What's Your Weight & Arm Measurement?

[quote]FightingScott wrote:

He’s still got a freaky, silly-big ribcage. [/quote]

Most of that was done back then because they lacked the extreme size on their chests that competitors today have. A lack of stable sufficient exercises for chest prevented the type of growth we see as the norm now for serious trainers. They compensated for this by sticking their chests out.

It is simply a sign of the era. It is the same reason George Reeves (pictured above) was considered “built” back then when all he really did was put on a suit and stick his chest out every episode.

It is the same reason cartoons from the era used to imitate strength by doing the same things. It is all related.

That doesn’t mean the guy in that photo actually “expanded” his rib cage permanently. If cartilage and bone were that malleable, we would all be in trouble.

[quote]Professor X wrote:
A lack of stable sufficient exercises for chest prevented the type of growth we see as the norm now for serious trainers. [/quote]

They had the ‘technology’ to build big pecs.

[quote]FightingScott wrote:
Professor X wrote:
A lack of stable sufficient exercises for chest prevented the type of growth we see as the norm now for serious trainers.

They had the ‘technology’ to build big pecs. [/quote]

Early century physique artists didn’t have bench presses. Their poses are what bodybuilding adapted and uses.

That “expanded chest” look went out for the most part in the late 60’s-early 70’s.

That is why Sandow had very little pec development to speak of.

If they had dumbbells and benches that they could use for Pullovers, then they had Dumbbells and Benches they could use to do Dumbbell Bench Press with. Duh.

[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:
5’7"
160 lbs.
16" flexed arms [/quote]

Really??

6’5"
243 pounds
16.5 inches, cold, flexed

I’ve never measured relaxed.

[quote]FightingScott wrote:
If they had dumbbells and benches that they could use for Pullovers, then they had Dumbbells and Benches they could use to do Dumbbell Bench Press with. Duh. [/quote]

Nothing gets past you, huh? But, what if no one was using a BENCH before later in the century? In the early 1900’s people were still doing push ups and floor presses.

You honestly thought that everything you consider a norm in your gym was available in 1901?

[quote]Professor X wrote:

Nothing gets past you, huh? But, what if no one was using a BENCH before later in the century? In the early 1900’s people were still doing push ups and floor presses.

[/quote]

Well, they clearly weren’t doing pull-overs or ribcage expansion techniques either aside from maybe breathing techniques, vaccume poses, and other unweighted techniques.

Oversized ribcages didn’t start appearing before the advent of the Bench Press. They started appearing around when the Flat Bench was created.

Sorry, but a few of the ribcage expansion pictures I see are just too drastic for me to chalk up their freaky-big ribcages to genetics, posing, abdominal training, and every other possible explanation besides some amount of ribcage expansion.

[quote]FightingScott wrote:
Professor X wrote:

Nothing gets past you, huh? But, what if no one was using a BENCH before later in the century? In the early 1900’s people were still doing push ups and floor presses.

Well, they clearly weren’t doing pull-overs or ribcage expansion techniques either aside from maybe breathing techniques, vaccume poses, and other unweighted techniques.

Oversized ribcages didn’t start appearing before the advent of the Bench Press. They started appearing around when the Flat Bench was created.

Sorry, but a few of the ribcage expansion pictures I see are just too drastic for me to chalk up their freaky-big ribcages to genetics, posing, abdominal training, and every other possible explanation besides some amount of ribcage expansion. [/quote]

Are you saying you refuse to accept that BENCH PRESSES weren’t regular parts of training before Sandow or even during most of his lifetime? Are you saying you refuse to accept that most of the poses seen in bodybuilding were started by people in his era?

It takes practice to do a Vaccuum pose correctly, also. Does this mean you think there was some real shrinkage going on as a direct result?

NONE of those guys walked around like that all day long. Are you claiming you actually believe the guy in the picture you posted walked around with his chest stuck out like that even after the picture was taken?

5’3 at 125.

I am simply massive beyond belief.

I kid:)

[quote]Professor X wrote:

He inhaled. [/quote]

… and he didn’t.

[quote]Professor X wrote:
FightingScott wrote:
Professor X wrote:

Nothing gets past you, huh? But, what if no one was using a BENCH before later in the century? In the early 1900’s people were still doing push ups and floor presses.

Well, they clearly weren’t doing pull-overs or ribcage expansion techniques either aside from maybe breathing techniques, vaccume poses, and other unweighted techniques.

Oversized ribcages didn’t start appearing before the advent of the Bench Press. They started appearing around when the Flat Bench was created.

Sorry, but a few of the ribcage expansion pictures I see are just too drastic for me to chalk up their freaky-big ribcages to genetics, posing, abdominal training, and every other possible explanation besides some amount of ribcage expansion.

Are you saying you refuse to accept that BENCH PRESSES weren’t regular parts of training before Sandow or even during most of his lifetime? Are you saying you refuse to accept that most of the poses seen in bodybuilding were started by people in his era?

It takes practice to do a Vaccuum pose correctly, also. Does this mean you think there was some real shrinkage going on as a direct result?

NONE of those guys walked around like that all day long. Are you claiming you actually believe the guy in the picture you posted walked around with his chest stuck out like that even after the picture was taken?
[/quote]

Sandow didn’t have a big-ass ribcage. I get that he didn’t have access to a Bench. I knew that before.

Sandow didn’t do Pullovers either. He didn’t have a bench.
No one had thought of it, yet. You already mentioned that Sandow and other barbell men of those times didn’t have huge pecs because they weren’t Benching. I totally agree. But you can’t ignore the fact that back then people also weren’t resting glasses of water on top of their chests or trying to expand their ribcages through weight training (because, once again, the equipment wasn’t available).

EDIT: Ok, the water glasses were available but the 17’ high Weight Benches were not.

Then some guy decided to build a Flat Bench and start Bench Pressing to improve his Clean & Press. Suddenly a whole new world of exercises were available. Chest development was emphasized more. People started trying to expand their ribcages and get huge pecs with this new equipment. Even if ribcage expansion wasn’t possible, you suddenly had people trying to expand their ribcage and get big chests BECAUSE of the new piece of training equipment available: the Flat Bench.

You can’t flex fat. Some people have Ribcages so big and thick they can’t just be from good genetics, good posing, practice. I have trouble seeing how these two concepts fall into the category of utter bullshit.

[quote]FightingScott wrote:

Sandow didn’t have a big-ass ribcage. I get that he didn’t have access to a Bench. I knew that before.[/quote]

The guy whose picture you posted didn’t have a “big ass ribcage” either. He was POSING and STICKING HIS CHEST OUT for that one picture. That is like inhaling drastically and then having someone claim you look like that all of the time.

[quote]

Sandow didn’t do Pullovers either. He didn’t have a bench.
No one had thought of it, yet. You already mentioned that Sandow and other barbell men of those times didn’t have huge pecs because they weren’t Benching. I totally agree. But you can’t ignore the fact that back then people also weren’t resting glasses of water on top of their chests or trying to expand their ribcages through weight training (because, once again, the equipment wasn’t available).

EDIT: Ok, the water glasses were available but the 17’ high Weight Benches were not.

Then some guy decided to build a Flat Bench and start Bench Pressing to improve his Clean & Press. Suddenly a whole new world of exercises were available. Chest development was emphasized more. People started trying to expand their ribcages and get huge pecs with this new equipment. Even if ribcage expansion wasn’t possible, you suddenly had people trying to expand their ribcage and get big chests BECAUSE of the new piece of training equipment available: the Flat Bench.

You can’t flex fat. Some people have Ribcages so big and thick they can’t just be from good genetics, good posing, practice. I have trouble seeing how these two concepts fall into the category of utter bullshit. [/quote]

Bullshit is the idea that a grown man can alter the length or shape of his bones and cartilage so drastically as to permanently warp the shape of his rib cage from ONE fucking exercise. That is what is bullshit. That makes about as much sense as women believing they can make their feet smaller by wearing shoes 3 sizes too small.

Again, maybe you should spend less time on these articles and more time in a college Biology classroom.

Time is a progression, not a leap frog from one event to another. Bodybuilders took many of the ideas lifters in Sandow’s era came up with and built on them. They stuck their chests out in the 1940’s-60’s because they believed it was esthetic to do so. They no longer do now because bodybuilding technique has built some of the most massive chest muscles in history making any need to artificially inflate the rib cage a thing of the past.

The real question is why this is so hard of a concept for you to understand.

You would do better to work on your posture and the size of your chest muscles than becoming this concerned about “rib cage expansion”.

I thought we decided that “rib expansion” was just due to developing the serratus and pec minor by doing pullovers.

[quote]FightingScott wrote:
There’s been at least one thread discussing how possible ribcage expansion was. Even if all the science points against it, then what did this guy do to get this kind of bone structure?
[/quote]
You guys got me curious about this rib cage expansion, funny thing is the first thing that pops up in a google search is the an article on this site by Ellington Darden, who is the guy in that picture. Not trying to bust your balls here, but in the article he basically de-bunks the ability to expand the rib-cage after the teenage years when the growth plates are sealed.
http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1502695

6.1ft
216lbs
17 3/4 cold unlfexed

GJ

[quote]Professor X wrote:
That is why Sandow had very little pec development to speak of.[/quote]

Yes, that’s right.

Take Bob Peoples. 700 lb. Deadlifter with the chest development of a 13 year old girl.

Fully developed physiques didn’t really exist until the popularization of isolation training.

To Rockscar

yea really… my right arm is about a 1/16 of an inch smaller…

I don’t really think 16 is that big at all.

Absolute measurements mean nothing. Ratio’s are everything.

You NEVER see a bicep floating around in the air. You see it attached to someone’s body.

Are 20" arms impressive on a guy with a huge gut and 25% BF? No. I’d be more impressed by a teen with solid 14.5" arms and 5% bodyfat.

You should stop trying to increase your arm size at the point where you can no longer put an inch on your arms for every 1/2" on your waist.

Instead of comparing absolute measurements, let’s compare physique ratios.

Here are mine

Chest:Waist 1.40
Shoulder:Waist 1.59
Waist:Hip 0.83
Waist:Upper Arm 2.46
Upper Arm:Forearm 1.16

[quote]Nominal Prospect wrote:

Are 20" guns impressive on a guy with 25% BF and a big gut? No.

You should stop trying to increase your arm size at the point where you can no longer put an inch on your arms for every 1/4" on your waist.[/quote]

Stupid shit right there. 1" on the arms and 1/4" on the waist is the limit? Ha! That means a person could go from 14" arms to 18" arms and gain a whoping 3" on their waist (triple your limit) and that would be a BAD thing?! It would take all of a couple months to get rid of the extra fat whereas those four inches on the arms takes years.