Periodized Negatives for Bigger Arms

Q: I have tried so many damn arm routines and they still are small. I don’t know what to do. I am just about to give up. Can you give me any tips on how I can get these damn things to grow? I am looking for something different than the same old bullshit routines that all the Pro’s say they do. I need to kickstart some growth into these bad boys fast.

A: Ok my friend I know you must be frustrated with your inability to fill out your sleeves. It can be very frustrating when one body part won’t respond and when it comes to arms it’s even worse. Well don’t stress my friend today I am going to give you a routine that will definitely thicken out those guns in no time at all.

Superset #1

Dumbbell Preacher Curl (Fat Grips)       4 sets of 10 reps    3/2/5 Tempo

Negative Weighted Dips                             4 sets of 5 reps      0/1/5 Tempo

Superset #2

Decline Dumbbell Extensions (Bands)     4sets of 15 reps   1/1/3 Tempo   

Hammer Curls (Fat Grips)                             4 sets of 15 reps   1/1/3 Tempo

Superset #3

EZ Bar Reverse Curl (Fat Grips)                  4sets of 8 reps      2/2/3 Tempo 

Overhead French Press with Rope             4sets of 10 reps   2/2/3 Tempo

Now that is a Sick Set of Arms!

Now this workout routine will fill out your sleeves faster than you can imagine. It is composed of three different supersets consisting of about 12 sets for both biceps and triceps. You can do a couple of warm-up sets at the start but the ideas are that after 12 work sets for each muscle group your arms should be toast. Now on a side note, we have a layout on tempo. This is very important and yet it is something very few people actually incorporate into their training program. When you see a tempo of 3/2/5 this means that the concentric motion or the raising of the weight should take you 3 seconds to complete. The second number in this sequence refers to the peak hold contraction time at the top of the movement. So if you are doing a curl it will be squeezing the muscle hard at the top of the exercise for the 2 seconds outlined. The last part is referring to the eccentric or lower phase, so in this sequence, it should take you 5 seconds to lower the weight.

Now the reason for this is the fact that the eccentric or lowering phase is the one that causes the most muscle damage hence leading to more growth. Yes, it will make you sorer, but then leading to more muscle gains. This is why many powerlifters will try to avoid the eccentric motion on things like deadlifts to help them recover faster and since they are not looking to pack on more muscle it is not something they need to focus on. This negative aspect of your arm training is one that is very overlooked by 99% of those in the gym. That is why only 1% of those who do have amazing arms most of the time pay attention to the eccentric portion of each arm exercise and understand how important it is for big guns. This is why for every exercise in this program there is a major focus on the negative aspect. For the dips, we are not even concerned about the concentric portion at all and suggest you use your legs to get you to the starting position after each rep.

Fat Grips are amazing for Arm Growth!

Notes on Routine

Superset #1

Now for the first exercise for the dumbbell preacher curl, it is advised to use fat grips. This will cause you to use a thick grip thereby recruiting the bicep muscle fibers differently than a regular thin grip. For the negative weighted dips, you should be using a dip belt to help add additional weight. The purpose of this is to help overload the eccentric contraction as much as possible and adding the slow tempo across this exercise will really trash your triceps into oblivion.

Superset #2

For the next superset, you will be doing decline dumbbell extensions with dumbbells. This will allow a greater stretch on the triceps helping to fill them out. The bands should be attached to the dumbbell to provide a mixed resistance that can’t be beaten. Once again the fat grips will be used on the hammer curls to help recruit the brachialis to a greater degree.

Superset #3

With the last superset we wanted to hit the brachialis again from another angle and using the fat grips once again it will not only beef up the side of your arms but will also thicken those forearms as well. For your last tricep exercise, I wanted to start the muscle in a stretched position and over your head. The combination of both of these attributes is amazing especially during your final arm exercise to gorge the area with nutrient and steroid filled blood right into the area.

Variables for Growth

Now this routine takes into consideration many different variables to help pack on some arm thickness. By altering the tempo it will shock your muscle, especially when before this all you used to do is a regular up and down motion which is not ideal. By altering your grips from three different angles we are hitting the arms from different postilions to help recruit the long and shorter heads with equal force. By adding in bands can really create a different tension that solid weight can’t duplicate so combining the best of both worlds it will trash your muscle fibers like never before. We also wanted to put both the biceps and triceps into a stretched position on a couple of exercises since many routines do not emphasize this enough. Lastly, using Fat Grips on some dumbbell exercises it will alter your hand position in a manner you are not used to helping to isolate the biceps in a much more efficient fashion. When it comes to rest periods they should take about 60 seconds between supersets. You need to keep the blood gorged in the arms till the point they are going to feel like they are going explode. You want to be just about recovered and then it’s time to smash them again. Give this program a try for 4 weeks and I am sure you will see some major gains in your arm development especially if you have been having problems bringing up your Guns!

Time for the Gun Show!