The arms consist of the biceps and triceps muscles. The biceps, located on the front of the upper arm, consists of two muscle heads -- whereas, the triceps are on the back of the upper arm and consist of three muscle heads. Include a variety of compound and isolation exercises for both muscles, as well as using advance training techniques to get your arms to bust through a plateau.
Biceps Exercises
Standing biceps curls is the best compound exercise for developing overall size in the biceps. Perform the exercise with your hands spaced shoulder-width apart with an underhand grip and curl the bar up to your shoulders and slowly return to the starting position. Select a weight that is heavy enough to complete all of the repetitions in your set, but not too heavy in which you must use momentum to curl the weight. Isolation exercises such as barbell or dumbbell preacher curls and incline dumbbell curls are ideal for forcing you to perform your repetitions throughout its entire range of motion. This stimulates every portion of the muscle for maximum muscle growth.
Triceps Exercises
Close-grip bench press and triceps dips are the best compound exercise for stimulating muscle growth in the triceps. Isolation exercises are also essential for exhausting the muscle to help break through plateaus. EZ curl bar lying triceps extensions is great isolation exercise that targets the entire triceps muscles -- as well as dumbbell kickbacks and triceps cable pulley press downs using the rope attachment. Proper execution of triceps exercises is essential in breaking through plateaus. Space your hands shoulder-width apart or slightly less on the barbell during close-grip bench press with your elbows pointed toward your toes. Always keep your elbows tucked in to your sides during standing exercises. Never allow your elbows to flare out -- if they do, decrease the weight to perform the exercise correctly.
Advanced Training Techniques
Include supersets and drop sets in your routines to help exhaust the muscle and bust plateaus. Perform supersets by completing a set of one exercise, then immediately without rest perform a different exercise of the same or different muscle group. Drop sets are another training technique and can be used with dumbbells, barbells or a weight stack. Perform the drop sets by selecting a weight for the exercise in which you can complete 10 repetitions. After performing your set, immediately without rest decrease or "drop" the weight 5 to 10 lbs. and complete another set of the same exercise for 10 repetitions or until fatigue occurs. Perform two or more "drops" in each drop set.
Plateau Busting Arm Workout
Warmup for at least five minutes with light cardio before beginning your arm workout. Start with barbell biceps curls and complete one warmup set of 10 repetitions using a lightweight and three working sets of six to eight repetitions. Next perform three sets of eight to 12 repetitions of incline dumbbell curls and preacher curls. Conclude with one drop set of dumbbell curls with at least three "drops." Begin triceps with three sets of six to eight reps of lying overhead triceps extension with the EZ curl barbell, supersetting with 10 reps of close-grip bench press using the same bar and weight to exhaust the muscle. Complete three sets of dumbbell kickbacks and superset triceps bench dips for 10 to 12 reps each. Conclude your triceps workout with three drop sets of cable press downs with rope attachment with at least three "drops." Perform this workout twice a week alternating between starting the workout with biceps or triceps.
References
- ExRx.net; Advanced Weight Training Techniques
- "Encyclopedia Of Modern Bodybuilding"; Arnold Schwarzenegger;1985
- "Strength Training Anatomy"; Frederic Delavier; 2001
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