Bigger, Better Arms - Guns Baby Guns!

Question: I really want to get bigger arms because right now they look like garter snakes not pythons. What are the best exercises for building big guns?

Answer: I going to assume you read the article in one of the men's fitness magazines that revealed the first physical feature on a guy to catch a woman's eye was his arms. Don't get too wrapped up in the idea of large arms and neglect the rest of your physique. It looks ridiculous to walk down the beach on legs that look like chop sticks sporting a big upper torso and big guns. With that in mind, you also need to remember that the triceps make up 75% of your upper arm mass. A nicely peaked biceps makes just finishes the whole thing off. You should start things up with a good compound movement like triceps pressdowns to warm-up your elbows. This exercise has a moderate stretch factor which is easy on the ligaments and tendons from your triceps and is generally a good place to start. Do 4 sets here with one being a warm-up, one a light working set and the other two heavy working sets making the last one a drop set. On the drop set, choose a weight with which you can only get 6 good reps, reduce the weight by 25% to 30% and perform another 6 reps. To save time and get a good arm pump, alternate your triceps pressdowns with sets of cable curls. Follow the same set pattern on biceps as you used for triceps ending with a drop set. Your second triceps exercise will be 21's. Choose a moderate weight on a curl bar and do a set of 7 lying triceps extensions, a.k.a. skullcrushers, using an inside grip. Without changing positions do a set of 7 close-grip bench presses emphasizing the triceps. Finish the set with 7 bent-arm pullovers. These really stretch the triceps and burn deeply into the muscle. After each set of 21's do a set of alternating dumbbell curls for 8 to 10 reps per set. Since you are trying to build mass, finish your triceps training with 3 sets of close grip dips doing 6 to 10 reps per set. To complete biceps and work on a nicely peaked muscle, do three sets of concentration curls squeezing your biceps in a hard contraction on each rep.

You need to remember your cardio to strip the fat off of your show muscles and work your heart muscle. Endeavor to build a balanced physique that is athletic and not just for show. Always get at least 8 glasses of water a day since your muscles are 65% to 70% water and eat a balanced, healthy diet.

Daryl Laws

Personal Training and Sports Performance Excellence Blog

Bigger, Better Arms - Guns Baby Guns!