I've seen countless people come into the gym and throw dumbbells around like potato sacks. They act wild, scream and grunt like gorillas in heat, and then spend their rest periods flexing in the mirror. Although these dudes seem hard-core, they're actually putting a lot of energy into something that won't garner results. They must learn to train smarter.
Many people fail to realize that they already train their arms multiple times per week, without ever doing any direct arm work. Every time we do a pressing movement, we use our triceps.
Every time we pull, we use our biceps and forearms. Because our biceps and triceps get a lot of work during compound movements, it's important to limit the number of sets during isolation work. With dedicated arm training, keep the sets low and the intensity high.
An even bigger problem is that most people don't understand anatomy well enough to train their biceps and triceps effectively. So to build big arms, we need to start by using our head.
How Your Arms Work
The major action of the biceps brachii is elbow flexion and forearm rotation. The name—biceps—means that the muscle is made of two heads, a long and a short. These muscle heads have two different origins but come together to form one tendon, which attaches to the radius.
You can feel your biceps working if you put your left and on your right biceps muscle and then rotate your forearm from a pronated (palm down) to a supinated (palm up) position. You can also feel your biceps participate if you put your left hand on your right biceps and flex your elbow.
Your biceps can fatigue easily, and thus relies on your front deltoid and brachioradialis (anterior forearm muscle) for aid. To get the most out of your biceps training, you need movements that include both flexion and supination.
The triceps brachii is named similarly because of its three heads. The triceps is a slightly larger portion of the arm and just as complex as the biceps. The triceps main function is to extend the elbow. To feel your triceps, place your left hand on the back of your right arm and then extend your right arm until it is completely straight. The long and lateral heads of the triceps create the "horseshoe" shape everyone is gunning for. The medial head is a "deep" muscle.
Not all three heads originate at the same place, but they all insert into the elbow. The long head of the triceps originates at the scapula. To isolate it, your elbow must be over your head.
Now that I dropped some knowledge bombs, let's blow those arms up! Do this workout once per week on any day you choose. Generally, I do an abs/arms/forearms day later in the week after I've already worked my larger muscle groups.
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This workout provides more than sufficient arm work. Make sure to keep the intensity high and the pace quick. Hit them hard, hit them fast, and watch 'em grow!
Confused::: In the top section, you say that we already hit the Bi's and Tri's when doing compound movements and do minimal sets on arm day. Then, below, you show a arm day routine that is sure to blow your arms out for 4days if you did each exercise with full intensity.. which is it?
Did this workout this morning - it's the bomb. Arm pump like no other. Ran into a dude I know afterwards - he said - "have you been working out your arms look huge". I couldn't resist flexing and affirming.
My arms are 17.5 inches and i perform 6 set variation of triceps of 14*4 and biceps with 7 variation set with same reps but biceps circle is not gettling large radius as compared to tricreps.their circle are not coming sgarply but only size increases..so plz help me out
Nice arm size bro
Rest time between reps?
Looking at the comments, most people don't read the article properly - you do this routine ONCE a week as a supplement to your other bodypart exercises/routines. Think of it as a 'specialization' program in addition to your normal routine. You would do ALL of these exercises in a single workout as you want to hit your arms with serious VOLUME...
The rep scheme is solid and in each set you should be increasing your weight. Each week - increase more (e.g. if in week one you did curls with 45 for 12, 50 for 8, 55 for 6 and then a volume burn of 35 for 15, then the following week your weights should be 50/55/60/40.
I would NOT recommend doing this after you do your weekly bi/tri workout. If you do a bi/tri split, then do your them 1-2 day before doing this specialization routine. I personally like to do these types of volume routines at the end of the week (Fridays) after I've done my 4 days of regular exercises. It's important to finish up with good nutrition after these volume workouts as well - protein shake with some fruit to get the insulin surge and force the protein into the muscles.
Edokid - form is important, but for people like me, I couldn't get my arms 'tucked in' if I tried... My upper arms press into my pecs and they're definitely 'flared out'...
Gotta train with diversity, following the same workouts for each body part each week won't maximize muscle growth. You have to change up your exercises for each workout to maximize growth
Doing this program once a week for a month, how much can I expect to gain?
Lol #6, don't flare your elbows out, when in the pic they aren't even close to being tucked in.
Can I do this workout after I did weekly biceps and triceps workout?
Loved this workout. Tried it today and got serious burn on. Was wondering though, when the number of target reps drop...say from 12,8,6 in your routine. Are you supposed to increase the weight from one set to the next? Or keep weight constant as you go through the sets? How long for rest periods?