Difficult week hand day training. Arm training for mass: how to pump up big arms. Rules for doing hand exercises


Arm muscle training
is a very important part of the bodybuilding training system, but it is not key or paramount. However, it is important to know the basic principles of exercise technique, the secrets of working out different sections of the biceps and triceps, the place of arm training in a training split, and other features of working out the arm muscles. First of all, this training system is suitable for athletes whose arms lag behind; the same athletes whose arms do not lag behind would benefit from information on how to train them correctly, but since they do not lag behind, it means that you are training them more or less correctly . On the other hand, if you want an arm not of 42 cm, but of 47 or 50 cm, then, of course, you won’t be able to pump them up at random.

This article will look at a training program for the arms, that is, a program that specializes in the development of biceps and triceps. Training principles, techniques and many practical recommendations can be used in your regular workouts, but in this case we will talk specifically about how you need to build a system of training and recovery in order to level out hand lag. Why exactly the lag, because perhaps you just want to have big hands? The bottom line is that small muscle groups can only be pumped up if you already have large muscle mass. And this first rule arm muscle training! With the others basic rules You can read it, but now let's move on to consider the most important practical recommendations.

Key points of arm training

The arm muscles are subject to exactly the same biological laws as other muscles, so the stress and recovery scheme works in this case as well. Moreover, there can be no other scheme! What happens in practice? People do beautiful isolation exercises without progressing the load, and then wait for their arms to grow. They won't grow! The growth of muscle mass is a complex process of adaptation of the body to an ever-increasing load. But progress should be made due to greater loading of the target muscle group, and since the arms are weaker than the back, legs, chest and deltoid muscles, especially if they lag behind, then there is a need for their high-quality isolation. In this connection, priority during arm training is given to technique; arms lag behind, most likely due to the fact that you violate the technique.

Recommended use elbow supports during biceps training, California press or bench press reverse grip during triceps training, and in both cases manipulate not only the working weight, but also the number of repetitions. To fix your elbows, you can use a Scott bench, you can lean against the wall and rest your elbows against the wall, you can ask your partner to hold your elbows, there are also more special devices for fans that Arnold Schwarzenegger used, for example, a nylon belt. As for the technique of weight manipulation, it must be used so that during the progression of loads you do not have to sacrifice technique. In practice, it will look like this: You work with some weight and perform 12 repetitions with it, gradually you reach 15-16 repetitions per set with this weight, after which you take a larger weight and perform 10-12 repetitions with it, gradually progressing by increasing repetitions further.

You can train your arms quite often, about once every 3-4 days, since small muscle groups recover faster than large ones. But the duration of the workout itself, or rather its volume, should be lower. You can determine whether you are overloading your arms during training using muscle pain, If sore throat is present, this indicates acidification muscle fibers which interferes with protein synthesis. If you do not want to specialize in arm training, but just want to train them correctly, then you can use biceps and triceps workout , which we will offer you, but apply this training once a week. The fact is that the triceps get a load during chest training, and the biceps during back training, so one specialized workout will be enough. But, if you want to specialize in the muscles of the arms, since the arms lag behind, then such training should be carried out 2 times a week, and the remaining muscle groups should be trained optionally, that is, in support.

Conclusion: must be observed principle of progression loads without disturbing the technique, that is, the increasing load should accumulate in the target muscle group. Arm training does not have to be long, but arms can be trained relatively often since smaller muscle groups recover faster. If you train your arms more than once a week, then you train the rest of the muscle groups less, just to keep them in shape.

Arm muscle anatomy

The arms consist of the biceps, triceps and radialis, also the forearms, but this is a different topic, we will talk about grip strength in another article, so subscribe to updates so you don't miss anything. So, from a training point of view, it is better to divide the arm into flexors and extensors. Arm extensor - this is a triceps, it consists of three heads that differ in their length and, accordingly, strength. The strongest head of the triceps is the medial one, the weakest is the inner one, so the emphasis should always be on inner part triceps, because two muscles are always stronger than one! Arm flexors – these are the biceps and radial muscles. The biceps consists of two bundles: internal and lateral, the internal one is larger and the lateral one is smaller, but it is necessary to train both of them, and at the same time, do it better different exercises, that is, one should focus on pumping the inner head of the biceps, and the other the outer one. The radialis muscle works during any bending of the arms, but is more involved when your hand is pronated, that is, turned with your palms facing the floor, or when it is in a neutral position.

To accumulate the load in the triceps, you must exclude the shoulder joint from the work and shift all the work to the elbow. When you perform presses with a narrow grip, the amplitude of movement from the top of the abs upward is carried out only due to the extension of the elbow joint; when you perform a French press, your shoulders are in a fixed position. In order to load the internal triceps bundle, it is necessary to bring your elbows together, because if you move them apart, the load will go to the lateral and medial bundles, as well as to pectoral muscles. It is best to train the triceps in a large enough repetition range that each set takes you from 30 to 50 seconds, so the optimal number would be 10-15 repetitions.

When training biceps, the position of your elbow depends on which biceps you are training. If you are training the internal beam, then your elbows should be brought forward, pressing your hands against the pectoralis major muscle so that your elbows are against the front of the obliques. If it is necessary to load the lateral bundle, then the elbows, on the contrary, must be pulled back so that a gap is formed between the bend of the elbow and the latissimus muscle. You should extend your arms completely, stretching the biceps as much as possible, but bend them to the point at which peak contraction occurs, since then the load shifts from the biceps to the elbow joint. In addition, in your arm training, you should also take into account the fact that the biceps also performs the function of turning the hand, so the arm must not only be bent, but also supinated.

It is not necessary to supinate the hand in all exercises, especially since this is only possible when you train your arms with dumbbells, but such exercises should also be used. The principle already known to you works here - two is always more than one! Since the biceps performs two functions, then by training them both, you will achieve more than by training only one. Moreover, the flexion function is mainly performed by the radialis muscle, therefore, if weights are not working for you, then you should include hammers and reverse curls with a barbell in your training, rather than trying to “hammer” the biceps with concentrated curls. However, such special isolating exercises also need to be included in training split, just everything has its place and time.

Causes of hand lag

Well, let’s say the athlete knows and practices the basics of arm training, but why do the arms still lag behind? Here, of course, It's about genetics! The same muscle group can vary greatly in structure among different athletes. Some people have long biceps, others have short ones, and the same applies to triceps. Accordingly, if the muscle is short, then the tendon is long, so it is more difficult to use the muscle, and if it is more difficult, then the body tries to do the work at the expense of other muscles, since it is easier to do so. From here conclusion: If you have short biceps, then you need to isolate it very well. The same rule works with long triceps. True, in return great effort when training triceps, the athlete will gain more beautiful muscle, but short biceps will not look very good in any case.

Muscle composition – second factor . Muscle fibers are divided according to the criteria of ATPase myofibrils and the number of mitochondria. Accordingly, one athlete may have more slow muscle fibers, another more fast ones, so pumping is more suitable for one, and more suitable for another. power types loads. Conclusion: It is necessary to individually select the basic training methodology for yourself in order to determine what works best. Therefore it is necessary to conduct training diary , looking into which you can track your progress. There is another option to cut off a piece of muscle and submit it for laboratory analysis, no, I don’t like it, well, then only with the help of a diary.

Third factor - this is a whole complex of various errors that are not associated with genetics or any individual characteristics of the athlete. Such mistakes include an incorrectly structured training split and the training itself. Hand training must be adequate, correct, and suitable for the athlete. Such training should stimulate protein synthesis and allow progress. If an athlete overloads a muscle, then it naturally does not grow; if he does not train it, then it naturally does not grow. Conclusion: it is necessary to comply with the fundamental principles of bodybuilding, which we wrote about above. The biceps and triceps must be adequately loaded and given enough resources to recover, after which, in the supercompensation phase, they can be trained again.

Hand training with specialization

First of all, you should abandon the idea of ​​“I want everything at once”, since in order to specialize in hands you will have to sacrifice the intensity of training of others muscle groups. Why? Because resources are limited! We do not recommend completely stopping training other muscle groups, but they should be trained optionally and with emphasis on the arms. In this case, you will train your arms twice a week, but observing the principle of periodization. One arm workout will be pumping, and the other will be more strength training. In other words, you will train fast muscle fibers in one workout, and slow muscle fibers in another. At the same time, the program itself must be constant so that you can progress. Today you did biceps curls with 40kg, a week later with 42kg, etc.

Training biceps and triceps

It is most effective to set aside a separate day for training these muscle groups, and their training can also be combined with training shoulder girdle. This is exactly what you will do! In one workout you will work your arms separately, and in another you will combine them with shoulder training. During the second workout, you will train your arms first, since the target muscle group should always be trained first. The same rule applies to what you will pump first - biceps or triceps. If you want to progress more in your biceps, then you should train it first. On the other hand, sometimes muscles should be swapped, since this will serve as an additional and, most importantly, unusual stress to which the body will have to adapt.

There are three ways to train your arms: supersets, alternating exercises, and alternating muscle groups. Supersets are the most effective method, where the athlete performs 1 set of biceps, a non-rest set of triceps, and then rests for a minute. Pros: muscles recover better, are better washed with blood, and during training both muscle groups the athlete has equal strength. The second method involves doing an exercise on one muscle group and then doing it on another. The advantage is that in this case the athlete can perform dropsets and complex sets. A drop set is a long approach with a gradual decrease in weight on the bar, and a complex set is two exercises for one muscle group in a row. Alternating muscle groups is such an organization of training when the athlete first performs all the exercises for one muscle group, and then moves on to training the second. The advantage is that you can spend more time on the target muscle, since the athlete has more strength at the beginning of the workout than at the end.

Training secrets biceps and triceps, as well as how to include arm training in a training split and, in general, the training program, as well as professional systems for training arm muscles, see the next page.

From childhood, every man is aware of the need to be strong. Young guys, putting on T-shirts in the summer, often try to pump up their biceps...

The topic of this article is training arms for weight. We are talking about a training process that specifically affects the increase in the main biceps, triceps and forearm muscles. At the same time, when training, you should definitely pay attention to other muscle groups: back, abs, legs, shoulders, neck. The human body is an amazingly harmonious creation. If the main muscle groups are unevenly worked at a certain stage, it simply will not allow the biceps to grow (for example, if they are lagging behind in their development).

Proportions of the training process

How to build muscles? This problem, which modern training successfully solves, does not accept the technocratic approach: excess load gives a negative result - injury and depletion of muscle fibers. The recovery phase is important. The growth of arm muscles depends on their development, of course, nonlinearly. Experts have calculated that an increase in arm muscle volume by 1 cm is accompanied by an increase in the athlete’s total body weight by 3 kg. Accordingly, it must be ensured protein nutrition and in training mode, the emphasis on the hands cannot exceed 30% of the total physical activity. And, of course, the effect of training is enhanced by properly selected sports nutrition.

Tool - muscle failure

Training arms for mass, like any other muscles, involves a cycle of exercises with maximum load. When performing approaches to equipment (barbells, dumbbells, exercise machines, expanders) with a weight lifted no more than 8 times, you should reach a state of muscle failure in the set. Moreover, the effect of muscle failure is maximized if this state is deliberately delayed by athletes for 15-30 seconds.

Speaking in the language of sports medicine, to achieve the result - muscle mass growth - the process of anaerobic glycolysis is used. In other words, skeletal muscles receive energy from the oxidation of glucose with decomposition into lactic and vaporic acids under conditions of oxygen deficiency. Naturally, arm training for mass is also based on this phenomenon.

What happens in the arm muscles during impact training? They receive numerous microtraumas. In this case, the fibers are damaged and protein structures are destroyed. In this case, we talk about high-intensity stress. If you then competently build your further training cycle and sports nutrition, then the athlete will progress thanks to the effect of super-recovery of skeletal muscles.

Load variation

After working with maximum training weight, the muscles need a special, more gentle regime. Training arms for weight in a further cycle involves reducing the load to 50-60% of maximum weight. This technique is called microperiodization by trainers: a week of heavy loads is followed by a week of light loads.

However, novice athletes, having achieved their first successes, tend to recklessly look down on small weights... In this regard, we appeal to those who train diligently with a request to moderate their ardor and abandon the practice of constantly increasing the load. Periodic work with lighter weights is necessary to accompany muscle growth during super-recovery. It contributes to the formation of their new relief. A rollback phase is necessary. It would be logical to increase the load on the next “heavy” cycle. Fanaticism in training is fraught with injuries and stagnation in the results of building muscle mass.

However, the above is not yet a complete answer to the question of how to pump up big arms. You should change your views on muscle building training itself.

Features of the bodybuilding technique

Barbells, dumbbells, exercise machines... Both powerlifters and weightlifters train with all this. However, their priority goals are different. For a powerlifter, not muscle mass, but a one-time lift maximum weights matter. Bodybuilders make progress in the training process by increasing the working weights of sports equipment. Thus, they maximize the training load.

And a bodybuilder has many more ways to pump up big arms. After all, these athletes use not one, but three types of strength capabilities to grow muscles. The power capabilities practiced by weightlifters from muscle contraction when lifting weights (compression of muscle fibers) are not at all that great. They are only 60% of the effort when lowering the weight in a controlled manner (the negative phase of the movement) and 75% of the effort when holding the weight at the highest point.

Accordingly, a bodybuilder’s arm training program is more effective for the growth of biceps and triceps.

Hand training program

The arms swing heavily. Every millimeter of volume requires forced effort. In this article we want to pay attention to how to competently solve this issue by formulating principles, warning about possible mistakes and suggesting exercises and their intensity.

Most arm trainers prioritize the biceps. It just catches your eye right away. However, they do not take into account that the bulk of the arm muscles, namely two-thirds, is the triceps. These muscles are often called antagonists. The first of them works on flexion of the arm, the second on extension. Moreover, if you pay attention to only one of them, then the increase in the second is inhibited by the body itself. That's why big biceps without massive triceps is simply unattainable. With such a methodological error, it will turn out to be embossed, but thin. Note that for the harmonious development of the arm, athletes also pump the muscles of the forearm.

Let us remind you that the arm training program is not an independent workout, but only a component of the athlete’s overall training program. However, for an accentuated build-up of arm muscles, it is recommended to include exercises on them twice in a weekly training cycle: once with a large training weight, and the second with a lighter one.

Biceps

To prevent possible injuries from loading unheated ligaments and muscle fibers, a preliminary warm-up is recommended. For the arm muscles, these are energetic warming circular movements, and then stretching movements. In this article we will present to your attention three basic sets of exercises: for biceps, triceps and forearm. They are performed with maximum training load. Note to trainees: in general training, impact exercises for the mass of the arms can be combined with moderate loads of the back muscles ( abdominals) and vice versa.

The “Basic complex for biceps” table below will come to the aid of trainees.

The standing biceps curl is considered one of the classic exercises that immediately forms the top, middle and bottom of the biceps.

When performing it, the torso (torso) is kept straight, the feet are placed shoulder-width apart. The barbell is grabbed from below. The elbows are on the sides of the torso. The barbell is lowered to hip level. The gaze is fixed straight ahead. After inhaling, the athlete bends his elbows, with the barbell at chest level. It is important that the elbows remain in their original position during this movement, i.e., do not move. Exhale while lifting the barbell. Then the barbell smoothly lowers to hip level. It is important, while performing the exercise, to maintain straight position bodies.

The biceps curl with supination is done with it also performed from a standing position with the feet shoulder-width apart. The dumbbells are lifted one at a time. The rhythm of breathing is similar to that mentioned in the previous exercise. The term “supination” means turning the hand with the dumbbell at the top point towards thumb. This is a natural movement, since it is forced by the specific attachment of the human biceps by tendons.

Exercises for biceps mass are complemented by biceps rows on the Scott bench. It is universal: it can be performed with both a barbell and dumbbells. Its peculiarity is the fixation of the position of the arms on the bench, thanks to which the bend occurs accentuated precisely in the elbow joint. Due to the concentration of the load on the elbow, the fundamental condition is that the weight of the weight is not maximum, and it is not lifted all the way, that is, rows on the Scott bench are always performed in partial amplitude. In terms of its value, this exercise is indispensable for loading the biceps in the reverse phase of the movement - stretching.

Also, arm training in the gym in terms of working out the biceps involves biceps rows in block simulator(on a high block). The starting position is standing, similar to that described in the first exercise. Bending your elbows, at the end point of the block's trajectory, you should fix it at its highest point - until a stable burning sensation occurs in the muscles.

However, the question “How to build muscles?” Regarding the biceps, it is not yet fully opened. The fact is that for athletes of short stature base complex enough to completely form the entire biceps. If the biceps are long, the bodybuilder needs an additional set of exercises (see below table “Training the peak of the biceps”):

The main exercise in this complex is, as you can see, the EZ-bar biceps row, which is performed on a Scott bench. Its advantage is an isolated effect on lengthening the bottom and raising the peak of the biceps.

Triceps

However, an effective exercise program for bulking up your arms should also include exercises for the other large muscles in your arm: the triceps and forearms. The triceps, a muscle that occupies most of the upper half of the arm, needs to be worked no less consistently than the biceps. The voluminous, horseshoe-shaped, sculpted triceps give the bodybuilder’s arm a finished and proportional look. The maximum result in his training will be ensured by carefully selected exercises in terms of weight, number of repetitions, and isolation, indicated in the table, which describes the main set of triceps exercises.

Note: the French bench press is quite traumatic. The point load on the elbow joints determines the reduction in weight to 50-60% of the maximum training weight. The elbows should be motionless so that the load is concentrated on the triceps and not on other muscles. The athlete lies down on the bench. It is optimal if an assistant holds the barbell that is initially behind his head. Your grip on the bar should not be wide. It is preferable to keep the distance between the hands in the grip within 20-30 cm. We warn you: arms spread wide in the French press increase the likelihood of injury. In addition, pumping up arm muscles with this exercise will be more effective when using an EZ barbell than a barbell with a regular bar. The load is distributed separately to all three bundles of triceps muscle fibers.

The French Seated Press involves the athlete sitting on a bench with a vertical backrest. The legs rest firmly on the floor, the back is straight. In the starting position it is located above the head. The athlete then slowly lowers the barbell behind his head. This movement stops at a subjectively determined point at which the tension in the triceps is noticeable. Cheating and elbow bandaging are possible. The seated French press also targets your back and abdominal muscles.

Pumping up the arm muscles when pumping the triceps in a gym is considered more effective than using the classic one. French press. Why? In the French press, more significant stress falls on the elbows. Therefore, even with a projectile weight of 40-60 kg (depending on the physical condition of the athlete), pain may occur.

Exercises for pumping up your arms have varying effectiveness. allows the athlete to work in isolation on the development of triceps with a weight of 100 kg or more. Moreover, trained athletes perform arm extensions upper block for triceps with a weight of 140-150 kg. In this case, the exercise is not isolated. At the same time, the back and abdominal muscles are trained.

Forearm muscles

Harmoniously developed hands of an athlete presuppose sufficient development of the muscles of the forearms (brachioradialis). They are traditionally associated with the strength of an athlete. Developed muscles provide a reliable grip on sports equipment. Accordingly, they ensure safety when the athlete performs various exercises. If the forearms are the “weak link” in the development of an athlete, then not only is the individual program arm workouts for weight. Strong forearms also require the development of other muscle groups. For example, for the development of back muscles, basic exercises are important - bent-over rows of a barbell taken wide grip, as well as pull-ups on the bar with a wide grip behind the head. For the development of this muscle group, we recommend a set of exercises presented in the following table: “Set of exercises for the muscles of the forearms.”

When rowing a barbell for biceps with a reverse grip, the position of the hand is with the palm facing away from you. This is an isolation exercise. It is recommended for athletes who already have results in the development of biceps and triceps.

Starting position - the torso is straight, and the legs are shoulder-width apart. With an inhalation, the arms bend at the elbows. The bar is fixed at the top point. As you exhale, the projectile returns to its original position.

The basic exercise for developing the brachioradialis muscles is the “hammer”. It is performed from a standing position by alternately lifting stacked dumbbells, with the palms of the hands constantly facing the body. When performing the “hammer”, the body should not sway.

Hand movements should be smooth, without jerking, and performed in a forceful manner.

Bending the wrists in the grip of the barbell is performed by the trainee in each approach until failure. Position: sitting on a bench. Picking up a barbell narrow grip hands - palms facing you. The hands are extended as much as possible, then bent. Only the wrists work. This way you train a powerful grip.

Pumping up your arms at home

It's no secret that with the proper motivation, a novice athlete can increase arm mass on his own. For this purpose, general exercises are enough for him. physical training, which assume the trainee’s own weight as a load. The principle applies here: simple is not always bad. Even the simplest exercise can provide a significant breakthrough in the accumulation of muscle mass. Let's answer the question of how to pump up your arms. Depending on your physical fitness, you can choose one of the methods - with your palms, fists, fingers, ribs of your palms, and the backs of your hands resting on the floor. The following table reveals the method of training with push-ups.

They are considered good. When performing them, it is also possible to combine them according to the type of grip: straight, reverse, narrow, medium, wide. To achieve maximum effect, it is not recommended to swing or pull up with a jerk. There is another “useful” exercise. Pull-ups on uneven bars specifically target the triceps (extensor muscles).

However, to build high-quality arm muscles, you should not get carried away with the number of push-ups on the horizontal bar and uneven bars in each set. It is recommended to simply achieve the following number of repetitions in working sets: 4 sets of 10 repetitions. Next, to increase the mass of the arms, when doing pull-ups, trainees suspend additional weight on the body without increasing the number of repetitions in the set.

Conclusion

Increasing arm mass is a creative process. By starting to exercise according to the developed training plans with a weekly cycle, we will ensure consistent muscle progress. However, this process will have an effectiveness phase of two to three years. Subsequently, the results objectively slow down. Does the latter mean that the body’s resources are exhausted? Not at all. The reason is human physiology. The body simply stopped recovering. He doesn't have enough rest between training sessions.

To achieve further development, the training cycle should be increased from one to one and a half weeks. Paradoxically, less frequent training shows in this case best result for weight gain. You will then enter a new arm growth period of 2-3 years. Next - again increasing the inter-training rest phase. However, it is not recommended to increase it beyond 72 hours. However, the creative change of various training programs 9-12 years of intensive training will transform a beginner athlete into a truly advanced athlete.

Hands either grow or they don’t. And there’s nothing you can do about it; in bodybuilding, genetics rule the roost. Popular arm training programs in the gym that tell you how to quickly pump up your biceps or triceps only give effect to those who are naturally gifted. Ordinary people are left to envy the lucky ones, avoiding wearing short-sleeved T-shirts. My arms have always grown poorly, so I was constantly looking for new ways to increase their volume, and I found something. Today I want to tell you about four unusual ways to pump up your arms that I have tried. The most interesting things about training and sports nutrition on our telegram channel

I started training at a time when there was no Internet yet and seeing or Kai Greene was completely unthinkable. From the category of science fiction. It would seem that now what problems might there be with pumping up the biceps? Open the video on the channel of any athlete you like and see how his arm workout goes in the gym. And then recreate what you saw in the gym. And that’s it, no secrets for you.

But why then are there so few people around with truly large and proportionate developed hands, really? Of course, in it too, but not only.

| A BOOK FOR THOSE WHO DON'T WANT TO GET OLDER

It’s just that most people trying to get themselves take the path of least resistance, mindlessly copying the patterns of athletes with excellent genetics. They refuse to introduce any intrigue into their arm training program, fearing to deviate from the accepted schemes and rules. Therefore, I propose to regard my current art as bodybuilding for gourmets, which you still have to dare to try. So:

Method 6-12-25 | We pump our arms with trisets

The 6-12-25 method cannot be called frankly “frostbitten”. I deliberately begin my story with him, so that I can dive into the abyss non-standard training hands passed gradually. The beauty of this method of pumping your arms is that it always gives excellent results. Moreover, both for biceps and triceps.

Hand training using the 6-12-25 method is as follows:

  • For each muscle group, a set of three exercises is compiled, performed one after another without interruption (triset)
  • In the first exercise you need to perform 6 repetitions, in the second - 12 and in the final - as much as 25
  • The first exercise must be performed from a stretched position, the second along the full trajectory and the third in a fast, shortened manner of movement (pumping)

Hands Day program 6-12-25

Biceps Exercise Position Hiking Repetitions
TrisetLifting dumbbells for biceps while sitting on an incline benchStretching4 6
Standing biceps curlFull4 12
Raising the handle of the lower block on the biceps while standingShortened4 25
Triceps Exercise Hiking Hiking Repetitions
TrisetFrench press on a reverse incline benchStretching5 6
Close-grip triceps barbell pressFull5 12
Standing arm extensions with pulley handlesShortened5 25

The effectiveness of arm training with trisets using the 6-12-25 method is based on four factors:

  • Each exercise loads the muscles in its own section of the trajectory. loads his bottom. Bending your arms on a block targets the upper area and works the entire muscle mass.
  • The range of repetitions from 6 to 25 allows you to intensely load, as in one approach.
  • Training your arms with trisets radically increases the time your arm muscles are under load.
  • Pumping in the final exercise increases blood flow to the muscles and causes a burning sensation in them. This in turn increases the level.

I suggest you watch how Sean Stafford, a European fitness star and part-time Oxford graduate, pumps his arms this way:

method 6-12-25

Training your arms using the 6-12-25 method is effective, but not easy. To pump up your biceps and triceps with trisets in one session is a task only feasible for a “chemist.” Therefore, I recommend working hard on your biceps in one workout, and triceps in another. This will allow your arm muscles to recover well and prepare for the hard work next week.

This manner of pumping your arms gives a return to everyone who uses it. But the use of the 6-12-25 complex is especially effective for women. Due to the characteristics of their body, it should be built exactly according to this scheme. Using high-repetition training can quickly improve the shape and size of the arms, while simultaneously reducing the amount of fat on the back of the triceps.

Conclusion: Pumping up your arms using the 6-12-25 method is hard, but very effective. If you have never pumped your biceps and triceps in this way, I advise you to correct this omission. The result is worth it.

Abnormal Marathon | We pump our arms for a long time

This scheme probably has some name, but that’s what I call it. And no one will call it arm training for girls anymore; this is a real test for tough men. My first and only trainer encouraged me to try it on myself. One of his friends found this technique in an American sports magazine, translated it and brought it to the gym for fun.

The author of the article claimed that such a technique can give an increase in arm muscle mass of 2.5 cm in one workout. But my coach didn’t understand the joke and decided to try this know-how next Sunday. I did an arm workout in the gym using this scheme once in my life, and I don’t want to repeat it.

The essence of this shock technique is to train the biceps and triceps for 4-5 hours according to the following scheme:

  • Arm training consists of separate segments, each of which is done three times per hour, every 20 minutes
  • The first segment consists of three supersets performed with a rest of 90 seconds, the second is already 2, and the third, final segment of the hour includes only one superset
  • The exercises are exclusively basic, exercise equipment is not used at all
  • Movements are performed under control, with a distinct delay in the weight lowering phase

Hands Day program:

Superset 1 Approaches Repetitions
Standing biceps curl3 8
Close grip barbell press3 8
Superset 2 Approaches Repetitions
Dumbbell curls while sitting on an incline bench2 12
Bent-over arm extensions with dumbbells2 12
Superset 3 Approaches Repetitions
Barbell curls on a Scott bench1 6
French bench press1 6

The next day after such abuse, my whole body ached, not only my arms, even my legs were shaking from the nervous tension I had suffered, I felt nauseous, gym I haven't shown up all week. My hands, as the author of the article wrote, increased in volume by 2 cm. But after a day, only 0.5 cm remained of the gained volume. Although I was happy with such an increase. This shock technique can be truly effective, but only if 3 conditions are met:

  • Condition 1. Before such a marathon, your hands need to be rested for at least 12-14 days.
  • Condition 2.Training partner must have a similar level of training
  • Condition 3. At the beginning of the workout, you need a long and thorough warm-up of the whole body, joints, ligaments, tendons.

Conclusion: like this long workout hands in the gym is not suitable for everyone, and it cannot be called super effective either. But if you one day decide to pump up your arms in this way, unforgettable memories and muscle pain for a week are guaranteed.

Testosterone helps us | We pump our arms with squats

If the previous arm training method seemed unusual, then this one will not leave you indifferent. Its essence is very logical: heavy exercises for the lower half of the body (barbell squats and deadlifts) cause increased blood supply to the entire body, thereby increasing the level. Heavy basic exercises are strong and natural stimulants for the growth of muscle mass throughout the body, and therefore in the arms.

And then some smart guy came up with the idea to include biceps and triceps in the training and deadlift. The idea is ingenious in its own way: start a complex arm training with basic exercises, increase hormonal background, and then “polish” the resulting effect by strengthening the biceps and triceps, causing an increase in their muscle mass.

This arm training complex consists of two parts:

  1. Perform 4-5 sets of heavy barbell squats or floor deadlifts
  2. A set of exercises for biceps or triceps of 3-4 exercises

I tried pumping my arms using this method, but I was unable to get any noticeable effect. In addition, execution heavy exercise at the beginning of training it is accompanied by a large waste of energy, and there is very little energy left for working out the arms. This means that the arm training itself should take place in an accelerated mode using intensification methods (supersets, drop sets, trisets)

Conclusion: such an unusual arm workout requires very thorough and thoughtful preparation. And although not everyone will like this or biceps, such a technique still has a right to exist.

Baltic power | We pump our arms twice a day

It is no coincidence that I named this system that way. Olegas Žuras, a famous Lithuanian bodybuilder, spoke about her in an interview. Athletes from the Baltic states during Soviet Union have always been at the forefront of iron sports, noticeably different from their colleagues in the workshop with their huge and well-developed hands. And it may well be that this method of building biceps and triceps played a significant role in this. For myself, I called it “Double Impact”.

Some of the previous schemes are quite exotic, but are poorly applicable in real life. But this technique is unusual, effective, and practical. Personally, I like her more than the others. This way to train your arms is to train them twice a day. That's all. Original, don't you agree?

But this is just a framework; in reality, everything is much more complicated. In the morning, during the first arm workout, biceps and triceps are worked on pump-style machines until they are rock hard, and in the evening they are “killed” with the help of heavy basic exercises.

Hands day training program:

Morning workout
Biceps Exercise Hiking Repetitions

Superset

Seated biceps curl with Smith machine5 15-20
Standing biceps curl5 15-20
Triceps Exercise Hiking Repetitions
Rope handle extensions on the lower block from behind the head5 15-20
Extensions with a wide reverse grip on a block while standing5 15-20
Extensions with a narrow straight grip on a block while standing5 15-20
Evening workout
Biceps Exercise Hiking Repetitions
Standing biceps curl5 8-10
Lifting the barbell on a Scott bench4 8-10
Dumbbell curls with supination3 10-12
Triceps Exercise Hiking Repetitions
Close grip barbell press5 8-10
French bench press4 8-10
Dips with weights3 10-12

I didn’t train my arms twice a day, I won’t lie. But I simplified this scheme and now I use it regularly and always with great success. True, only for triceps. But for some reason it doesn’t work for my biceps. I do it like this:

  • I don’t train my triceps for 10-12 days, bringing it to a state of slight detraining. And during this period I even avoid all kinds of pressing movements in and, replacing them with others
  • In the evening, during one workout, I easily work out my arms, triceps and biceps on the machines, as described in the table
  • A day later, in the evening next day I train my triceps intensively, performing basic exercises with maximum weights

I don’t know the scientific explanation for the creation of such a training scheme, but whoever came up with it was both a genius and a maniac in love with bodybuilding. This is a rather non-standard, stressful and shock training method. And you shouldn’t resort to it more often than once every 1.5-2 months. But if everything is done correctly, the growth of arm muscle mass is almost guaranteed.

This scheme can be successfully applied as. Exercise machines can be replaced with an expander or elastic bands. In the morning, tire your arms with the help of this simple equipment, and in the evening, do exercises with dumbbells, do push-ups on the uneven bars, or do biceps pull-ups on the horizontal bar. And the next day, your hands will thank you.

Conclusion: arm training twice a day for a person exercising natural bodybuilding won't do. But it is possible and even necessary to pump your arms for two days in a row using such a system.

Conclusion

I hope my story will be useful and you, having gathered the courage, will decide to try one of the schemes I have voiced. And then the issue of genetics will fade into the background, and short-sleeved T-shirts will take up residence in your wardrobe seriously and for a long time. May the force be with you! And mass.

An increase in the volume of the triceps and biceps muscles is carried out as part of arm weight training, which consists of the simultaneous development of antagonists responsible for flexion and extension of the upper limbs. Alternately performing exercises to develop triceps and biceps contributes to their accelerated recovery. The flow of oxygen-enriched blood increases, and this has a beneficial effect on weight growth.

Anatomy of human hands

Organize correctly training process possible, knowing the features of the anatomy of the upper limbs. The biceps consists of a long, short head, abdomen and radial process. The triceps is a triceps muscle with a fusiform appearance, consisting of 3 heads: long, lateral, medial. Besides this there are several thin muscles forearms:

  • brachialis;
  • brachyradialis;
  • coracobrachial;
  • extensor carpi radialis longus.


When thinking about how to pump up big arms, they try to select exercises and choose their optimal combination, determining the appropriate load taking into account the number of repetitions, approaches, and working weight to ensure progression, which serves as the key to increasing mass.

Basic exercises for triceps

Thinking about how to increase muscle mass in hand, it must be taken into account that 2/3 of the volume forms the triceps. Therefore, more attention in training should be paid to the triceps brachii muscle, performing the following exercises.

1. Bench press with a narrow grip while lying down

  1. You need to position yourself so that your buttocks and shoulder blades with the back of your head are pressed tightly against the surface, and the bar is directly above your forehead.
  2. Spread your legs as wide as possible to give your torso a stable position.
  3. The projectile is pulled up, with the bar positioned above the chest and, while inhaling, lowered to the sternum, while the elbows are pressed to the body.
  4. After touching the body, the bar is pushed up until the arms are straightened.

2. French press

Performed in a lying position on horizontal bench.

  1. Extend your straightened arms upward, placing them perpendicular to the floor surface.
  2. Take the projectile with an overhand grip, align your arms and move them back 40° from the vertical.
  3. After inhaling and holding your breath, lower the bar to the back of your head, bending your elbows, while top part hands remain in a fixed position.
  4. The angle at the elbows below is 90°.
  5. Having brought the barbell to the extreme point at the bottom, straighten your arms and return it to the starting position.


3. Extensions from the upper block

  1. Extend your arms downwards until they touch your hips, holding for maximum load.
  2. Slowly bend your arms back to their original position, applying a certain amount of force.
  3. Inhalation is performed in the first phase of the exercise with the elbows fixed in one position.


Basic exercises for biceps

While focusing on how to build muscle in your arms, don't forget about your biceps by doing basic exercises for your biceps brachii.

1. Lifting the barbell

  1. Standing from IP legs apart and with underhand grip, bend your lower back, lowering the bar to your hips.
  2. Inhale and hold your breath before lifting the barbell to chest level. At the same time, the elbows remain pressed to the body.
  3. You need to hold your hands near your chest and exhale, tighten your biceps.
  4. Lower the bar down without fully extending your elbows to avoid locking your elbows.


2. "Hammers"

  1. Hold the dumbbells with a simple grip, bending slightly at the lower back.
  2. Lower your hands to your hips, inhaling and holding your breath to then lift the dumbbell to the delta.
  3. Keep your elbows close to your body and do not move them while performing the exercise.
  4. The hand lingers at the chest for a couple of seconds, after which an exhalation is made and it lowers into the IP.


3. Alternating dumbbell lifts in a sitting position

  1. Sit comfortably on a bench and lower your arms straight down.
  2. The torso remains straight to avoid rounding of the spine.
  3. Raise the dumbbells to your shoulder and lower them down without pausing.


Training program

It remains to correctly combine the selected exercises by developing effective program, aimed at increasing the mass and volume of the arms. Do everything in the following sequence, observing the dosage:

  1. lifting the barbell in a standing position;
  2. bench press;
  3. "hammers";
  4. then proceed to perform the French press;
  5. and then do dumbbell biceps curls and triceps extensions, alternating these two exercises with a superset.

You need to perform 8–10 repetitions, doing at least 3 series.

They will help you find out how to pump up big arms best tips from leading athletes who recommend avoiding common mistakes that slow down progress or lead to improper development:

  • load progression is not applied: it is necessary to increase the intensity, number of repetitions, approaches;
  • execution technique is broken;
  • incorrect recovery;
  • unbalanced diet.

Knowing how to pump up big arms, select exercises that have maximum effect to increase mass and volume.

Arm training for weight in video format

    What you need

    Basic exercises for hands - one of the most effective tools for training large and well-developed hands. After all, as you know, isolated exercises good only as additions to the basic ones. Let's figure out how to pump up big arms, including at home, with the help of basic exercises for the arm muscles.

    What does it take for muscles to grow?

    Firstly, you need to train the muscle regularly, and secondly, let it recover. And if there are no problems with arm training: we pump it up every workout, or we pump it up on a separate day, then recovery, as a rule, is a problem, and precisely because we use our arm muscles so earnestly. What's the point? The biceps and triceps, themselves, are fairly small muscle groups, but with very important functions in terms of helping large muscle masses. Thus, biceps is a traction muscle group that actively assists the back in the same movements, triceps is a pushing muscle group that “helps” the deltoids and pectorals. Accordingly, by loading large muscle groups, you simultaneously train your arms, therefore, without using specialized exercises for the biceps and triceps at all, you can add solid muscle volume to the latter. But there are several conditions:

    • you must work with very substantial weights;
    • you should feel very well the work of the “target muscles” (lats, pectoralis or deltoids);
    • for a certain time, abandon the “spot” pumping of the arm muscles;
    • Be sure to train your leg muscles hard - do deadlifts and squats - it is exercises for the lower body that lead to the strongest activation of your hormonal system and lead to a powerful natural release of testosterone.

    Following all of the above tips on how to pump up big arms will lead to an increase in overall muscle mass, that is, all your muscles will increase in volume, including the arm muscles. At the same time, they will become much stronger - this will definitely be useful to us, but more on that below. So, we have created a certain muscle mass in our arms, but we want more.

    We have divided our material into 2 conditional blocks of basic exercises for the arms: 1 are exercises for triceps, 2 are, respectively, exercises for biceps. Let's start with 1st.


    © dissoid - stock.adobe.com

    Specialized triceps training

    It is from this moment that we begin to do specialized exercises for the arm muscles, while remembering that 2/3 of the volume of the arms is determined by the triceps and only one third by the biceps. Respectively, triceps muscle shoulder becomes a priority for us. Despite the fact that the triceps consists of three heads, it has one tendon; accordingly, when we extend the arm at the elbow joint, the entire muscle contracts, not just any separate bundle. However, depending on the position of the humerus relative to the belt upper limb, you can change the involvement of the muscle in the movement.


    © bilderzwerg - stock.adobe.com

    Our goal is a large triceps, accordingly, our task is to include, first of all, “the largest head of the triceps.” This is the middle one, its proximal end is attached to the scapula. To turn on the middle head “to the fullest,” we must raise our arm above our head and, bending it at the elbow, place our forearm behind our head, followed by straightening the arm. The second option is to straighten the arm at the elbow joint while simultaneously changing the position of the shoulder relative to the body. Basic exercises for training your arms and, accordingly, triceps are given below.

    French press


    Dips with emphasis on triceps

  1. Starting position – hanging on the uneven bars, body straight, fixed on straightened arms perpendicular to the surface of the earth.
  2. With a fixed position of the body, or with a slight tilt of the body forward, bend the arms in elbow joints to an angle of 90-100 degrees, without spreading your elbows to the sides - this will shift part of the load to the pectoral muscles. Deeper push-ups in this version are highly not recommended due to the increased risk of injury to shoulder joint.
  3. Straighten your arms under control, trying to create maximum pressure with your palms on the bars.

  1. We sit on the edge of the bench and grab the edge with our hands. The grip is shoulder-width apart, maybe a little narrower, here you need to choose a comfortable position for the wrist joint.
  2. Bring your buttocks forward and transfer your body weight to your arms. The legs are straightened in knee joints and brought forward. The heels are on the floor, or you can use a second bench as a support (the main condition: the same height with support under your arms).
  3. We smoothly bend our arms at the elbow joints, trying not to spread our elbows to the sides. The buttocks and back are lowered to the floor, parallel to the bench. The elbows are bent to an angle of 90 degrees, we fix the position with the stretched position of the triceps brachii muscle.
  4. Next, we straighten our elbows, trying to focus on the sensations in the triceps. We fix the tension in the target muscles. To complicate this exercise, you can use weights, in this case, it should be located on the hips, as close to the pelvis as possible.

Biceps workout

As for the biceps, for its maximum hypertrophy it is advisable to use alternating arm curls from two main positions: when the shoulder is in line with the body and when the shoulder is retracted posteriorly relative to the body. I’ll explain why this is so: alternating curls give clearer mental control over the muscle being worked and allow you to concentrate 100% on working the biceps on both sides. Changing the position of the shoulder relative to the body ensures a shift in emphasis from the short head of the biceps (shoulders pressed to the body) to the long head (shoulder retracted posteriorly). It is important to understand that in each variant the entire muscle contracts, as a whole, only the degree of involvement of the muscle bundles in the movement changes.


© reneg - stock.adobe.com

Standing dumbbell curls

  1. The starting position is standing, the best option is to press your back and elbows against a fixed support, eliminating rocking movements of the body. Forearms supinated, dumbbells in hands. The forearm is located in line with the wrist.
  2. The arm is bent at the elbow joint to an angle of 100 degrees, that is, not completely (ideally, you should bend your arm until you feel maximum tension in the biceps). If you bring the dumbbell to the shoulder joint, you will thereby remove some of the load from the working muscle and lose a bit of the efficiency of the movement.

The most effective mode of performing the exercise: under control and slowly extend the working arm at the elbow, without allowing the biceps to completely relax, perform the specified number of repetitions with the working limb, then move on to working the second arm.


© blackday - stock.adobe.com

Alternate bending with dumbbells while sitting at an angle of 45 degrees

Optimal IP - sitting on a bench, back at an angle of 45 degrees. Hands with dumbbells hang freely at the sides of the body. The position of the hands coincides with that described above in paragraph 1. The essence of the exercise is to bend the arm at the elbow joint, without additional movement of the shoulder. The technique of the movement itself is the same as described above.


© blackday - stock.adobe.com

Simultaneous barbell curl

  1. I.P. corresponds to what is described in paragraph 1. The barbell is fixed with lowered hands, at hip level, grip shoulder-width apart. The bar can be used either curved or Olympic; EZ, of course, is preferable, as it allows you to work more comfortably and, accordingly, better concentrate on the work of the target muscles.
  2. We bend our arms at the elbow joints under control to an angle of approximately 100 degrees, fix ourselves at the point of maximum tension of the biceps, and under control return the barbell to its original position.

How to combine arm training with training other muscle groups

For efficient growth arm muscles, 4 conditions are important (according to V.N. Seluyanov - source “” (read from page 126)):

  • pool of free amino acids;
  • free creatine;
  • anabolic hormones;
  • hydrogen ions.

The first two conditions depend on your diet, but the last ones depend solely on your training. Muscles become acidified during work in the 12-15 repetition mode, that is, when working with weights 65-70% of your maximum. A burning sensation in the muscle indicates good acidification.

Anabolic hormones are released in response to training large muscle groups, in the greatest quantities when training the legs. Accordingly, it makes sense to train biceps and triceps on leg day, after the latter. Or tie the biceps training to the day when you work your back, and do the triceps after the chest. In the latter option, you should not perform more than 2 exercises in 3 sets each. In the variant of combining arms with legs, it is optimal to do 2-3 exercises for triceps in 3 sets and 1-2 exercises for biceps in 3-4 sets each.

In conclusion, a useful video about warm-up/cool-down massage for active recovery of biceps and triceps: