arm training

[knockdown]

Good evening bro's, I was wondering how many sets do you guys go for during arm training. And how big are your guns? I'm dropping from 9 sets to 6 sets just to see if 9 sets maybe over doing it. My arms are a lil under 18 1/2. The reason for this post is because today I hit legs and shoulders and that took me one hour and some odd mins. but I couldnt help but to watch this one dude go from two squat rack, dumbbells and right back to the squat racks to curl. I couldnt believe this guy did over 16 sets for his bi's and then he started tri's as I was leaving. His form was piss poor, boncing the bar off his legs, and on top of that his arms where no larger then my forearms.

-thank you-

 

[dug]

i do about 6 sets or so, but my arms arent that big at all . i think it was 14 1/2 the other day, but i can curl a decent amount with dumbells. i seem to not be able to gain size but i have been gaining strength. i usually do a warm up set and then ill do some standing curls, then sit down and do some heavy sets and then go back down to some light weight reps.

 

[knockdown]

i do about 6 sets or so, but my arms arent that big at all . i think it was 14 1/2 the other day, but i can curl a decent amount with dumbells. i seem to not be able to gain size but i have been gaining strength. i usually do a warm up set and then ill do some standing curls, then sit down and do some heavy sets and then go back down to some light weight reps.

Dug, I like to start my arm training with stand barbell curls. Barbell curls allows you to do more wieght and is a great mass builder. When doing barbell curls make sure that your arms are on the side of your body. Most people try and cheat but allowing their arms to move pass their body which brings your delts into play. Then I follow with incline dumbell curls and then hammer curls. I like to hit my bi's from different angles and different hand postions. I also like training my bi's on back day because there's a greater chance of overtraining if you give them a day by them self.

-thank you-

 

[GDSGFT]

6 sets for me.

At the moment i'm doing 3 sets of E-Z bar curls, and 3 sets of DB hammer curls.

I too train my biceps on my back day. I don't feel like I need to dedicate one whole training day to my arms. They're the smallest muscle which need the least bit of work.

Chest/tris
Back/bis

 

[jacksauce]

I like to do 9.. My biceps are 17 1/2 but I do very heavy weight.

3 sets of standing barbell curls 10x135, 8x145, 6x155 and if I have anything left I can sometimes do 170x2.

Hammer dumbell curls 3x8

3x8 preacher curls

 

[patsfan]

I like to do 9.. My biceps are 17 1/2 but I do very heavy weight.

3 sets of standing barbell curls 10x135, 8x145, 6x155 and if I have anything left I can sometimes do 170x2.

Hammer dumbell curls 3x8

3x8 preacher curls

My arms never seem to grow...I was stuck on 17 (rock hard) for almost 8 months. In August(end of) I started just an arm day(not doing extra tris on chest day and bi's on back) mixed in with some smaller muscle groups and I have been doing only preacher and hammer VERY SLOWLY!! not worrying about the weight, and low and behold both arms were 17 3/4 last measurement. 6 sets each.

 

[monsoon]

I don't train arms directly at all, nor do I measure them, but they seem reasonably sized of course I wouldn't complain if they were bigger.

 

[kenneth]

overdose..

where are all of the others? most of the good reputable people around here would probably agree with me when i say that anything over 6 sets is bicep overdose. even tris. i only do 4 sets, seems like the less the better but hey maybe that's just me

 

[Silverback]

probably agree with me when i say that anything over 6 sets is bicep overdose.

That would be wrong to say-- Everyone responds to sets, reps, and weight differently-- Everyone has a different amount of each muscle fiber-- So to say 6 sets for one guy might work, but some guys might need more or less


I do bis and tris together -- I do 10-13 sets for tris and 8-12 sets for bis-- Since switching and putting bis/tris alone on a day, I have had much better results with their growth-- I was stuck about 16.5 for a while, and now they are just over 18--Not huge but very much improved

 

[bg65]

i do 3-4 different curl variations, with about 3-4 sets per movement.. my biceps are my only muscles that seem to grow with little stimulation- about a year ago I actually didn't hit my bi's directly for about 8 mos so that my tris and delts could catch up...I also do a back/bi's and chest/tris split, mostly because I don't have time to give them their own day...for tri's I also only do 3-4 movements that use them as the primary muscle group with the number of sets being variable- for some time now I have not believed in doing some arbitrary number of sets and reps... my brother was describing his workout and told me he does 3 sets of 10 for whatever lift and I just replied "why?" if you finish 3 sets of ten and whatever muscle is not sufficiently pumped or fatigued why wouldn't you do another set.., and no matter the weight, I wouldn't stop at ten reps just because it was the number I decided on before I started the lift...I always know which movements I am going to do, and then I work as hard as I can to really get a huge pump and just feel the muscle getting worked..so I guess to answer your question: about 3 movements with the number of sets being variable
oh yeah- the last time I measured my arms they were just over 18" (off) and now my sleeves are too tight (on)

 

[kenneth]

yes

I agree with you Silverback, everyone is definately different, i just thought the majority leaned towards under 6, well i guess right now that's true according to the poll but it can change. Most people I know do 9-12 sets for
their bis, problem is they turn around and wonder why their arms aren't growing, and it was the same for me in the past, the less i did the more i got, that many sets just doesn't work for most of the people i know... more success with less on this end.

 

[Massive690]

ill do 4 sets of ez bar curls and then 3 sets of something else- usually dumbbellcurls, seated, standing, hammer- i mix it up a lot. sometimes ill do preachers. but i always do at least 7 sets or so

 

[OLD LIFTER]

Bicep 20.5 inches... My arm routine is rotating 6 week cycles, as is all my routine I give you and example
Week 1-6 60% max weight at 2 x week
21's 7 x 10
Concentration curls 8 x 10
preacher curls Dumbell 8x10

Week 7-12 75% max weight at 2 x week
concentration curls 4x4
Strict wall curls 4x4 barbell
preacher curls dumbell 4x4
the weight percentages are accurate but exercises are not in this example I target eact muscle in a group for one excercise ie inner bicep outer bicep head of bicep lower bicep upper bicep I just do it it been 36 years of lifting I am 51,

 

[OLD LIFTER]

Back... I thought I tell you a few like:
Outer Bicep

Standing close grip barbell curls
Standing close grip easy curl bar wall curls
Flat Preacher bence curls barbell
Seated close grip concentrated barbell curl
Squatting concentrated bar curl on low pulley

Upper bicep

Lying flat bench close grip bar curls on lat machine
Lying floor head forward high pulley bar curls


Inner biceps

Standing Inner bicep curls ( Palms in at start rotate to palms up on the upward movement )
Inclined inner bicep curls
Seated inner bicep curls


Lower bicep

Seated Scott Bench two arm dumbell curls
Standing scott bench one armed dunbell curls
Lying high bench meduim grip barbell curl
Seated close grip easy curl bar concentrated curls


Bicep head

Cross body hammer curl tip ups
rope hammer curls

thanks

 

[kenneth]

mass

well hey, i was just talking about mass.

 

[Bob Smith]

well hey, i was just talking about mass.

In another thread you asked about the arm training of guys like me, Gavin, Phreezer, and so on.

I voted for 0 sets, because I currently dont do direct arm work and have no plans to change that. Neither does Grizzly. I believe that guys like Phreezer and AnimalMass do zero bicep work and mainly closegrip and floor presses for triceps (they are powerlifters).

 

[kenneth]

thanks..

thanks for popping in over here Bob, I was just looking to hear a little from
someone who doesn't do so many damn sets, i mean i know everyone's different, but the tips in this post would make half the people trying to learn something overtrain their damn bis,, if you ask me that is of course but hey what do i know

 

[knockdown]

thanks for popping in over here Bob, I was just looking to hear a little from
someone who doesn't do so many damn sets, i mean i know everyone's different, but the tips in this post would make half the people trying to learn something overtrain their damn bis,, if you ask me that is of course but hey what do i know

Kenneth, see the problem is that it's hard to say what people should do because every one is different. I was ding 9 sets for a good time now and I dont see any problems with gains. The reason I posted this thread was because my arms seem to grow faster then my other body parts. So I wanted to see what the norm looked like, because if I increased my sets on a body part like chest then it would be overtraining. My guest that I should be able to drop a few sets and my arms will be good to go. I know a few guys who drop 12 plus set on their arms, sounds like overtraining to me but you cant tell their arms that.

-thank you-

 

[Phreezer]

IMO I think a training day dedicated to only Arms is a waste.. I think one should Train Tri's with Chest and Bi's with back.. That will give them more than enough work for growth... As Bob Said, I'm a powerlifter.. The extend of my Bi-cep work is that I may throw in some hammer curls at the end of back day if I remember... I do heavy Bent over Barbell rows.. Face Pulls...etc.. so I don't need to do a lot of work for "the tinsy weensy arms" (that is a Gavin quote)

 

[kenneth]

!

my tris are always good to go after a good chest workout which i do do chest and tris together, but it's the same with me for back and bis, after a good back workout of heavy rows, it just doesn't feel right to proceed and train bis afterwards, feels like too much on them. I was doing back and bis together for awhile despite what i just said and wasn't seeing gains so now i just train my bis after my leg workout, all i do is 3-4 sets of straight bar curls (4-6 reps each). has been working much better than the previous plan for me.