48 AUGUST 2017 | ironmanmagazine.com
urls, rope pressdowns, reverse curls, dips and
done. Sound like a familiar arm workout? It’s
probably because that’s the one you see every-
one doing all the time, so you do it, too. The
problem is that your progress has stalled, and
even though you still get a solid pump from the
workout, once that pump disappears your arms are still the same size
and the sleeves of your shirts fit the same as they did six months ago
when you started doing your current arm workout. If you were truly
into building strength and muscle, you might want to ask yourself:
Why aren’t my arms growing anymore? The answer is easy: You need
more variety.
C
However, there are a few principles that need to be defined
and understood first in order to really see a major difference,
the first of which is the size principle. Forget the biology for
a second. What you need to take from this principle is to
work big muscles first because they are stronger than the
small ones. Think your chest isn’t involved in triceps-focused
movements? Think again. Yes, there are variations of the
standard bench press that focus more heavily on the triceps,
but because your chest typically is stronger than your triceps,
you can load up the weight on a close-grip press far more
than you can on a rope pressdown and more weight means
more gains.
The second concept that must be understood is that your
muscles work and grow in what are called antagonistic
pairs. In other words, you have one muscle or muscle group
that performs one action (for example, the biceps flex the
elbow), and another that performs the exact opposite action
(for example, the triceps extend the elbow). When it comes
to growth, you can’t increase the size of a muscle without
increasing the size of its antagonist.
In the previous example, your biceps can’t grow without
triceps growth and vice versa. One important distinction is
that you need to work both the agonist (the biceps in the
previous example) and the antagonist (the triceps in the
previous example) in order to see improvement. You can’t
just grow one. An individual muscle won’t increase in size
until the other one does.Choosing Your Exercise
Not sure which exercise is right for you? What follows is a
listing of the most important arms exercises along with a de-
tailed description to ensure you’re performing them in such a
way to gain the maximum benefits.The ExercisesClose Grip Bench Press
The close grip bench press is a variation on the standard
bench press and a multi-joint move. In comparison to the
traditional bench press, it places a heavy emphasis
on your triceps, making it a perfect choice to start.EXERCISE SETS REPS- Close Grip Bench Press 4 8
- Chin-Up 4 AMRAP*
- Jam Press 4 8
- Supinated Bent-Over Row 4 8
5a. Incline Skullcrusher 4 12
5b. Drag Curl 4 10
6a. Rope Pressdown 3 AMRAP
6b. Spider Curl 3 AMRAP
*as many reps as possible
Perform moves listed “a” and “b” sequentially with no rest between them. Rest for the speci-
fied amount of time between completion of “b” and the beginning of the next “a” exercise.
The exercises are numbered in the order they should be performed. Select a weight that
allows you to complete the prescribed reps, but no more.THE WORKOUT