>> Were your arms slow to grow? "I've always had a hard time putting size on my arms. Over the years I've had to work very hard to bring them up to the rest of my physique."
>> What mistakes did you make when you first started training arms? "I'd say the two biggest mistakes were incorrect form and actually not training my arms hard enough. I developed a number of bad habits that took me years to overcome. I used to flex my wrists when doing biceps curls, which incorporated my forearms but made it more difficult to train biceps. I also tried to lift too much weight and ended up swinging it. With pressdowns and lying triceps extensions for tri's, my form was all over the place because I wanted to push a lot of weight. Now I make more of a mind-muscle connection. I didn't overtrain; in fact, I went the other way, not because I didn't want to work hard but because that was what I thought I was supposed to do. I'd do sets of just eight reps, but I've realized that sets of 15-20 work better for me."
>> What were the biggest factors in bringing up your arms? "Besides correcting the technical errors, establishing a better mind-muscle link and training in a higher rep range, I found that I needed more sets than I'd been doing. I do 12 sets each for biceps and triceps, a higher volume than what works for some people. I also always do arms on a separate day, never after a larger muscle group such as chest or back. This ensures that I have the energy to challenge my arms when I'm fresh rather than being fatigued after training another bodypart.
"I used to repeat the same workouts all the time, but now I switch up the exercises as much as possible to continue to shock my arms. I'll do bi's first one week and then tri's first the next. I always have control of the weight at all points in the range of motion, keeping tension on the muscle the entire time – meaning no resting at the top or bottom of the move. I'm working the whole set.
"I try to vary my workout as much as I can: going heavier one workout, lighter the next; doing more reps, fewer reps; switching up exercises; counting to four on both the eccentric and concentric contractions. I use the basics that I've learned over the years, just with more focus and intensity every time I walk into the gym."
>> What worked especially well in bringing up your triceps? "I use very slow, controlled movements and stay focused. That helps make my triceps burn like they never have before. What doesn't work well is losing intensity and focus and repeating the same triceps workout over and over again. Exercises that I tend to favor include rope pressdowns, lying triceps extensions, close-grip benches and dips."
>> What worked in bringing up your biceps? "For one, not flexing my wrists when I curl the weight; instead, I keep my wrists neutral, in line with my arms. I think cheating, using a weight that's too heavy, is counterproductive to building bigger bi's. Once you start swinging, you're using too much of everything except your biceps. My favorite exercises are dumbbell curls, barbell curls, hammer curls and Hammer Strength preacher curls. Still, I change things up frequently, so I use a lot of different exercises."
