"Biceps & Triceps Workout - Athletic Guns"

(originally published at now defunct ruggedmag.com)

When I started out training in high school, I got most of my training information from the same place everybody else my age did (and may still do) - bodybuilding magazines. I read all the magazines I could get my hands on, soaking up the information like a sponge. I went on a bodybuilding-inspired, very volume heavy routine. Add up the facts that I was relatively new to training , I was getting plenty of sleep, I ate a lot of good food, and I had the raging hormones of a teenager, and the result was that I made pretty good gains.

The longer I trained, the more I learned. While still in high school, I shifted much of the focus of my training from hypertrophy to strength gains (albeit still a volume heavy routine). Because of the factors I listed above, I still made great gains. After beginning college, I began to realize that I wasn't going to have the time, energy, or recuperative powers to train that I had in high school. I was now much busier, and had a lot more "on my plate" (so-to-speak). This led me to continue reading and continue researching training. I still wanted the same sorts of results, but didn't have near the time. There had to be a way to get more "bang" for my training "buck," and I was determined to find it.

It was also around this time I began to take an interest in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). I didn't have the time or resources to train in MMA at the time, but I altered my weight training to meet the needs of an MMAist. As usual, I continued to research, study, and experiment with various training methods - all the while looking for the biggest "bang" for the "buck."

Over these years, as my reading, study, and research gradually shifted from straight bodybuilding to Strength & Conditioning (S&C) training for athletes (especially MMA), I began to become aware of the distinct dichotomy of bodybuilding and S&C training.

Because many, if not most, strength trainees/athletes have other physical activities to perform (sports practice, conditioning, skills sessions, GPP, agility work, etc.), you'll not see them perform any exercise or movement that doesn't somehow correlate to increased performance on the field, court, or mat. They have so much physical work to do, and since nobody has an unlimited work capacity, they only have so much recuperative ability to apply to their training. As such, any extraneous "fluff" work is eliminated.

This is why you rarely see strength trainees using isolation movements. (It's more complicated that this, but) the basic reasoning or gist is "Why target one muscle group with a movement when you can target two, three, or more?" Again, it's all about bang for the training buck. Because of all this, you hardly ever see a strength trainee who does any direct arm work. Most biceps and triceps exercises are isolation movements, which many strength trainees don't have the time or recuperative abilities for. Besides, the biceps are hit during most pulling exercises (chins, rows, high pulls, cleans, deadlifts, etc.) and the triceps are hit during most pressing exercises (flat bench, incline bench, overhead presses, dips, etc.). This is good enough for most athletes.

However, from time to time, you see a strength trainee who'd like to put some size on his arms. Almost immediately, his strength trainee/athlete buddies scoff him at, because arm training is considered unnecessary "foo-foo" work for bodybuilders. (Incidentally, you'll find that most strength athletes hold the idea of bodybuilding in high contempt - but that's another story.) Usually, the trainee is either convinced to just not worry about it ("Just do 'functional' training instead!") or to just do some more compound movements (presses and/or pulls).

Now, there is nothing wrong with wanting to look good. So I think the idea of talking somebody out of it stinks. While I think that strength, conditioning, and being athletic should be every trainee's priorities, there's not a darn thing wrong with wanting to put some meat on the ole' guns so that they stretch your T-shirt a little. I know you want to succeed on the field, but having a pair of arms that catches that little cutie's eyes the next time you're at the dept. store has its advantages, too!!

As far as directing more focus toward compound movements goes, well, that does and doesn't work. Yeah, you'll put more size on your arms, but you'll put more size on everywhere else, too. Now, your arms will be bigger, but since so will everything else, the proportion you're looking for (i.e. how big your arms look, not are, but look, in relation to the rest of your upper body) won't be there.

So, what to do? You want to gain some arm size (in proportion), yet still need/want to stick with compound movements, and continue your other training. I've got a great biceps and triceps workout program for you.

Workout #1

The main portion of your workout will be the 20 minute block. During this 20 minutes, you'll perform a routine that is sort of a cross between by "Singles & Doubles" program and Bryce Lane's "Have It All" program. Choose a certain rep count that you'd like to achieve in 20 minutes. Personally, I usually choose something between 40-60 (depending on the exercise). Using many sets of 1, 2, or 3 reps (sets of 4 is pushing it in my book), try to complete your given number of reps in each exercise. Alternate sets of Bench Press and Chins back and forth, and try to keep rest minimal between sets. So, if you wanted to get 60 reps with sets of 3, you'd have to do 20 sets of Benches and 20 sets of Chins within 20 minutes. Sound demanding? Darn right it is. Now, just because it's demanding doesn't mean you get to use a light weight. In fact, the purpose of doing more sets of low reps (as opposed to a few sets of high reps) is so that you can continue to train heavy. Start with 65-70% of your 1RM in each exercise and increase from there.

If you've never done training like this before, you're in for a shock. More than likely you won't be able to get all your reps in on the first workout. That's Ok - just keep compressing your rest periods until you can. Once you can get all your reps in 20 minutes, up the weight and start over. Remember, this isn't supposed to be easy. It should be tough as hell to get all your reps in.

So why the Benches and Chins? While they're still compound movments, they both place a lot of stress on the arms (more so than other exercises). The Chins are a great biceps exercise when you concentrate on pulling with your biceps, and the Benches (your grip is ~14 inches apart, your elbows should remain tucked in at your sides, and the angle of the bench should be ~70-75 degrees) will just pile the meat on your triceps.

After the 20 minutes is done (if you went heavy enough), your entire upper body will be pumped up, and you'll feel like you just got hit by a truck. But you're not done yet. Crank out 2-4 sets of 8-15 reps on some Dumbbell or Hammer Curls and some Pushdowns or Lying Triceps Cross Faces. This will finish off any "oomph" you had left in your arms. This will also direct more of the blood that's already being pumped to your upper body into your arms. Finish off with some pinch gripping, bar hang, or other grip movement, and call it a day.

Workout #2

While this is an arm focused program, you don't want to lose sight of other important attributes such as explosiveness, lower body strength, flexibility, or total body synergy. So let's do some of that in Workout #2.

-1 Arm DB Clean & Front Squat x 20 minutes

Remember the 20 minute program you did in Workout #1? Well cowboy up, because you're going to do it again. Ths time, you'll be doing it with the 1 Arm DB Clean & Front Squat.

Like in Workout #1, pick an overall rep count between 40-60. Your objective will be to complete that many reps ON EACH SIDE within 20 minutes. Also, like in Workout #1, you'll do sets of 1, 2, or 3 reps (no 4s this time), and it should be absolutely brutal to get all your reps in by the 20 minutes mark.

When doing your sets, you'll be doing what I call "1 Left, 1 Right." That means you'll do one rep with the left hand, one rep with the right, one left, one right, etc. until you've completed your desired number of reps. Let's say again you're doing 60 reps in sets of 3. You'd switch back and forth between your left and right hands doing one rep in each until you'd done 3 reps on each side before taking a short breather. You'd repeat that 20 times.

The Clean & Front Squat will work virtually all athletic factors that are important - lower body strength, explosiveness, hip drive and flexibility, total body movement, etc. Oh, and if you're conditioning needs some work, get ready - you've never seen 20 minutes last so long.

That's it. If it doesn't look like there's a whole lot there, it's because there isn't. It's just a little over 60 minutes of strength training per week. After ~3-6 weeks, go ahead and alter your schedule back to a more athletic focus.

On the "Off" days, stay active. Do some conditioning work (I'd recommend something that's HIIT based) two or three times per week. Don't be afraid to do some Active Recovery work or other physical activities (calisthenics, gymnastics, walking, your favorite sport, etc.) a few times per week as well. If you're currently training or practicing a sport, then this is already taken care of. Just watch out for overtraining - as long as you eat right and get enough rest, you should be Ok.

Train Hard, Rest Hard, Play Hard.