>> Were your arms slow to grow? "Yeah, my biceps definitely didn't grow at the same pace as my legs or chest."
>> What mistakes did you make when you first started training arms? "I didn't train enough in terms of volume and needed greater frequency. I was also going too heavy. I followed a High Intensity Training (HIT) program, which I discovered isn't a good way for a beginner to start – it's not enough volume, not enough sets, not enough stimulation. I did just one working set for each bodypart."
>> What were the biggest factors in bringing up your arms? "Developing the mind-muscle connection and breaking down particular movements by understanding the biomechanics. I educated myself about how angles affect exercise. I also slowed things down and started to feel the weight. I became more concerned with increasing the blood flow to the muscles, so I did more reps and sets.
"I also trained my arms more often and devoted one whole day to them so I had more energy and stamina, instead of being taxed from doing heavy weights beforehand for larger bodyparts. Sometimes I'll do a basic biceps move after back, using a medium weight just to get blood into the bi's since they've already been working, but this isn't my biceps workout per se. I'll do just one basic exercise for about two sets of 10-15 reps. I do the same with triceps after chest, just to pump some blood in there. So I actually train arms twice over the course of the split, though one is an abbreviated workout.
"In addition, I swap what I call A and B workouts for each bodypart, not just arms. Workout A consists of three staple moves like standing straight-bar curls, incline curls and preacher curls; workout B is three completely different moves from various angles. Instead of doing more exercises in one workout as many beginners are likely to do (which could cause overtraining), I substitute an entire routine to try new things, incorporated as the B workout."
>> What worked well in bringing up your biceps? "Standing straight-bar curls and really focusing. EZ-bar preacher curls and one-arm preachers are also great isolation moves. Lately I've been doing more forced reps with preacher and one-arm concentration curls, using my free hand to self-spot. I still change things up for variety."
>> What worked in bringing up your triceps? "I've found that big tri's tend to coincide with going heavy on pressing moves such as benches and overhead presses, which is where I really feel my triceps working. As for isolation exercises, I'm big on lying triceps extensions, overhead EZ-bar extensions and basic pressdowns. I like to do burnout sets for tri's – pressdowns with my hands all the way inside for 15 reps, my hands out wide for 15 reps, then 15 reps with an underhand grip."
