The Ultimate Arms Workout for Building Guns o' Steel!

"Curls are for girls!" They say.  Well I say, if you want bigger arms, why not do curls (and triceps extensions)?!  Keep reading to learn the "secret" exercises that will build up your arms like you've never thought possible.

I'm always open to varying philosophies regarding optimal training.  However, sometimes certain philosophical schools of thought are just plain stupid to espouse within certain contexts.  Take for example the competing methodologies of "purists" who believe people should only do compound movements to grow bigger muscles (including the arms), and "non-purists" (I don't really have a better term for this group) who think isolation movements are the truly defining exercises of any great muscle building routine.  Both methods for building muscle have their place, depending on a person's circumstances, but, holding to one or the other dogmatically is just a recipe for disappointment--and disaster.  In the spirit of utility, I think a good lifting routine will use a combination of both compound and isolation movements to achieve proportional muscle growth.

But enough with my rambling!

You came here to learn how to build bigger arms, and I plan to show you how!  

The Biceps.

The Biceps - 1) Long Head, 2) Short Head, 3) Brachioradialis, & 4) Brachialis

Training the biceps is relatively straightforward--CURL!

More specifically however, movements which involve a supinated grip (that's with your palms facing up) will better target the biceps.  As you begin rotating your hands toward the neutral position (palms facing each other) and even further to the pronated position (palms facing down) the brachioradialis and barachialis will be targeted to a greater degree.  Neutral grip curls--like hammer curls--will actually give you a solid mix between the long and short heads of the biceps with the brachioradialis and brachialis--this is why many people can hammer curl more weight than they can with supinated curls.  Pronated curls put you in the weakest curling position by taking the long and short heads of the biceps out of the equation (at least more so than other hand grips).  Still yet, going into further depth, many bodybuilders report being able to emphasize either the long or short head of the biceps by changing their grip width.  A wide grip will emphasize the short head, and a narrow grip will emphasize the long head.

The following exercises are the best (in my opinion) for building solid biceps -

• Chins, pull-ups, barbell curls, EZ-bar curls, and dumbbell curls will give you the biggest bang for your buck.  Do these exercises heavy--in the 4-6 rep range.
• Other movements such as preacher curls, incline bench dumbbell curls, and concentration curls--all known as "peak contraction" exercises--will allow you to improve your mind-muscle connection (thus allowing your to better activate your muscle fibers in the long term).  These exercises are best performed as "pump" exercises--done pyramid style.  Pick a weight that allows you to curl for 12 reps on the first set, rest 60 seconds, then with the same weight, do 10 reps, then 8 reps, then 6, another 6, and yet another 6.  Trust me, you'll be good and pumped using this rep scheme.

The Triceps

The 3 triceps heads.

Once again, like the biceps, training the triceps is not rocket science.  Nevertheless, some exercises, just like with the biceps, will be more effective for various purposes in comparison to others.  By using a wide grip, you will target the inner long head of the triceps.  A narrow grip will put more of an emphasis on the lateral and medial heads.  A pronated grip will target the lateral and medial heads, and a supinated grip will target the long head.  A V-grip will allow you to target all three heads equally.  

The following exercises will really put some size on your triceps (if you focus on getting progressively stronger with them) -

• For the lateral and medial heads, cable extensions, skull crushers, and dips will work just nicely.  Do these for 4-6 reps.
• For the long head, dumbbell kickbacks and seated triceps presses (with either an EZ-bar or dumbbells) are your best choices.  Do these in the 4-6 rep range.
• In terms of "peak contraction" exercises, use whatever allows you to really feel the triceps contract.  Use the same rep scheme here that I prescribed for the biceps.

The Ultimate Arms Routine

After a warm-up, do alternating sets of the following (rest 60-90 seconds between exercises)

• Barbell Curls for 3 sets of 4-6 reps.
• Skull Crushers for 3 sets of 4-6 reps.

Alternating sets of the following (rest 60-90 seconds between exercises)

• Dumbbell Curls for 3 sets of 4-6 reps.
• Seated Triceps Press for 3 sets of 4-6 reps.

Super-set (rest as little as possible between sets)

• Incline Bench Dumbbell Curl for 12, 10, 8, 6, 6, 6 reps.
• Rope-Grip Triceps Push-down for 12, 10, 8, 6, 6, 6 reps.

If you can do the number of reps prescribed per exercise, continue to add weight--so long as you aren't compromising form in order to cheat your way into lifting more weight!

I love arm days, so enjoy!