Table of Contents
Introduction
If you’re naturally skinny and can’t gain significant weight, it can be easy to blame it on your genetics and give up. In many cases, however, genetics is only one part of the equation. We have a lot more control over our body than we sometimes think we do!
Sure, your genome affects your body, but if you don’t suffer from a serious condition that prevents you from gaining mass, you can get bigger forearms no matter how skinny you are.
If you want to wear a tank top or sleeveless shirt proudly, it’s time to beef up your forearms. Unfortunately, this isn’t so easy for thinner men, often referred to as ectomorphs or hard gainers.
Unfortunately, spending hours upon hours at the gym or looking for some magical muscle-boosting supplement may not be the best answer.
For faster results and bigger forearms, you need a series of exercises that target certain muscles, and it’s absolutely necessary to make certain lifestyle changes.
Obtaining huge forearms is no easy task. The muscles of the forearm can resist fatigue and, therefore, make it a task for them to grow. Big forearms not only give your arms an aesthetic look, but also help in lifting heavy weights.
The bigger your arms are, the better your grip is. When the forearms are strong, they also improve in almost all general overhead lifts. Strong forearms also facilitate traction exercises.
The forearm contains a higher composition of slow-twitch fibers. Since the slow-twtch fiber is difficult to fatigue, it has limited growth potential.
So, if you don’t train them wisely and hard, you can forget about growth.
Anatomy of Forearms
Our forearms consist of 3 main muscle groups:
- Flexors – Located on the back of the forearm and used to support the forearm.
- Extensors – Located in the front part of the forearm and is involved in the curvature and twisting of the forearm.
- Brachioradialis – Responsible for flexing the forearm at the elbow.
Forearm growth needs density, size, nutrition, and lots of love. Below are a handful of tips on how to get bigger forearms for all you skinny guys, quickly.
Eat Like a Big Man
Your diet should provide the extra calories needed to support your new training plan. One of the reasons why skinny guys see slow progress is because they don’t eat enough.
After all, the arm muscles need more energy to grow—it is now time to eat like the big man you want to be. When your new arm workout begins, try adding 500 calories to your daily diet.
After three or four weeks, check if your weight and mass have increased. If needed, add another 500 calories. Repeat this process until you see gains.
Avoid Fruit and Simple Sugars
Avoid excessive amounts of fruit and simple sugar. While fresh fruit is rich in vitamins, fiber, and low in calories, it also contains high amounts of fructose, which is a simple sugar that can be used as a building block for fat tissue.
When eating fruit, choose low-sugar fruits such as berries, blackberries, rhubarb, and blueberries.
High-Protein Foods
Eat protein-rich foods with every meal at about 0.37 grams of protein per pound of body weight and day, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Results may vary, however, depending on the individuals. Some recommend 1 or more grams of protein per pound of body weight per day to see optimal progress.
The protein-rich foods you choose should be relatively small and high in amino acids that help rebuild damaged muscle tissue and growth.
Examples of suitable protein sources are skinless chicken breast, turkey breast, lean red meat, white fish, salmon, tuna, protein, and red lentils. People who exercise a lot need more protein than those who don’t; however excessive consumption should be avoided.
Do Heavy Compound Exercises Before Isolation Exercises
If you really want your arms to grow, you need to increase muscle mass throughout your body. Also, you need to lift heavy weights to stimulate the growth hormone and testosterone responses that allow your muscles to grow faster.
If you do some leg exercises at the beginning of your workout sessions before moving to the arms, more growth hormone and testosterone will be released, and you will notice a rapid improvement in the size of the arm muscles.
A specific study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology found that people who performed lower body exercises (leg exercises) before training their arms, performed much better than people who worked only on the arms.
The best exercises to increase growth hormone and testosterone levels are deadlifts and squats, but other functional leg exercises are also effective.
Target Your Triceps
The triceps are the main muscles in the back of the arms. While building the biceps is fantastic, you also have to hit the triceps to build evenly sized arms. Also, don’t waste time with ineffective triceps workouts if you want faster results.
In research sponsored by the American Council on Exercise, researchers found that triangular push-ups are the most effective triceps exercise.
Here are some instructions on how to properly execute a triangular push-up.
Enter the standard push-up position. Face down; your torso should be straight and supported on your feet and straight arms.
Instead of placing the palms under the shoulders, as with a normal bend of the arms, the hands should touch under the chest, where the thumb and forefinger meet to create a triangular shape on the floor.
Blast Your Biceps
Biceps run down the front of the arm. It is the traditional muscle that people think of when referring to the size of one’s arms.
While there are dozens of exercises aimed at the biceps, the most effective exercise for faster results is the standing barbell curl. Not only does it hit the biceps hard, but it also affects the forearms for general arm development.
Here are some instructions on how to properly execute standing barbell curls.
Stand up straight and hold a barbell with your hands in front of you with your palms facing forward. In the starting position, the barbell should be hung down with straight arms.
Raise the bar by bending your elbows without moving the rest of your body, especially your shoulders. Take a break when your elbows cross the 90-degree angle and then return to your starting position.
For larger and faster muscle gains, use a barbell that’s heavy enough to do only two or three sets of 8-10 reps.
Consume Complex Carbohydrates
Consume complex carbohydrates with every meal. Examples of high-quality complex carbohydrates are brown rice, potatoes, black bread, quinoa, and oatmeal.
Complex carbohydrates should make up most of your daily calorie intake as they are responsible for the formation of muscle glycogen.
Glycogen provides your body with long-lasting fuel during exercise. Consuming post-workout carbohydrates also provides your body with an insulin level that puts your body in an anabolic or muscle building state.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends eating your carbohydrates one to four hours before your workout, so as not to disturb your digestive process and cause discomfort. Eat a combination of carbohydrates and proteins within an hour of training to help build muscle.
Avoid Crucial Mistakes
If you keep thinking, “my arms are too skinny,” it could be because you are making some basic mistakes that can be easily corrected.
One of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to get bigger forearms is not eating enough. Unfortunately, if you’re not consuming enough calories, you will never be able to get bigger arms.
Since muscles use a lot of energy, it’s even more crucial to add extra calories to your diet to keep them going and empower you to lift
Everyone has their own method of organization that works for them, but if you’re struggling to consume enough calories, it may be a good idea to track how many calories you burn and how many calories you consume each day. There are various apps that enable you to do this.
Switch Exercises
One of the most common things skinny men ask when trying to build muscle is: “Should I exercise my arms every day?” Although you can technically train your arms every day, it doesn’t necessarily mean you should.
Excessive arm training focuses on the same muscles every time and doesn’t give them time to heal.
This is very important because any increase in size will come from your muscle-building scar tissue due to micro-tears you experience during exercise. If you have a strong desire to work on your arms every day, it’s certainly possible, but you’ll need to alternate workouts.
So, if you do barbell curls one day, you can do exercises that isolate the triceps the next day, and returning to barbell curls the next day. This gives each muscle set time to heal, while helping you attain maximum gains.
Take the Right Supplements
If you want to increase your arm size quickly, it may be a good idea to implement some supplements. You don’t necessarily have to 10 different supplements or spend hundreds of dollars per month, but taking 1 or 2 daily supplements can definitely help you get bigger arms.
It certainly depends on individual needs and preferences, but some supplements to consider include whey protein, multi-vitamins, omega-3 fish oils, BCAAs, creatine, and glucosamine.
Final Thoughts – Big Arms for Skinny Guys
As a skinny guy, getting bigger arms is always possible, provided you work and avoid mistakes that could ruin your gains.
Make sure that you follow the few simple tips in this article, and you should slowly, but surely start getting results!
References:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00421-011-1860-0
https://www.acefitness.org/education-and-resources/lifestyle/exercise-library/70/bicep-curl