Let’s face it, building arms is easily the most common goal amongst weight lifters and bodybuilders. Having biceps and triceps that practically rip through your shirt sleeve is every mans ideal physique. Heck, if you ask someone to see their muscles, what is the first thing they are going to do? That’s right, they are going to flex their arms. The thing is, building arms may be the most common goal, but it is also the hardest to achieve after defined abs. Now, if you are interested in getting bigger arms but just can’t seem to produce results, here are a few tips that will help you break that threshold and experience rapid growth.
Prioritize:
A huge mistake lots of people often make when building up a lacking muscle group is, they fail to prioritize. You see, when we go into the gym we are at our peak, we are the most rested and have the most amount of energy. Whatever muscle group gets targeted first is going to get 100 percent of your ability. So, instead of going in and working your back or chest immediately, try starting with isolation workouts for your biceps or triceps every once in a while. This will allow you to lift a little heavier, perform more repetitions, rest less in between sets, and ultimately put more strain on the muscle.
Focusing too much on biceps and not enough on triceps:
This is one of the most common mistakes people make when trying to achieve bigger arms. I believe that the reason for this is simply because people are uneducated on the subject. So why should we focus more on triceps and less on the biceps? Well, the triceps make up about 65 percent of your arms. What does that mean to you? Ignoring the triceps will make it nearly impossible to add inches to your arms.
Over Training:
Another thing we must avoid when building arms is over training. The biceps and triceps are easily over trained for two main reasons. Number one, most people are unaware that working chest and back also targets arms. So, some of us are training the arms on chest and back day while still isolating them the following day or so. When this happens, your muscles are not given the necessary rest time to rebuild and grow. Number two, people tend to assume that if a muscle is lacking, it should be targeted more often. In this case, that approach is counterproductive. With that being said, the biceps and triceps are considered smaller muscle groups, one good isolation workout a week along with one good chest workout and one good back session should be more than enough.
The right workouts:
Have you ever noticed that your biceps and/or triceps do not seem to get sore after workouts? If so, you might be making a few small mistakes that can easily be fixed. With biceps, a common issue is form. Most people perform the basic barbell curls and tend to use more momentum than actual bicep strength. This is extremely common; a few things you can do to assure you are putting all the strain on the biceps are:
A huge mistake lots of people often make when building up a lacking muscle group is, they fail to prioritize. You see, when we go into the gym we are at our peak, we are the most rested and have the most amount of energy. Whatever muscle group gets targeted first is going to get 100 percent of your ability. So, instead of going in and working your back or chest immediately, try starting with isolation workouts for your biceps or triceps every once in a while. This will allow you to lift a little heavier, perform more repetitions, rest less in between sets, and ultimately put more strain on the muscle.
Focusing too much on biceps and not enough on triceps:
This is one of the most common mistakes people make when trying to achieve bigger arms. I believe that the reason for this is simply because people are uneducated on the subject. So why should we focus more on triceps and less on the biceps? Well, the triceps make up about 65 percent of your arms. What does that mean to you? Ignoring the triceps will make it nearly impossible to add inches to your arms.
Over Training:
Another thing we must avoid when building arms is over training. The biceps and triceps are easily over trained for two main reasons. Number one, most people are unaware that working chest and back also targets arms. So, some of us are training the arms on chest and back day while still isolating them the following day or so. When this happens, your muscles are not given the necessary rest time to rebuild and grow. Number two, people tend to assume that if a muscle is lacking, it should be targeted more often. In this case, that approach is counterproductive. With that being said, the biceps and triceps are considered smaller muscle groups, one good isolation workout a week along with one good chest workout and one good back session should be more than enough.
The right workouts:
Have you ever noticed that your biceps and/or triceps do not seem to get sore after workouts? If so, you might be making a few small mistakes that can easily be fixed. With biceps, a common issue is form. Most people perform the basic barbell curls and tend to use more momentum than actual bicep strength. This is extremely common; a few things you can do to assure you are putting all the strain on the biceps are:
-Stand up against a wall with your elbows touching it as you perform the curls.
-Perform curls with an Olympic bar with your elbows touching your sides at all times.
-Focus more on concentration curls with your arm rested on your inner thigh.
-Use straight bars over “easy curl” bars.
-Rest the weight at the bottom position for at least one full second before lifting.
-Lower the weight slowly.
If you feel that your triceps are not taking enough punishment (not ending up sore 24 hours later), you should:
-Perform curls with an Olympic bar with your elbows touching your sides at all times.
-Focus more on concentration curls with your arm rested on your inner thigh.
-Use straight bars over “easy curl” bars.
-Rest the weight at the bottom position for at least one full second before lifting.
-Lower the weight slowly.
If you feel that your triceps are not taking enough punishment (not ending up sore 24 hours later), you should:
-Increase the weight without sacrificing reps.
-Add an extra set.
-Perform extra reps.
or
-Decrease rest time between sets.
-Add an extra set.
-Perform extra reps.
or
-Decrease rest time between sets.
The bad news is, there are lots of mistakes we can be making that will reduce our chances of building arms. The good news is, there is a simple solution to all of these small errors. Whether you are making all of these mistakes or just making one, fixing this will result in bigger and stronger arms for the physique you are working so hard to obtain. I hope I was able to answer any questions you may have had about building larger and stronger arms. If not, be sure to leave a comment below with any questions fitness related. Happy lifting!
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2 comments:
Hello,
Ive been working out arms for a while but can never get the shape. I have shape everywhere except the arms. Is there a way to have a pic sent to you so you could tell me what im doing wrong?
BTW, im going to start on the 5x5 training for about 5 months, is there a way to send a before and after pic? that way i wont have a chance to throw my pics away! (i hate keeping pics)
Hey, Well to answer your question. The absense of "shape" in the arms could come from one of two things. Number one and most common, body fat. No matter how muscular your arms are, if there is fat there, it will take away from the definition. Next, it could possibly be simply from training the arms wrong by making 1 or a few of the mistakes mentioned in this article.
Here is an email i use for my readers to send in results and things of that nature.
AlainGonzalezFitness@Gmail.com
Id be glad to help!
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