Bulking up your arms with a pull up bar?
Discussion
Hi all,
I need an easy to follow routine (the shorter the better, two jobs and full time study does not leave much room for leisure) to bulk up my arms using a pull-up bar.
I just ordered one on amazon and my plan is to eat healthy and get my arms in line with the rest of my body. I am not slim nor fit, but pack a decent muscle mass everywhere except my arms, it's actually quite embarrassing, I look like a t-rex.
I am not looking for strength or stamina, just want my arms to look proportionate, however fake this may be.
Could you please help me with a complete idiot-proof set of rules I can follow that would show visible results in an x number of days if followed?
Many thanks in advance!
P.S. forgot to say that I can pull myself up maybe 5 times in a row if i am lucky, so your advice needs to reflect that
I need an easy to follow routine (the shorter the better, two jobs and full time study does not leave much room for leisure) to bulk up my arms using a pull-up bar.
I just ordered one on amazon and my plan is to eat healthy and get my arms in line with the rest of my body. I am not slim nor fit, but pack a decent muscle mass everywhere except my arms, it's actually quite embarrassing, I look like a t-rex.
I am not looking for strength or stamina, just want my arms to look proportionate, however fake this may be.
Could you please help me with a complete idiot-proof set of rules I can follow that would show visible results in an x number of days if followed?
Many thanks in advance!
P.S. forgot to say that I can pull myself up maybe 5 times in a row if i am lucky, so your advice needs to reflect that
How many PROPER pressups can you do before failing atm?
You're going to be focusing primarily on bicep, tricep and brachialis so a little reading on motion which targets these will help, but one bit of advice i'd give is to remember your tricep often carries more mass and size then your bicep does in terms of appearance, so train accordingly.
Vince fox, skipping leg days since 1972.
You're going to be focusing primarily on bicep, tricep and brachialis so a little reading on motion which targets these will help, but one bit of advice i'd give is to remember your tricep often carries more mass and size then your bicep does in terms of appearance, so train accordingly.
Vince fox, skipping leg days since 1972.
popeyewhite said:
Cancel the order or send it back when it arrives. Buy a bar and some weights. Pullups will mostly work your back, chins a bit more bicep, but your back will still grow.
^ ThisArms are secondary muscle groups for pretty much everything, so you're better off doing the bar, getting some dumbbells and doing curls (straight/hammer etc) and doing some tricep dips.
Im no expert but
Wide grip palms away from you pull ups work your lats, (back shoulder muscles)
You need to do close grip palms towards you pull up to work biceps.
As has been said press-ups can achieve the same thing, hands close to the body inline with your nipples will work biceps iirc. Wide inline with shoulder press ups works chest.
Ive no idea how you'd work triceps with body weight, I suspect that if you don't want to buy/use weights that bands would be the best but as I say I'm not sure.
The best advice I can give you is to go to r/bodyweightfitness on reddit and have a read.
Wide grip palms away from you pull ups work your lats, (back shoulder muscles)
You need to do close grip palms towards you pull up to work biceps.
As has been said press-ups can achieve the same thing, hands close to the body inline with your nipples will work biceps iirc. Wide inline with shoulder press ups works chest.
Ive no idea how you'd work triceps with body weight, I suspect that if you don't want to buy/use weights that bands would be the best but as I say I'm not sure.
The best advice I can give you is to go to r/bodyweightfitness on reddit and have a read.
Foliage said:
Im no expert but
Wide grip palms away from you pull ups work your lats, (back shoulder muscles)
You need to do close grip palms towards you pull up to work biceps.
As has been said press-ups can achieve the same thing, hands close to the body inline with your nipples will work biceps iirc. Wide inline with shoulder press ups works chest.
Ive no idea how you'd work triceps with body weight, I suspect that if you don't want to buy/use weights that bands would be the best but as I say I'm not sure.
The best advice I can give you is to go to r/bodyweightfitness on reddit and have a read.
press-ups with hands close to the body work triceps, not biceps.Wide grip palms away from you pull ups work your lats, (back shoulder muscles)
You need to do close grip palms towards you pull up to work biceps.
As has been said press-ups can achieve the same thing, hands close to the body inline with your nipples will work biceps iirc. Wide inline with shoulder press ups works chest.
Ive no idea how you'd work triceps with body weight, I suspect that if you don't want to buy/use weights that bands would be the best but as I say I'm not sure.
The best advice I can give you is to go to r/bodyweightfitness on reddit and have a read.
Your focusing on the wrong exercise with a pull up bar if you want to bulk up your arms, pull ups are primarily a back exercise, close grip palms facing you, hit biceps the most.
As other have said concentrate on your triceps more than your biceps, big biceps with no triceps looks silly and shows you only ever do dumbell curls.
Diamond pushups are a great tricep exercise.
https://youtu.be/pD3mD6WgykM
As are bench dips (can use a chair or anything else about that height) and both really easy to do at home
https://youtu.be/lPXJMzFXFvc
As other have said concentrate on your triceps more than your biceps, big biceps with no triceps looks silly and shows you only ever do dumbell curls.
Diamond pushups are a great tricep exercise.
https://youtu.be/pD3mD6WgykM
As are bench dips (can use a chair or anything else about that height) and both really easy to do at home
https://youtu.be/lPXJMzFXFvc
Thanks for all the advice so far lads, I have some dumbbells so can incorporate that as well. What rep count, how many sets, speed etc and which specific exercise would I need then to grow triceps and biceps then? What should I do to keep track of progress to keep motivated? I remember i did some curls for about 40 days solid a few years back and saw no appreciable difference so given up, so tell me what i need to do now and what results can I expect in what time
I know I am asking you to do everything short of the actual exercise for me
P.S. I can do push ups but don't think I could do a single diamond push up properly, is it still ok if I do them on my knees? I have ridiculously large pecs (not helped by a thick layer of fat) so a routine that does not make them larger would be great.
I know I am asking you to do everything short of the actual exercise for me
P.S. I can do push ups but don't think I could do a single diamond push up properly, is it still ok if I do them on my knees? I have ridiculously large pecs (not helped by a thick layer of fat) so a routine that does not make them larger would be great.
Edited by isee on Tuesday 7th April 11:29
I disagree with the other posters. Pullups are a great exercise for improving shoulder health as well as developing lats and biceps. Close grip chins will specifically target your biceps more than other pullup variations but it really doesn't matter which you do. The reason I say do them is this - can you think of anyone that can do 20+ bodyweight pullups while having relatively small arms for their body? I can't. Get better at pullups and you will have bigger arms. That's not to say you won't hugely benefit from using free weights too.
isee said:
Thanks for all the advice so far lads, I have some dumbbells so can incorporate that as well. What rep count, how many sets, speed etc and which specific exercise would I need then to grow triceps and biceps then? What should I do to keep track of progress to keep motivated? I remember i did some curls for about 40 days solid a few years back and saw no appreciable difference so given up, so tell me what i need to do now and what results can I expect in what time
I know I am asking you to do everything short of the actual exercise for me
P.S. I can do push ups but don't think I could do a single diamond push up properly, is it still ok if I do them on my knees? I have ridiculously large pecs (not helped by a thick layer of fat) so a routine that does not make them larger would be great.
Train arms 2-3x per week for optimal growth, not daily. I know I am asking you to do everything short of the actual exercise for me
P.S. I can do push ups but don't think I could do a single diamond push up properly, is it still ok if I do them on my knees? I have ridiculously large pecs (not helped by a thick layer of fat) so a routine that does not make them larger would be great.
Edited by isee on Tuesday 7th April 11:29
3-6 sets for biceps and triceps per workout
For triceps just do normal pushups with your elbows tucked more into your sides - takes emphasis away from chest.
You need to train all rep ranges - try cycling heavy (<8 reps), moderate (8-15reps) and light (15-30 reps) days. You should push yourself to feel a degree of pain, if you're not making ugly faces and grunting then chances are you're not creating much stimulus for growth.
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