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Arm training program
Posted on: 08/24/2015How many bodybuilding enthusiasts came to this discipline in the hope of one day sporting arms as powerful as Arnold Schwarzenegger's? But how many of them were quickly disillusioned when they realized that, despite their best efforts, their arms weren't growing as big as they'd hoped?
And yes, many of us have realized that not everyone can have Arnold's arms, for two reasons.
The first is that Arnold's genetics at an early age gave him large, responsive arms.
The second was that Arnold pushed his muscles to the limit in order to stimulate them to the maximum, and therefore bludgeoned his arms accordingly.
Since few of us are genetically gifted with naturally large arms, we can at least bludgeon them to compensate for this deficit and get as close as possible to our goal of big arms!
arm muscle anatomy
What's important to know first of all is that, contrary to popular belief, what makes for big arms are not big biceps but big triceps, curved and developed in all their fascicles. As their name suggests, the triceps on the back of the arms are made up of three fascicles: the long portion, the medial external and the vastus medialis.
The biceps, on the other hand, are located on the front of the arm and are made up of two fascicles. Logically, then, the triceps are larger by virtue of their composition.
In the program I'm about to propose, you'll be training both the biceps and the triceps to develop voluminous arms from all angles. This program, designed to shock your arms, is given as an example only and can be modified to suit your needs.
The program will be made up of one part devoted to the biceps and the other to the triceps. These two sessions can be done on the same day or on separate days.
Biceps program
Before starting the session proper, you'll need to do a few minutes' general warm-up on a static bike or other cardio machine to get your body up to temperature. Then, using an unloaded barbell, I'd recommend you slowly perform 2 or 3 sets of biceps curls of 20 to 25 repetitions to get the blood flowing in this area.
Once you've warmed up, let's move on to the body of the session:
Exercise 1: EZ bar biceps curl
5 sets of 12 reps (the last two reps must be at the limit)
Exercise 2: Alternating dumbbell curls
4x ( 1 set of 8 reps+ 1 set of 12 reps)
For this exercise, choose two different loads, the first close to 85% of your max and the second at around 70%.
Exercise 3: curl desk alternate arms
4 sets of 12 to 15 reps (slow movement, no full extension of the arms to protect the joint, and almost full flexion for maximum contraction)
Exercise 4: dumbbell hammer curl with both arms together
5 sets of 12 reps ( the last two reps of each set are at the limit)
Between each set, rest time should not exceed 1min to 1min 30 to maintain maximum blood flow Between two exercises, take a break of 2min max.
Triceps program
We'll start by working the triceps as a whole with a mass exercise, then isolate the fascicles that are often neglected: the vastus medialis and the external zone.
Exercise 1: barbell to forehead (EZ)
2 sets of 20 reps with a light load to warm up the triceps (40-50%)
4 sets of 12 reps (70-80%)
Exercise 2: high pulley triceps extension (pronation)
4 sets of 10 to 12 reps (load not to be exceeded)
Exercise 3: high pulley extension with rope grip
5 sets of 15 reps, keeping your hands well away from your body at the end of the exercise (keep your elbows close to your body)
Exercise 4: extension behind the head, alternate arms with dumbbell
5 sets of 12 to 15 reps (with a load that doesn't allow you to do more, and with good control of the movement).
As with the biceps workout, recovery time between sets should not exceed 1min 30, and recovery time between two exercises should not exceed 2min 30 to maintain blood flow to this area.
Now you're ready to work your arms and get them to respond to the volume you've been aspiring to for so long. I'd like to emphasize the quality of your training and, above all, the quality of your movements. They must be controlled and with maximum contraction at each repetition.
It's with this type of program that I succeeded during my competitive period in obtaining impressive arms.
It's up to you!
Author Alexandre CARPENTIER
Bodybuilding Champion N.A.C 2012
Alexandre shares his bodybuilding experience with MegaGear blog readers