Q: The new ebooks are fantastic. I followed Doug Brignole before his death and also you. Really great information. I appreciate that you suggest add-on exercises to the ideal and make the case for which ones are best. One question: My triceps are weak/flat, so should I train them one side at a time [to avoid bi-lateral deficit]? [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 228: Arnold’s Arm-Mass Action
Arnold foreshadows his future career as an action movie star by flexing while holding a can of whoop ass… [Read more…]
Forgotten Way to Make Your Arms Look Huge
All guys want big arms—the bulging biceps, the massive sweeping triceps stretching the sleeves of your T-shirt…
Endless work on all types of curls and extensions often fails to get the gargantuan guns that we muscleheads are after. [Read more…]
Arnold’s Arm-Mass Secret: Cheat Curls?
As a young twig, I admired Arnold. He was the Oak after all. His incredible biceps peak was especially impressive. The photo on the cover of his Education of a Bodybuilder was mind-blowing (photo by John Balik, who was paid a paltry $100 for the pic)… [Read more…]
Half-Inch On Your Arms In 1 Day?
Q: I remember reading an article that said you could add almost a half inch to arm girth in one day. The workouts had a lot of very slow negative reps, some sets as heavy pure-negatives [only lowering a heavy weight for a number of reps]. Do you think this is possible? Should I try it? [Read more…]
New Arm Size
Shoulder pain can make holding dumbbells at your sides painful. Such is my predicament…
That means alternate dumbbell curls are out as my ideal exercise. I cringe just thinking about it… [Read more…]
Stretch Mass or Joint Crash?
I’ve outlined why stretch-position exercises, like flyes for chest and overhead extensions for triceps, have unique hypertrophy qualities.
However, there’s no question that those moves put the joints in a more precarious position… [Read more…]
Progressive-Shock Size-Surge Tips
Q: I’m astounded by Jonathan’s Size Surge transformation in only 10 weeks. His arms got huge, and he said his gains really took off during the second phase when he started using Positions of Flexion. I was thinking that I should do POF for arms in phase 1 too. Like for biceps, he has two sets of barbell curls and two sets of concentration curls. Wouldn’t I make better gains if I did two sets of barbell curls followed by one set of incline curls [for stretch] then one set of concentration curls? That’s the same number of sets, but now it’s full-range POF. I could do the same for triceps too.
A: That sounds like a good plan—at least until you realize one reason phase 2 in the Size Surge program works so well is because the muscles get a progressive-shock size effect when you shift to full-range training for the last four weeks. In other words, you force more growth adaptation to happen when you add stretch-position exercises like incline curls for biceps and overhead extensions for triceps at week 7… [Read more…]
Ultimate At-Home Massive-Arm Move
Q: I have the Stretch-Overload Workout ebook, so I know how important stretch-position exercises are for mass.I’m training in a home gym with only free weights, and overhead triceps extensions are irritating my elbows. Should I just skip triceps stretch altogether to avoid injury?
A: We’ve been there, so we feel your pain. In a commercial gym, we recommend cable pushouts instead, which is facing away from an overhead cable, lunging forward and performing behind-the-head extensions. [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 27: Arnold’s Secret
In our Zen 3 newsletter, we talked about Arnold’s biceps peak and his full-range workout (POF: standing curls, incline curls, concentration curls).
But Arnold’s secret to eye-popping bi’s: He trained his brachialis muscles directly. Those lengthy muscles snake under the biceps and connect down on the forearm. When the brachialis are beefed up underneath, they push the biceps higher when flexed—sky-high peaks. [Read more…]