Don’t Try This Arm Workout
Key Takeaways
To get the most out of your fitness routine and make the best possible progress, each workout should be specifically tailored to you.
To increase the size of your arms, your number one goal should be to gain as much strength as possible over time.
The best way to train the arms is:
Heavy (5-12 reps)
Often (2-3x/week)
With adequate rest in between sets (90 seconds-3 minutes)
The workout:
A1. Close Grip Bench Press - 3 sets of 5 to 8 reps
A2. Chin Up - 3 sets of 5 to 8 reps
B1. EZ Curl - 3 sets of 8-12 reps
B2. EZ Skullcrusher - 3 sets of 8-12 reps
C1. Rope Push Down - 3 sets of 12-15 reps
C2. Incline DB Curl - 3 sets of 12-15 reps
If you’re willing to wing it and just want to have an effective arm workout, this routine is a perfect option.
(This is not a picture of me, in case there was any confusion).
Full Story
Don’t do it.
I shouldn’t even waste my breath (or in this case, the energy of my typing fingers*) because I know you won’t listen. I don’t want you to try this arm workout because:
I have no idea who you are and I don’t know your training history. If you're my father (hi, Dad), this workout will be way too intense and render you incapable of brushing your teeth for the next week (sorry, Dad). If you’re Phil Heath, this workout won’t even suffice as a warm up (1).
I don’t know your goal. If it’s to grow your arms, fantastic! But if it’s to decrease your mile time or dominate your softball league, this workout won’t help you.
I don’t know where you’re at in your current program (if you’re following one, which you absolutely should be).
For example, if you’re on week 1 and slowly ramping up intensity don’t do this workout. If you're gearing up for an all-out, 3 scoop pre-workout, death metal blasting, nose-bleed inducing max deadlift attempt, don’t do this workout.
Do you see my point?
*I’m a hunt and pecker, typing is no walk in the park!
The Problem With Following My Workout
I frequently post my workouts on my Instagram, and I love it when people message me to say that they’re going to try it out.
But I also hate it.
Here’s why I love it - My workouts are always (usually) well thought-out and it’s solid routine that contains a nice amount of volume, intensity, and exercise variation. Without a doubt, performing my workout is 100% better than the few sets of “couch plops” and “kick their feet ups” you may have done otherwise.
Here’s why I hate it - It’s MY workout.
My Workout, Not Yours
The workouts I do are specific to:
My goals
My program
The workout I had yesterday
The workout I have tomorrow
My training history
How I’m feeling
How much sleep I had
The direction of the wind
The alignment of the stars and the cycle of the lunar phase
To get the most out of your fitness routine and make the best possible progress, each workout should be specifically tailored to you.
After a significant amount of trial and error, learning, and mistakes (especially mistakes) you might be able to coach yourself. Over time, you can learn:
How to structure a program
Make progressions from week to week and month to month
Adjust the plan based on how you’re feeling and performing each day
If that sounds like way too much time and work, that’s where I can help. Having an experienced coach in your corner to structure a program based on your goals and make tweaks on the fly takes the weight off your shoulders (figuratively speaking - if your goals include more muscular shoulders, I’ll actually put more weight on them.)
In essence, it takes the guesswork out of fitness. If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, just submit the short coaching application if you’d like to learn more.
ALL that being said, here’s the sleeve-busting, evidence-based arm workout that you totally shouldn’t try.
The Science
If you’re wondering why your arms won’t grow and your workout consists of:
A few sets of bicep curls, high reps because you’re trying to tone 🤢
A few sets of tricep pushdowns, high reps because you’re trying...I can’t bring myself to type that out again.
Then wonder no more! The answer is clear, and it’s that your arm workouts are weak sauce.
Recent research tells us that if we take our sets close to failure, we can grow muscle by using a variety of rep ranges (from 5 all the way up to 40 reps).
However, especially if you’re used to “chasing the pump” and have only trained your arms with high reps, you should focus on training your arms the same way as other muscle:
Heavy (5-12 reps)
Often (2-3x/week)
With adequate rest in between sets (90 seconds-3 minutes)
To increase the size of (FINE, or “tone”) your arms, your number one goal should be to gain as much strength as possible over time. How do you know if you’re getting stronger? Keep it simple. If you’re able to add more weight to the bar each week or month, you can be confident that you’re gaining strength and, as a result, gaining muscle.
Finally, it’s a great idea to incorporate a variety of exercises to target every head of the biceps (there’s two, hence the “bi”) and triceps (there’s three, hence the “tri”).
Now that you understand the key principles, here’s an example of how to incorporate them into one concise workout.
The Workout - Your Ticket To The Gun Show
(Thanks to Scott Herman for the fitness exercise demonstrations. I don’t know how he’s done it, but for over 12 years his videos have been the first to pop up after I google “how to do [insert any exercise]” (2).
A1. Close Grip Bench Press - 3 sets of 5 to 8 reps
Why: The close grip bench press is one of the best tricep exercises because it allows us to use more weight than any other tricep exercise. In addition to training the all three heads of the triceps, it works your pecs and shoulders at the same time (if you’re keeping score, more muscle involvement = greater gains!).
A2. Chin Up - 3 sets of 5 to 8 reps
Why: Chin ups target nearly every muscle in the upper body and are especially effective for building your biceps (3, 4). Plus, it’s one of the easiest bicep building movements to load heavy (Have you ever tried doing a set of 5 dumbbell curls? No bueno).
B1. EZ Curl - 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Why: EZ curls allow you to isolate the biceps while also loading them heavy. The grooves of the EZ bar limits the amount of supination required and, unlike the barbell curl, pose little risk of causing wrist or forearm pain. Pro tip - try not to swing the weight up, but do make an effort to raise the bar up high enough so that it’s at about eye-level (only if you want extra muscular biceps) (5).
B2. EZ Skullcrusher - 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Why: You already have the EZ bar out, why not be efficient and use it for a tricep exercise too? Plus, the skullcrusher is an effective movement that targets both the medial and lateral heads of the triceps (6). Talk about toning!
C1. Rope Push Down - 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Why: The tricep push down primarily targets the long head of the triceps and it’s one of the best exercises to load in the higher rep range (i.e. great for getting a sleeve-busting pump) (7). For an added bonus, turn your wrists out slightly at the bottom and squeeze your tricep as hard as possible at the end of every rep - you won’t be disappointed with the result.
C2. Incline DB Curl - 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Why: The incline dumbbell curl is one of the best bicep builders because it allows for a larger range of motion and stretch, which results in greater hypertrophy (8). Go extra slow on the way down, pause for a second at the bottom, and watch your biceps balloon up.
Wrap Up
If you ignore my advice and decide to try this awesome workout, enjoy and let me know what you think. This routine is evidence based, effective, and will increase the size of (and yes, even tone) your arms.
Remember - following a plan specific to your experience and goals will always be the most efficient route to achieving fitness success. But if you’re willing to wing it and looking for an effective arm workout, this routine is a perfect option.