Muscles respond to both heavy weights and high volume.
When you’re talking about arm muscles, though, there’s only so much weight you can use on biceps curls and triceps extensions without screwing up your form and putting your back and shoulders at risk.
Fortunately, your arms get their share of big loads on presses, rows, and pullups. Your goal with arm-specific exercises is to pump up the volume, and this new routine from Men’s Health Next Top Trainer Gideon Akande does exactly that.
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You’ll do 120 total reps on each arm, focusing on your biceps and triceps while also working your chest, shoulders, and upper back.
And because you’re doing most of it in a half-kneeling position, you’ll get some core-stability work as a bonus.
You’ll probably want to use at least two dumbbells—a heavier one for the floor presses and underhand-grip rows, and a lighter one for the curls and triceps kickbacks.
It may be even better with four dumbbells. Start with the heaviest for the presses, and finish with the lightest for the kickbacks.
You’ll do 15 reps to each side for each exercise, with as little or as much rest as you need in between. That’s 60 reps altogether with each arm. Repeat the circuit, and in less than 10 minutes you end up doing a total of 240 reps.
Your arms will feel like lead balloons at first, thanks to the pump you’ll get. That feeling is temporary, but when you repeat this routine a couple times a week, it won’t be long before your arms are permanently inflated.
