Everybody wants big arms. Well, almost everybody. In his preparation for the 2008 Mr. Olympia, the owner of the most impressive arms in current professional bodybuilding Phil Heath reportedly trained his arms with less than five sets per week. Since we aren’t all blessed with Mr. Heath’s genetic gifts, we will have to train ours with a variety of techniques and intensity just to reach a small percentage of what he has achieved. Now that you feel better about yourself, let’s get started! End the diet If you’re currently running a caloric deficit to lose body fat, stop it. You cannot grow your arms – or any muscle group – while dieting. You can make them “look” bigger by removing the fat on them and thus bringing out more detail. However, if you are looking to ...

If you like this article, click here to share:

If you’ve ever seen the Terminator series of movies featuring bodybuilding legend Arnold Schwarzenegger, you have learned one lesson, and learned it well. We cannot trust the machines! They have been sent back in time to destroy civilization, blow things up, and otherwise ruin peoples’ days. In bodybuilding, machines get a bad rap as well. Any time you look over at the machines in your gym, it’s very likely you see some devices being used by less-than-serious lifters, with less-than useful weight. Machines are easier and safer than free weights. The safety issue can be important to those with less training experience or muscle mass, who therefore cannot control the weight like a larger, more experienced bodybuilder. However, the fact that many bodybuilders move to the machines to take it easy, seems to give ...

If you like this article, click here to share:

Every bodybuilder wants big arms. But when they enter the gym, they’ll often run first to the biceps stations and curl to their heart’s content. Over time, this will lead to a nice set of biceps, but the upper arm will still look very average in a t-shirt, tank top or shirtless. What these bodybuilders (if you want to call them that) are forgetting is that triceps are the key to big arms – not biceps. They make up two-thirds of the upper arm mass. They also protrude into the air in almost every major biceps pose, while the biceps often tuck neatly against the body inconspicuously.   If your biceps are great but your triceps are anything but, there is still hope. It’s possible to build a nice set of triceps, but you’re going ...

If you like this article, click here to share:

Every muscle group in the body connects to another muscle group by virtue of location and tendon placement. They all work together to form a unique network of muscles, unified in the single purpose of completing tasks we ask of it. When we attempt a simple lift, such as the bench press for example, hundreds of small muscle groups and thousands of fibers are called into play. The simple act of benching 135 pounds for a single rep requires contributions (in terms of contraction and the exertion of force) from the pectorals, three heads of the deltoids, triceps, forearms, and back muscles to a lesser extent. Additionally, we may even exert some force all the way down to our calves as we use our entire body to help move the weight, as is the case in some ...

If you like this article, click here to share:

The triceps comprise about two-thirds of the upper arm. Many bodybuilders will spend ungodly amounts of time training their biceps, only to neglect their triceps. They’ll develop that 1/3 of their arm to its maximum, all while the other 2/3 sit far below its potential. This type of training is counterproductive, and it robs the bodybuilders of an inch or two of upper arm mass that they should be enjoying. Here are four tips for increasing overall triceps mass, which will add some serious size to your upper arms. Ease back from the machines and cables If you were to ask any professional bodybuilder what exercises he used to build up his triceps, free weights would likely be his first response. Machines and cables are great for the masses. They let the teenagers and soccer moms get ...

If you like this article, click here to share:

Ask any new trainer in the gym what he does for triceps, and he’ll invariably point over to the cable machines.  Good answer. There’s nothing wrong with using cables.  They do provide the triceps with stimulation, which brings blood into the region.  The muscle grows and detail is etched into the region. Ask any advanced bodybuilder in the gym how he built those hanging slabs of meat he calls triceps.  Chances are, he’ll point to the free weight section.  Cables are terrific for working the triceps.  But for adding thickness to the upper arms, free weights always have been, and always will remain, the king. When you enter the gym with the desire to look like an advanced bodybuilder, you’re going to have to train like one.  The second half of your triceps workout can be all the cable work you’d like.  Pump ...

If you like this article, click here to share: