of their bodies but obviously this is not the case for all of us. Simply doing preacher and hammer curls or pull ups will probably not develop massive arms for the most of us. That's not to say it wont enhance definition though depending on bf percentage.


not true, ever see sprinters and how disproportionate their legs are to the rest of their body?
because they go through more work.
likewise arm wrestlers and forearms disproportionate to their arms, gymnasts and biceps/triceps compared to shoulders and legs (dipping, pulling movements for several hours daily).


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## 49erJT (Oct 18, 2010)

goku23 said:


> not true, ever see sprinters and how disproportionate their legs are to the rest of their body?
> because they go through more work.
> likewise arm wrestlers and forearms disproportionate to their arms, gymnasts and biceps/triceps compared to shoulders and legs (dipping, pulling movements for several hours daily).


What's not true? Show me a someone that naturally added several inches to his biceps without gaining mass in other areas. Our bodies can only be manipulated to a point naturally.

The body favors being proportionate and world class sprinters look surprisingly proportionate to me...but all of them have an overall impressive physique.


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## goku23 (Nov 22, 2014)

49erJT said:


> What's not true? Show me a someone that naturally added several inches to his biceps without gaining mass in other areas. Our bodies can only be manipulated to a point naturally.
> 
> The body favors being proportionate and world class sprinters look surprisingly proportionate to me...but all of them have an overall impressive physique.


biceps and triceps far exceeding rest of upper body and lower body mass (chest, traps, torso thickness and legs)










biceps, forearms surpassing other muscle groups in terms of mass










chest muscles have very little recruitment in gymnastic movements. arms are worked the most (dipping and pulling) and to a slightly lesser degree lats and shoulders.

arms disproportionate to pecs in most gymnasts, pecs have little mass compared to arms.





































childhood friend of mine trained as a national level 100m sprinter and to be fair having upper body mass and especially core strength (proportionate) was advocated as it means more acceleration and better stability. so that probably wasn't the best example. a better example would be cyclists and the extreme dis-proportionality of their legs and upper bodies


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## 49erJT (Oct 18, 2010)

Wow ok I see what you're saying...It just goes against what I was always told (focus on compounds like squats for overall muscle development and don't waste too much time on isolation). Seems like there's some misinformation out there. 

Those gymnast have some massive biceps. I've known several people with massive biceps who never touched a weight so sometimes genetics are at play. If those guys developed on their own naturally I tip my hat.


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## Polo1 (Jan 4, 2015)

Lift heavy, focus on the 3 main lifts, squats, deadlift, and bench. As for biceps, dumbbell curls and barbell curls, also pull ups. For triceps, any kind of tricep extensions and dips. Triceps will build when you bench also.


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## wrongguy (Jan 22, 2015)

Mine went from 13 to 17 inches with pull-ups, one arm push-ups, dips and squats.


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