When I started my fitness journey, I followed a number of free training programs I had found online – mostly via bodybuilding.com before they started requiring memberships for access. During that time one of the parts of my body that saw great results was my arms – my biceps and triceps. Over the years, they became a notable point of conversation if anyone was admiring a part of my body and
- Negative Reps
One of the first training techniques I learned in the gym through my friend Manuel was the “negative”. It’s one of the easiest ways to train, but most often overlooked methods because it’s boring, it’s exhausting, and it hurts (in the good way). When an exercise is done, focusing on the NEGATIVE, what we’re talking about is the portion of the movement when the weight is moving down toward the ground, which could be the dumb/bar-bell, your body, the stack of plates, etc. This is the eccentric motion of the exercise when the targeted muscles are lengthening out after having been contracted. For example: During a biceps curl with a dumbbell, when you lift the dumbbell from your hip up to your shoulder by flexing your elbow, you are contracting the biceps muscle which engages it to pull the elbow/forearm up. Having reached the shoulder, it’s now time to lower the weight back down. Releasing the contraction of the biceps, the muscle then stretches back into place. By slowing down the time we allow the muscle to release the tension, we are forcing the muscle to work harder and longer than it would be if we just let the weight drop. The longer time under tension of contraction, the more the muscle is working; therefore the more the muscle will become stronger, and bigger.
Aim for a 3-4 second negative per rep, doing 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps.
- Drop Sets.
A big proponent of bodybuilding style workouts that helps people build muscle and tone quickly is the incorporation of drop sets. What this means that you pick a number of reps and perform the heaviest weight you (safely) can at that weight, then immediately drop the weight down by about 20-25% and perform another round of reps without rest. Once you’ve completed both number of reps at the original and dropped weight, THEN you take your rest break. Reset the weight to the starting point, and go again. The idea here is to push the muscle close to it’s failure point, meaning if you tried to do one more rep, it would be almost impossible (without risking injury); but then by dropping the weight by that 20-25%, your muscles are still able to keep going for a few more reps. This pushes the capacity of the muscle to work, building stronger and larger muscles.
One of my favorite set/rep schemes if you’re looking for an extra challenge is a DOUBLE drop set, in which you perform 2 drops of the weight in 1 set. If you’re up for it, try 3 sets of 10-12 reps, dropping the weight twice per set (perform 10; drop the weight + perform 10; drop the weight again; perform 10; rest; reset; repeat).
- Save for the End.
If you’ve programmed correctly, the bulk of your training program should be focused on compound movements – exercises like squats, deadlifts, bench press, etc – that utilize more than one muscle group and perform more than one joint action. Because of that, during the main focus of your workout, you are already using the biceps and triceps as accessory/support muscles in exercises like presses (triceps) or pulls (biceps). Since they’ve already been used, they are already feeling the pump of blood and oxygen coursing through them. Now is the time to take it to the next level by isolating them for ultimate growth! This is now the time to do your negative reps and drop sets. The isolated work that focuses solely on the pre-warmed up biceps/triceps will help take your progress over the top.
It’s no secret that toned arms are seen as sexy and as someone who’s received compliments for having a big arms, I can tell you that the 3 secrets laid out here, are where it’s at when you want to grow bigger arms.
Hit a great workout then finish off with some negatives and drop sets consistently, and you’ll start busting sleeves in no time!
What’s your favorite exercise to work your arms? Sound off in the comments below!