Scottman111

Is it impossible to gain as much muscle mass as a person with short arms? Has it been proven? My arms are about 8-9 inches longer than most people from fingertip to fingertip, and I've always found it hard to build any (noticeable) mass.

It was the same way back when I was playing baseball in high school and they made me lift weights. I could definitely tell my arms were changing, but their size didn't change. I couldn't figure out why everyone elses arms were getting bigger and mine weren't

Doc.Booty

Not impossible. Harder, but not impossible.

gavriil

I dont know of any evidence that long or short limbs react different to muscle growth. However, longer limbs look less musculine because of proportions-related reasons. So it will be harder to make your arms look more musculine but that does not mean it can not happen.

Time For Sleeep

i'm glad i have short arms. a lot less work for me.

supermegaglossy

i'm not an expert (yet) but maybe try changing your techniques. do exercises that allow for the most resistance. it's physics really.. when you lift weights, you are utilizing 1st, 2nd and 3rd class lever mechanisms. your joint is the "fulcrum" and your weight is the "load" and your arm is the "lever". your arm is longer so you have a greater "mechanical advantage" but it's really against you because your goal is to get bigger, not have the ability to lift things easier.

try increasing your weights (but not too much) to get more resistance. maybe instead of using free weights, use machines, or vice versa.

Scottman111

Thanks for the replies guys.

My arms have good definition in them, they're so long that they just have all muscle and bone and no fat I'm pretty tall so I have long legs, but I have great definition in them as well as the rest of my body, so I just don't get why my arms fell behind on the whole muscle mass thing

I just thought it was weird because it's hard for me to bench a lot of weight like some of my friends who aren't all that big. I guess because I have so much further to go and get fully extended.

Thanks supermegaglossy,
I'll try what you said. What are you studying to become an expert in? And can you please explain this sentence a little more for me

burtonblue75

i am in the same exact boat as you so dont feel you are the only one! And sorry to say with all my experience in lifting....... if you want more difined muscles you do more repitions. I know this is contridicting what that person said up there but oh well. all i know is that body builders do reps, not weight, so you decide

Doc.Booty

If you want more defined muscles you lower your bodyfat, or increase your muscle mass. Nothing else to it.

I'm not sure what you mean by "bodybuilders do reps, not weight." No serious, competition-level bodybuilder i've ever talked to has ever said anything like that.

FastAcura

I agree with Abreece on this one. You need muscle mass before you can "define" anything.

I know when I switch it up after a few months from high weight/low reps to low weight/high reps, I get a little bit more "cut", but as for building muscle, I would stick to gavriil's advice.

Oh, and of course lowering your bodyfat will help the muscles look bigger/stick out more even though they're basicaly the same size.

supermegaglossy

my major is exercise physiology/pre-med.

what i meant though, was say you have a huge cement block on a table. if you are going to lift the edge up, it would be a lot easier to do with a big crow bar than a teeny screwdriver. less effort = less muscle strength required... get my drift?

Scottman111

^^ thanks, yes I finally got the original description after I read it again


And for the other guys,
are you saying if I decrease the amount I am lifting so I do more reps I will get more definition (by increasing muscles mass)??

gavriil

With regard to stimulation:

Muscle builds the fastest, when overloaded while under high intensity.

gavriil

With so much money on the table in this industry, it is no wonder how many people are beyond confused, there are a billion misconceptions going around and a trillion contradictions.

That's why I am thinking that there's got to be a way for me to also make money off of this thing. I just have not pinpointed the way to do it yet.

FastAcura

Not sure how people are making money off of this. Maybe it's more propaganda from Milos.

Scottman, once you've been working out for a while, changing up the training methods from high intensity overload to lower weight/more reps will deffinitely shock your muscles. I do it at least once a month when I feel like I'm stuck at the same weight for a while.

Doc.Booty

No.

The best way to gain muscle mass is shooting for a weight where you can only do a low number of reps (a low number being 6-8, possibly 10). That's not to say using a weight you can rep 15 times won't work, but it will not work as well. There is a very common myth that higher reps will get you better muscle definition, and that is completely false.

Muscle definition is determined only by your muscle mass and bodyfat. That's all (kinda- water retention and a few other minor factors come into play, but they are so miniscule that nobody but pro bodybuilders need to worry about 'em). You cannot cause your muscle to grow into a different shape by changing how many reps you do.

There are some benefits to switching up your routine every so often, but they are mostly psychological. I've seen guys get HUGE using just one solid routine.