The Arms Race

The secret to a great pair of arms is not to train them too frequently. They are the most easily over trained part of the body. Why? Whenever you train your chest, you’ve trained your triceps. Similarly, whenever you train your back, you’ve trained your biceps. So if say, at the end of a chest workout you then start training your triceps by doing three or four exercises for them, you are going to over train the tricep and so get no growth.  

The bi’s and tri’s are such a small muscle group [compared to chest or back] that you only need do two exercises for either bi’s or tri’s. Remember, it’s when you leave the gym and rest, eat well and get plenty of water that you are really going to get the growth that you want. Once again, patience is key!

Another tip I can pass on is, if you want to have big arms fast, then focus on your triceps. They are about 60% of the muscle mass in your arm so you get them big and your arms will look bigger.

Hot fit lad working out

Let’s look at the triceps first then. Here are three great exercises that will help pack on some weight:

Tricep Pushdown. Face a pulley and grasp the rope cable attachment with your hands at the stoppers at the end. Positioning one foot in front of the other, bend slightly at the hip, elbows pressed in to the side and slightly forward. Extend arm down and try to push the rope away from you – not towards you. Return until forearm is close to upper arm and elbows are to the front. Repeat. There is no need to do that little side movement that you see some guys do. This doesn’t work the triceps at all! Ensure you stand sufficiently close to the cable to provide resistance at the top of the motion.

Skull Crushers. Lie on bench with a narrow overhand grip on a Z-barbell. Position barbell over shoulders with arms extended. Lower bar to forehead by bending elbows. Extend arms and repeat. Slow barbell’s decent as it approaches forehead. Don’t use too heavy a weight or it really will be a skull crusher!

Bench Dips. Place two benches parallel slightly wider than leg width. Place both hands on the bench immediately beside you and put your feet on the other bench. Slowly lower yourself down until you feel a full stretch in the triceps – but you don’t touch the floor. Push yourself up and repeat. For beginners, this can be a difficult exercise. Start with your feet not on a bench but on the floor instead.

Hot fit lad lifting his vest

Now to get that ‘peak’ that everyone looks for in their biceps, try these:

Barbell Curl. By far the BEST exercise you can do for the arms. If done correctly, you’ll feel this one in your triceps as well. Grasp a straight bar with a shoulder width under hand grip. With your elbows fixed firmly to your sides, raise the bar until forearms are vertical. Give the biceps a good squeeze at this point. Lower the weight slowly until your arms are fully extended. Repeat.

Concentration Curls. Sit on the side of a bench. Grasp a dumbbell between feet and place your elbow so that it is positioned firmly in your inner thigh. Raise the dumbbell to the front of your shoulder and then lower the dumbbell until your arm is fully extended. Repeat for the number of reps required for the set before doing the same again with your other arm.

Pulley Curl. Grasp a pulley cable with the rope attachment with a shoulder width grip. Stand close to the pulley. With your elbows fixed to your side, raise the rope until your forearms are vertical. Once again, give the biceps a good squeeze. Now slowly lower the weight until your arms are fully extended. Repeat. When elbows are fully flexed, elbows should only travel forward slightly allowing forearms to be no more than vertical to allow for a relative release of tension in muscles between repetitions.

Remember, only do two exercises for each muscle group out of the above and add then to the end of your chest or back workout. Always allow at least 48 hours between workouts for your arms.

Follow this advice and you’ll soon be sporting hunky arms that are sure to get you noticed, whether you’re out to impress a prospective boyfriend or just want to be the envy of your mates!