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Ive never been happy with my arm development. I do heavy weighted dips, rope press downs, bar pressdowns and DB overhead extensions(both arms). For biceps I dont do alot of volume, since I love tri's i tend to hit them alot.
I currently DONT do arms on their own day. What do you guys suggest?
Its a generic answer, but al you can really do is just try switching things around until you see what works the best for you.
you have 3 options and i will lean towards the first as a test:
1-stop training them. if you are hammering them and they arent growing then you may be over training them. give them 4 wks off and take a look and see if you added anything. trust me, first coach i worked with did this with me and i added 2in in 6 months with zero direct arm work
2-give them their own day. simple 8-12 work sets per bi and tri. massive pump, who cares about weight but still make it challenging
3- double it up. train them 2x per week. bis with chest or shoulders and tris with back then again on a seperate day. on the day with the large group only hit a good pump with about 4-6 good sets and that's it then again on own day with 8-12sets each.
start this in order and see which one gives you the best response. 4wks on each and go from there
What works for me is volume. Like guns said, weight is not the end goal. Pick an exercise, hammer curl for example and start with a weight you can do maybe 15-20 and then drop set em. Once you get that pump it's time to keep going. For triceps I love just grabbing the adjustable cable with nothing attached, again a low to med weight and really focusing on the extension. I will start at my hip slightly bet over and exaggerate the movement backwards. I also love switching it up with the machines too.
My arms get bigger the more I hammer triceps and there is a routine called 21's for biceps that kicks ass
Thanks Guns, I would destroy tri's on chest/tri day and then on shoulder day do about 3/4 sets lightweight just to get a great pump. Maybe I am overtraining them. Thanks for that post, ill try that.
Yea MM, I remember learning 21's back in highschool, I havent done them in a long time. Ill incorporate them soon!
i have to say i have used the approach of tirs with chest and bis with back in my early days haha. never once until i had gotten a little further along in the game did it click that damn i am hammering tris indirectly on my chest work and then crushing them with even more volume directly. not so good for business for me. now what i listed above is what worked the best for me and people i have worked with that had issues with arms. mine actually grow pretty easily just like my legs do but i tried all the approaches. cool thing about hitting them with opposing muscle groups is you can come down to a 4 day training split for a week or even if you need to bring up say back chest or shoulders, you can cut out direct arm work and hammer the crap out of those and you still shouldnt lose anything off your arms.Quote:
Originally Posted by hicktown
I like volume. I train biceps on chest day and tricep on another day so they both get hit directly one day then again with pressing or pulling work.
For biceps I really like straight bar on preacher then lots of angles with a big key is hammer curls. They really give the arm and bicep a great 3d look ESP from a side view.
Your tricep routine looks good. I assume u start with heavy dips then go into your lighter moves? Also try adding some super sets on triceps. Except on the mass moves on triceps go for reps. I see lots of guys go heavy on rope work and I don't feel that's the place for weight. Also try close grip bench for tricep mass.
Sounds like u need more bicep work mostly. I love the preacher bench but make sure u get full ROM. If I'm doing a wheel or more per side on preacher sure I'll cheat the bottom a little but on the earlier sets its rock bottom every rep.
Guns also had solid advise
^^^ yes sir, my new coach not only told me to take mandatory days off, but designed training split so my lagging triceps get hit 3x a week, on push/pull day and then shoulders/bi/tri day. I will sometimes just do a tricep workout on weekends just to give them a little extra push...but yes if you have been blasting them bcuz they won't grow...take the time off them like gunz said...at least direct training.Quote:
Originally Posted by guns01
I have always had an arm day because I do so many tricep exercises I need one, plus my triceps are my best muscle so I enjoy working the heck out of them. My personal favorite exercise that I think adds the most mass for me is headbangers and I do 4 working sets not counting warm ups. I always do press downs too but change it up between straight bar and rope and sometimes do both, rope as a finisher which I do nice and slow and try to spread the rope all the way out at the end of each rep. Dips are a must for me on chest day and arm day, and usually at the end of my workout and on arm day I often superset them with biceps. And sometimes I do close grip bench press, which gives me a great burn and seems to really help. I do some dumbbell extensions sometimes and often use some of the tricep extension machines.
I agree with Guns' first suggestion. Try not hitting them directly for a little while and see if that helps. I go through powerlifting phases periodically where I focus more on core lifts and building some good solid strength. During those times, I don't have much direct arm work. However, I do sometimes see great improvements in my arms when I train that way.
Never had a problems with Arms
I do# 3 like Guns said. Back and bi chest and tri Med weights
Then kill it one day a week Bi's and tri
How is your arm training going hick? did you make changes?
Funny i stumbled back on this post. Ive decreased volume to about 4 sets on chest day and thats it. If i dont hit my tris i feel like my workout isnt complete. Not training them is so hard for me! I love that pump!
When are you going to revisit? Around Christmas or so to see if this approach is working?
2 things that worked for me.
1- make sure to incorporate hammer curls or zottmans (to hit brachialis in the bicep)
2- (and this was eluded too) I have an arms day but I also do a couple sets of bis when I do back and couple sets of tris when I do chest. My split is set up so I have adequate rest in between and doing this broke through an arms plateau for me and has def helped gains.
Anyway looking forward to see what the solution is for you.
Ill continue this and yea maybe recheck it around that time. The only work they'll be getting is when im doing bench or shoulder press.