The Workouts for Big Arms in Four Weeks

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BY DAVE DREAS, CPT Men’s Fitness
It can be a nerve-racking experience wearing a tank top or going shirtless on the beach. Lately, training programs have shy’d away from isolation movements for the “functional” and “athletic” type programs. There’s nothing wrong with that, however it can leave certain “problem” areas underdeveloped.

 

Focusing on arm development can be a slow go especially if you are stuck with the standard set and rep schemes. Moving away from the basics and focusing on a few key advanced concepts can get your splitting those sleeves in no time.

 

The first thing you need to be aware of is the term progressive overload.

 

Simply put, you must continually lift more in order to make your muscles work harder than they’re accustomed too. This excess demand will allow you to make gains in muscle size, strength and endurance. Here are three ways you can progressive overload.

 

1. Increase resistance – Add more weight
2. Increase sets – add a couple more sets to each exercise
3. Increase reps- mix up your volume with higher and lower rep schemes.

 

The second thing to pay attention to is time under tension (TUT).

 

Time Under Tension is simply referred to as how long a specific muscle group is under strain during a set. If you do a set of barbell bicep curls for 10 reps it can take roughly 15-20 seconds to complete. By making it more difficult you can increase that time under tension to 35-40 seconds. This forces you biceps to work 15-20 seconds longer allowing the muscle fibers to grow.

 

An effective way to do this is through Tempo Training. There are multiple tempos that you can use when lifting but one of my favorite for bicep growth is 4,0,1,0. This simply means: 4 seconds on the way down, 0 seconds at the bottom, 1 second on the way up, 0 seconds at the top. This is also known as eccentric training.

 

By combining tempo training with a sound bicep and tricep program you’ll leave yourself no choice but to grow. Here’s a four week Arm’s program to be performed twice a week.

 

Week 1: 4 sets 12 reps

Over Bench Curl
Dumbbell Hammer Curl
Barbell Curl (4,0,1,0 Tempo)
Rope Press Down (4,0,1,0 Tempo)
Overhead DB Extension
Dips (failure)

 

Week 2: 4 sets of 10 reps

Over Bench Curl
Dumbbell Hammer Curl
Barbell Curl (4,0,1,0 Tempo)
Rope Press Down (4,0,1,0 Tempo)
Overhead DB Extension
Dips (failure)

 

Week 3: 5 sets of 12 reps

Over Bench Curl
Dumbbell Hammer Curl
Barbell Curl (4,0,1,0 Tempo)
Rope Press Down (4,0,1,0 Tempo)
Overhead DB Extension
Dips (failure)

 

Week 4: 5 sets of 8 reps

Over Bench Curl
Dumbbell Hammer Curl
Barbell Curl (4,0,1,0 Tempo)
Rope Press Down (4,0,1,0 Tempo)
Overhead DB Extension
Dips (failure)

– See more at: http://www.mensfitness.com/training/workout-routines/workouts-big-arms-four-weeks#sthash.xJvmViQd.dpuf

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