Arm Yourself

In the History of the World, No One Has Ever Said, “i Wish I Had Smaller Arms.”

- Jay Ashman

There are two types of people who train at gyms: those who want arms that are big and jacked and those who are lying about it. You can argue this point by saying, “Stronger is better” or “Being fit is better,” but at the end of the day, if your arms fill your sleeves out, you actually start to look like you lift weights. Of course this is debatable, but go ahead and tell me you can look at someone whose arms are muscular and defined and not immediately assume that they lift hard.

There is one issue with many trainees in gyms when it comes to wanting bigger arms: They simply don’t train them smart enough. Going too heavy, not training them enough, focusing too much on the biceps, or using bad form will all cause your arms to lag behind in development and size. It goes without saying that you can’t expect to have 19-inch arms if you want to stay 180 pounds and ripped. Arm size generally follows overall muscular size. A few sets a week will not be enough. If you want them to grow, you have to go after the arms just like you go after your pecs on international chest day.

There are several ways to train arms. You will often see triceps and chest paired on the same day, along with biceps and back on their own day. The following program is for a stand-alone arm workout, meant to be the second training stimulus of the week. This workout is challenging and high volume. You can do this for four to six weeks, changing up sets and reps slightly each time, or keep them the same for the entire period. Your arms will explode with a pump after this session, and you will catch yourself walking by random car windows, mirrors at work, and other reflective surfaces while you flex and admire your pump.

SUPERSET I

1A: CLOSE-GRIP BENCH PRESS: Work up to a heavy six reps in four to five sets.