need a workout for big arms

[omkara]

hey guys, I decided it's time to get back in the gym and I was wondering if I could get some help designing a workout program.

I was using Rippetoe's basic program for a while and was feeling pretty good, but pretty soon I ended up shredding my knee by increasing the weights too fast with squats and wearing the wrong shoes.

My main reason for going back into the gym is because I feel like s***. I used to feel a lot better when I was working out 3 x a week, but now I can't because I shredded my knee. (I'm planning to see a sports doctor for this when I get around to it.) So I'm trying to get back on that horse.

Rippetoe's program involves a lot of compound lifts, which I'm cool with, but I can't do squats now. And I find that with bench/military press/deadlifts, it tends to work the chest a lot. So I ended up having big triceps and big pecs, but small biceps, which made the pecs look more just like I had breasts, proportionally.

So I'm looking to start a workout which includes compound lifts but also works the 'glamour muscles', ie the upper arms. Because I can't just work the arms without rotating to workout other areas.

My main reason for going back to the gym is just to start feeling better and increase testosterone. I believe a guy with tight game should be able to attract girls just based on verbal game and personality alone. But it wouldn't be a bad thing to start looking more muscular.

Does anyone have any advice on what would be a good weekly program to start working my upper body? I am looking for something pretty simple, like say 1 hr 3 x a week.

thx peace

 

[Crissco]

Do a simple 3x a week split

Chest, Shoulder, Tris

Back, Bi's, Forearms

Legs

FYI- Triceps are supposed to be bigger then your biceps. They make up 1/3 of your arm.

Or you can read this, and take a split routine off of here.

http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1460447


I suggest this routine, since it technically hits your arms twice a week

Day1: Chest and Back
Day 2: Off
Day 3: Legs, Lower Back, and Abs
Day 4: Off
Day 5: Shoulders and Arms
Day 6 and 7: Off

 

[Colossus]

I do hammer curls (heavy), DB curls in various positions, and machine curls. I used to do a ton of barbell curls which I feel are best for strength, not so much size. Keep in mind I am a powerlifter, not a bodybuilder or physique guy. At their biggest my arms were around 19" cold, now they are around 18". Not huge, but a little bigger than average. The key to arm size is volume, and I dont do much arm volume. I only train arms for assistance in my other lifts.

The tried and true bench-tri/back-bi routine always worked well for me. Keep in mind biceps are a bit overrated---triceps are really the meat of the upper arm.

 

[bukowski_merit]

I'm sure im still under 17" (which is normally where someone will be visibly big) - but i've recently started doing something different for my arms and they are definitely swelling up nicely. I adopted the HRT way for them (HRT = a bodybuilding method).

http://www.animalpak.com/html/article_details.cfm?section=training&id=455

Every monday, i do exactly what is listed there:

Day 1: Guns
• Close Grip Bench 2 x 8+4
• One Arm Machine Triceps Ext 2 x 8+4 (i use barbell instead of machine)
• Lying DB Triceps Ext 2 x 8+
• Standing DB Curls 2 x 8+4
• DB Preacher Curls 2 x 8+4
• Reverse Curls 2 x 8+4
• Forward and Reverse Wrist Curls 2 x 8+4

As the article explains - you only need to do 2 sets of (8) 5-second positive reps and (4) 5-second negative reps with a partner applying minor resitence. You use 60-80% of your 1RM, 2-5 minute break inbetween sets (you'll need it if you're doing this right).

For the rest of my week - i do typical strength training stuff. But i've found this to get results, so im sticking with it (until i don't get results with it anymore.) I don't notice any adverse effects of doing a bodybuilding routine on arms (meaning - it doesn't hurt my squat, bench, etc).....

Just something that has worked for me... No guarantees... experiment...

 

[omkara]

Thanks for all the replies. I am kind of new to this so I will have to look into it and see what is manageable for me as a novice. I don't want to get too overwhelmed at first.

Here's what I do, works for me:

Incline Barbell curls 3x

Reverse barbell curls(standing) 3x

Hammer curls 3x


Weighted dips(shortened, with focus on triceps)

Incline Press, bench press (shoulders, biceps)


I had the same problem you had before, because I do everything on the same day and always did chest first. I still do chest first but I focus more on doing more reps and lower weights and not lifting to failure to let my arms catch up. I also put the dips and hammer curls in and that helped a lot, triceps and forearms can get overlooked. No way could I even do those when I was maxing out on bench.

Sounds like you don't have any compound lifts or lower body stuff in there? Or is this just what you do for arms? I agree about not wanting to max out on bench first and get all tired out for the arm exercises.

 

[StateOfMind]

I won't go into specifics but for "Big Arms" Lifts such as Deadlift, Squat, and Rows are the essentials.