In this article we are giving you a programme that will give you what you want, that’s big arms, while still using the big lifts you need. We have compiled a 4 week workout to help you achieve muscle mass and strength, without looking out of proportion.
Plus the compound movements we’re going to use will enhance your goal of building bigger, stronger arms.
If you want big arms, the optimal method is to focus on that one goal for a certain period of time, this helps your goal achievable and won’t leave you distracted or not seeing results.
We are looking to spend one of our 4 training days maintaining strength and movement qualities in other key lifts, this is because:
- It will give your arms extra time for recovery.
- You’ll need to return to a your usual training programme after this phase is complete.
The Programme:
So, as discussed you will train four days per week. Three of those will be your “arm workout” days, the fourth, a maintenance day. Ideally your week will be set up with Monday, Thursday, and Saturday being the arm days, Tuesday as your maintenance day, and Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday as off days.
Each arm workout starts with a big lift. This will make you feel a significant anabolic hormonal response, something you wouldn’t get from isolation work alone. For workout A, that’s a deadlift. Heavy deads contribute to great forearm development as well as, if not better than, any other lift you can perform in the gym.
Workout B starts with a narrow grip bench press – a great developer of the triceps. This allows you to focus on the triceps without developing the wrist pain often associated with close-grip benching.
Finally, workout C starts with chin-ups (that means a supinated grip, or palms facing you), as they’re also a great forearm and biceps developer. If you can’t complete the number of reps prescribed for the chin-ups, then use the lat pull-down machine and get your reps in there.
The periodisation scheme is where we’re going to be manipulating the sets and reps from week to week. Shoot to complete all reps in every set, and choose loads that allow you to have one or two more reps left in the tank at the end of the set.
Finally, we’re going to use a few specialised techniques that work really well in hypertrophy phases such as drop sets, slow negatives, and rest-pauses. These will be used on the last set of the “A,” “B1,” and “B2” exercises when prescribed.
WEEK 2, 3 and 4 will be uploaded shortly
A Note On Rest and Tempo
It is well advised to perform each lift as quickly as possible while absolutely controlling the negative/lowering phase of each lift. Time under tension is a critical factor in any hypertrophy phase, and ideally you want sets lasting between 40 and 60 seconds.
Rest periods should be between 75 and 90 seconds for your “A” exercises and between 45 and 75 seconds for the remainder of the program. Once you feel like you’re ready to go, move on to the next set. On the high rep “D” exercises, use intra-set rest as much as necessary. Your goal is to get all the reps in..
