Remember, don’t overdo the sets
when you go higher rep. In fact,
you should cut the sets down by
one if you’re going an extra 3-4
reps per set using heavy weight.
You’ll even get to the point where
you know which exercises benefit
you in this type of training
and which do not. Only use what
works. Sound obvious? You’d
think. But that’s not the case with
most people who just include
an exercise in a heavy training
routine because they think they
should. Include the exercises
that pack on the most mass, are
the more inclusive of multi-joint
benefit and ones you can sustain a
high level of intensity throughout.
Triceps
Triceps Pushdowns
4 x 10
Skull Crushers
4 x 10
Overhead Triceps Extensions
4 x 12
Dips
2 x failure
Biceps
Incline bench dumbbell curls
4 x 8
Preacher Curls
4 x 10
Hammer Curls
4 x 12
Low Cable Pulley
1 x failure at the end of the
workout
This has a lot of room for tailoring
to your own body. Whether
in the amount of weight you use,
or the type of bar you use, as well
as adding forced reps, negatives,
pyramids, etc.
The point here is to take a routine
like this and make it your own.
You see plenty of routines online
and they all either look basic or
they look complex and too much
like the guy who has written
them down. Remember, a training
routine is a living thing. It can
be altered to suit you, and it will
change with you as you grow and
build mass. You can use the exact
same routine and have it look different
each time you step into the
gym, by using tri-sets, or any of
the types of repetition forms I just
mentioned.
Writing your workouts down in
a training journal is a good idea
– not because you want to become
some workout geek, but because
it benefits you to see where you
have been and where you are now.
That’s important information to
know and helps you construct
something different next time. It
also gives you an idea of what
you’ve already done and maybe
want to wait to do again. Experiment
with everything from load
to set and rep number to failure
to varying repetition and set type
to find what gives you the best
results.
10. Training Aids
Training Aids are anything that
help you to complete an exercise
within a workout. For the arms,
that means everything from arm
blasters to apparatus like a preacher
bench. It’s really important to
have a variety of training aids for
the arms, since like the legs, they
require a good deal of creativity to
get them to grow.
You probably have one area of
the arms that grows better than
the other. For some, it’s effortless
biceps growth. For others, it’s
gargantuan triceps.
Always keep straps with you in
your gym bag, and always keep
wrist wraps for sure. These are
great tools for bis and tris and can
push you to use heavier weights.
Wrapping when doing bar work in
biceps curls is important because
you can pull heavier without needing
the grip strength. Your grip
strength will catch up sooner or
later, but until it does, use straps.
Also, use a lot of different attachments
and apparatus in the gym.
Use the preacher bench often for
biceps, do several different forms
of dips – from upright roman chair
type dips, to dips between two
benches, to Nautilus or Cybex
type machine dips.
Use attachments – like single
handles – to make your arms work
independently of one another.
This is a great training aid that I
wouldn’t be without in my workouts.
It’s great to say you can lift
X amount with an EZ curl bar, stabilized,
and with wraps. But can
you do a biceps curl, one armed,
with a cable and handle attached?
That is the measure of success
and a meter as to whether you can
handle the weight.
Arm blasters are also great tools
for isolating and for building specific
parts of the biceps – mostly
the outer head. Make sure your
gym has one. If it doesn’t, order
one and use it at least every other
workout.