The arms are among the most commonly trained body part in any gym. What bodybuilder doesn’t like hitting the arms? Anyone with a slight bit of muscularity will commonly be asked one of two questions. The first is often “What do ya bench?” The second will invariably be something along the line of “Can you make a muscle (flex your biceps)?” With this demand for impromptu arm sessions comes a certain pressure to have a decent set of “guns”. Unfortunately, for many bodybuilders, because of their genetics, light body weight, or training focus, their arms may be a lagging body part. Let’s devise a workout plan to help reverse this trend.
Let’s plan a workout day that combines biceps and triceps training. This session will always start with 5 to 10 minutes of walking on the treadmill. Keep the pace moderate and the incline nil. You’re not trying to conduct cardio for athletic performance here. Instead, your goal is simply to get the blood flowing to the extremities of your body. Find the ‘heart health’ lower setting on the treadmill and stick to that. Your heart rate should go no higher than 125 beats per minute during this session. This will make it easier to attain a pump. And as you know, the pump is the goal of just about everything we do in the gym on arm day!
Now that you’re in the gym, you’ll be conducting 8 total exercises for 3 sets each. There will be four biceps movements, and four triceps movements. They will be grouped in this manner.
Superset 1 – three sets
Triceps mass building exercise for 8 reps, immediately followed by biceps mass-builder for 8 repetitions
Superset 2 – three sets
Triceps mass building exercise for 8 to 10 repetitions, immediately followed by biceps mass-builder for 8 to 10 repetitions
Superset 3 – three sets
Biceps isolation movement building exercise for 10 to 12 reps, immediately followed by triceps mass-builder for 10 to 12 repetitions
Superset 4 – three sets
Triceps pumping movement for 12 to 20 reps, immediately followed by biceps pumping exercise for 12 to 20 repetitions
You may select any exercise you wish, and should rotate them out regularly. Experiment with movements you know, those you don’t know, and those which have helped others find success. Forearm training will be tacked on to the end of back and/or shoulder training days. If you have anything left in your tank after training biceps and triceps, then you need to train harder!
There are some supplements you can use to help improve your arm training day. Caffeine and ephedrine help to boost energy levels. There are a myriad of pre-workout drinks that deliver a kick in the pants. Plus, a whole new generation of workout aids known as vacillators, or NOS products, help increase blood circulation and deliver better pumps. As long as you limit their use to once a week – ideally arm day – your success will be consistent and they’ll continue to work in the long term.