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Getting
massive arms is what many bodybuilders aspire to achieve.
Not only bodybuilders, but just about anyone who is into
physical fitness would love to have huge, muscular arms that
denote power and strength. Not just developing a decent set
of arms but rather creating arms that are extraordinarily
freaky. In bodybuilding vernacular, as we all know, freaky
is a good thing. You know the arms that I am talking about,
the type of arms that look as if they could rip Mjollnir
from the hands of Thor. This article will focus on
maximizing gains for upper arm mass.
 Granted,
achieving massive arms is directly affected by genetics.
Some people are blessed and will quickly develop "big guns"
while others are not quite so lucky. There are those who
are so fortunate that they will develop huge arms despite
any mistakes that they may make. Then there are those who
just do not seem to be able to make any progress whatsoever.
But with perseverance and the right amount of intensity,
massive arms should be attainable.
I find that
many bodybuilders are guilty of over training the arms,
which is detrimental to gaining size. Training the arms once
every 5-7 days is typically sufficient, since both the
triceps and biceps are used when training other body parts.
Whenever you are training back, your biceps are heavily
involved. Also, when training chest your triceps are
recruited for a good deal of work. In fact, if you are not
making the gains that you would like, take a look at how you
have arranged your workouts. If you are training back and
biceps on the same day, perhaps you should consider
splitting them up. Likewise, if you are training chest with
triceps, try separating these body parts. Of course, if you
are making gains, then stick with what is working. But, if
your current workout is not producing results, then it is
time to implement a change. Perhaps you could try a split
like this one:
Just remember
that this is only a sample split workout program. This may
or may not work for you. In fact, after you have used this
program for a period of 4-6 weeks, I would recommend that
you change some aspect of it unless, of course, it is
producing results for you. After all, if something is
working for you, there really is no need to screw it up.
Another thing
to keep in mind is that even if you are doing the greatest
workout with the utmost intensity, you will probably make
little if any gains if you are not eating/supplementing
correctly and getting enough rest/recuperation. Lifting
weights is only a stimulus. The body will try to respond by
becoming stronger and increasing in muscle size, but only if
you give it what it needs. Getting bigger and stronger
takes place outside of the gym with proper nutrition and
rest. What a shame it is to see people training hard in the
gym day in and day out, for years on end, with absolutely no
improvements to show for it.
The key to
adding mass to the arms, as well as to any other area of the
body, is to train to positive failure no matter what rep
scheme a person is using. For example, if a person is using
a weight that he/she can only do for 12 reps, then the 13th
rep should be impossible to complete without help from a
spotter. That is positive failure; when you cannot complete
the positive part of the rep without assistance.
Typically, I
like to keep my repetition range from 5-12, but I will
occasionally do some high rep sets, 15 or more reps, so that
I may stimulate as many muscle fibers as possible. I like
to go as heavy as I can without sacrificing too much form.
Toward the end of the set, I may employ a controlled cheat
if I feel that this will help me squeeze out a few
additional mass building reps. The following is one of my
favorite arm workouts:
Skullcrushers- lower the weight slowly and explode when
pushing up
Weighted
dips- explode on the way up
Cable
Pushdowns- keep the cable very close to the body and
push straight down
 Biceps:
Curl bar
curls- bring the weight up quickly and then lower slowly
Dumbbell
Hammer Curls- again, bring the weight up quickly and
then lower slowly
These weights
will vary significantly depending on the rest period between
sets and the order in which I perform the exercises. The
amount of weight is really irrelevant. What is heavy for
one person may be light for another and vice versa. The
important thing is to work with high intensity and reach
positive failure within your desired repetition range. Do
not merely stop at some randomly chosen number (10, for
example) when you could have in fact done a few more reps.
It is the final reps that will provide the stimulus for
growth and strength.
As you can see
from this type of workout, I prefer to keep the volume of
training relatively low while the
 intensity is kept very
high. I will train my arms only once every 5-7 days. This
holds true for the rest of my workouts, too. Typically, I
will only do this exact workout once and will change at
least one of the exercises for the next time that I train
arms. Also, frequently I will train biceps and triceps with
different muscle groups. This will help prevent my body
from adjusting to the workouts and will continually provide my
muscles with a new stressor so that additional mass can be
attained. Try this arm workout for yourself and see how it
works. Hopefully, soon you'll not only be stretching out
the sleeves on your shirts, but tearing them as well!
Ken is
certified personal trainer, bodybuilding judge, and a
natural pro bodybuilder in multiple federations. He has been
training with weights since 1977. He hosts a weekly
television show called Natural Bodybuilding and Fitness on
Adelphia Cable in Pittsburgh, PA that he uses to educate
people about various aspects of bodybuilding, health,
nutrition, and more. |
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