building a set Building impressive (and super strong) arms isn’t as easy as just going to the gym and doing dumbbell curls until it all hurts. If it were that simple, everyone would have Captain America-level biceps popping out of his T-shirt.
If you really want big arms, pay attention to the details. The goal of every rep is to stimulate the muscles you’re training without straining your joints. This will keep you healthy and fresh so you can tackle your arm workouts every day. Also, you need to choose the right exercises to train your arms. Again, this means more than basic curls and skull crushers. and may need to vary the tempo of all movements.
The good news: you’re not alone in figuring this all out.So I tried to summarize 90 days arm challenge and men’s healtha book that offers a complete 12-week program focused on building you. It’s a plan.
4 Arm Workout Mistakes to Avoid
Arm training is too basic
Curls, pressdowns, and lateral raises are all great exercises, but they can quickly reach a dreaded training plateau.
why? Muscle development comes from consistently increasing the stress and strength your workouts can handle. To build muscle and transform your physique, you need to push hard enough to allow your body to adapt. The adaptation in this case is muscle growth. And for that adaptation to happen, you have to change your exercises, reps and weights to keep your body adapting and getting stronger. If you keep doing it the way it doesn’t happen.
How to fix
Variations don’t have to be complicated. Consider changing the angle of your arms with each exercise. Moving your elbows closer or further away from your torso changes how the exercise works on your biceps and triceps. For example, a standard bicep curl with your elbows close to your torso challenges your biceps the most during and at the end of the movement as you squeeze them. Preacher curls with elbows in front of the torso are the most difficult at the beginning of the curl and the easiest at the top of the motion.
Easily switch between 6 of your favorite arm exercises (3 for biceps and 3 for triceps) for every workout. Make sure each elbow is in a different position. Exercise 2-3 times at least twice a week.
rush the person in charge
“Mechanical tension” may sound like a high-tech concept, but it’s one that every lifter should learn. Simply put, it is the force exerted on a muscle by resistance (weight). This force is key to stimulating muscle growth.
In fact, you will feel the tension as you use your muscles to apply force to complete the movement. But very often this feeling is lost when the weight is heavier and heavier. This is because your form breaks down and you start using other muscles (and momentum) to complete the movement. To most effectively grow your target muscles, especially your arms, you need to focus on creating mechanical tension no matter how heavy the weight gets. Yes, “progressive overload” is important. But to truly grow muscle, you need to gradually overload it and still feel it.
Realize this: You don’t have to grow your arms to get stronger. Over the years, I’ve seen plenty of strong people who don’t have the aesthetics to match their strength. Some are curling 15-pound dumbbells with their arms jacked up. why? Because they focus on mechanical tension.
How to fix
It follows the tempo of every rep no matter what weight you are using. Aim to take 1-2 seconds to lift the weight, then pause at the most difficult moment of the exercise, lower with control, and count for 1-2 seconds. Developing this habit will keep your arms the focus of all your arm exercises (you guessed it!).
you stick to the same grip
Curl, palms up. Triceps, palms up. One major problem arises when you keep the same hand position over and over in a movement. You’re using the muscles in the same way over and over again. Biceps and triceps he’s trying to build two groups of muscles, but these muscles have different parts and each has a different role.
This is important for two reasons. Rabies can add to your joint health. If you want superhero-sized arms, adjusting the position of your hands in your exercises will change the impact on your muscles. For example, the biceps distribute stress differently, even if the palms are slightly rotated to face each other. This can lead to more balanced forearm development and keep you healthy in the long run.
How to fix
Vary your hand position through biceps and triceps exercises. Play with 3 different ideas (palms facing the ceiling, palms facing each other, and palms facing the ground) with all biceps curl variations and Skull He Crusher. Aim to achieve at least two of these positions in every workout.
Inadequate arm training
Bodybuilding splits can ruin arm training success. Why? Often he is asked to train each part of his body once a week. For those who don’t stay in the gym for three hours to hit every curl variation in the book on arm day, this isn’t enough. requires more consistent stress.
The good news: your arms may require more than one day of training per week. Unlike exercises like bench presses, squats and deadlifts, most arm exercises use relatively light weights. please think about it. No matter how hard you try, doing a few curls won’t hurt you as much as doing a few squats.
How to fix
Train your arms for at least 2-3 days. Aim to do this on your upper body day. For example, you can easily include biceps exercises on the days you do pull-ups. Do you bench press or shoulder press every day? Bench press hits your triceps anyway, so add some triceps exercises. Keep a dedicated arm day once a week (Arm days are fun!). Suddenly he stretches his arm three times a week.
The truth is, if you’re smart and target it, you can actually train your arms almost every day.
For more actionable tips, exercises and complete workout splits go here Men’s Health 90 Day Transformational Challenge: Arms training book.
David Otey, CSCS, is a fitness writer, NYC-based strength coach, member of the Men’s Health Advisory Board, and an expert in strength and hypertrophy protocols and exercise performance. For more information on Otey, check out www.oteyfitness.com.
