Vanity muscles. Beach muscles. That’s the biceps and triceps all day. While they do play an important functional role in pulling and pushing stuff, there’s no denying that this is a fun little vanity project. OK, now that the guilty plea is out of the way, let’s get down to business.
How the big friggin’ arms workout plan works
Unless you’re on a total-body program like our 3-week Super-3 workout plan, then chances are you’re only training your arms (biceps and triceps) once per week or so. Those traditional splits might looks something like chest and triceps one day and back and biceps on the other. Or the reverse; a pull/push, push/pull split of back and triceps and chest and biceps. Our Redemption, Reconstruction, Timeless, and Push, Pump, and Stretch workout plans follow this type of split structure. (So, yeah, you know what we’re talking about.)
The arms experiment
We’re immediately going to bump up the frequency of arm-specific training to three times per week while temporarily reducing the volume on the bigger muscle groups.
Now, before you jump on us with, “what about recovery?” Or, “you need to lift hard and heavy to grow!” Hear us out.
Our biceps and triceps are resilient. Think about it, they are actually doing a whole lot more work than we give credit. On those chest and shoulder days, what do you think is helping with the pushing? The triceps. Back days? The biceps and forearms are doing plenty of pulling. While it all may be indirect work, they are still being worked. Reducing the volume on the bigger muscle groups is going to give those secondary muscle groups like our forearms, biceps, and triceps a little reprieve. They’ll now have a bit more gas in the tank for direct use. You should now be able to use heavier than normal weight or preform more reps than usual. Also, you’ll still be getting a full days rest in between arm workouts.
After this two week shock, then it’s back to normal training.
What you’ll see in the arms plan
We’ll be using a lot of the exercises and techniques you’re familiar with, especially if you’ve followed the 6-week Unlabeled plan. There are supersets in first arm workout, rest pauses and drop sets in the second arm workout, and tri-sets in the third arm workout. The first and third arm workout call for slightly lower weight and higher reps. The second arm workout is a series of straight sets with heavier weight, lower reps, and increased rest periods.
Curious about some other great muscle-shocking ideas? Check out the 7 euphoric muscle-pumping techniques.
Directions for the 2-week big friggin’ arms workout plan
Follow the 7-day format exactly as is for two weeks. Once finished, cycle off onto another program. If you saw incredible results, you could try increasing the weight further for another two weeks. We suggest NOT following for more than four weeks.
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Day 1 – Legs
1A. Front or back squat x 8-10
1B. DB reverse lunge x 10-12
Rest 60s. Complete 3 supersets.
2. Single-leg DB deadlift 3-5 sets x 10
Rest 60s between sets.
3. DB Bulgarian split squat 3-5 sets x 8-10
Rest 60s between sets.
4. DB sumo deadlift 3-5 sets x 8-10
Rest 60s between sets
Day 2 – Chest, biceps, and triceps
1. DB flye 3 sets x 12-15
Rest 60s between sets.
2. DB bench press 4 sets x 10-12
Rest 60s between sets.
3A. Rope curl x 10-12
3B. Rope push down x 10-12
Rest 60s. Complete 3 tri-sets
4A. Lying DB tricep extension x 10-12
4B. DB hammer curl x 10-12
Rest 60s. Complete 3 tri-sets
Day 3 – Abs & intervals
1. Plank 3 x failure
Rest 30s between sets.
2A. Traditional sit-up x failure
2B. Hollow hold x failure
2C. Side plank x failure
Rest 60s. Complete 5 tri-sets.
3. Sprint x 10-15s
Rest on walk back. Repeat 5x.
Day 4 – Back, biceps, and triceps
1. Stiff-arm cable pulldown 3 x 12-15
Rest 60s between sets
2. BB bent-over row 4 sets x 10-12
Rest 60s between sets
3. Rest pause BB curl 4 sets x 8 (+2)
Rest 90s between sets.
4. Rest pause lying EZ-bar tricep extension 4 sets x 8 (+2)
Rest 90s between sets.
5. Drop set alternating DB curl 4 sets x 8 (+2)
Rest 90s between sets.
6. Drop set straight bar cable pushdown x 8 (+2)
Rest 90s between sets.
Day 5 – Steady cardio & abs
1. Run 2-3 miles
2A. Frog tuck x 10
2B. Crunch x failure
3C. Plank x failure
3D. Saw plank x failure
Rest 60s. Repeat 5x.
Day 6 – Shoulders, biceps, and triceps
1. DB side lateral raise 3 x 12-15
Rest 60s between sets.
2. DB high pull 4 x 8-10
Rest 60s between sets.
3A. Rope curl x 10-12
3B. Rope push down x 10-12
3C. EZ-bar preacher curl x 10-12
Rest 60s. Complete 3 tri-sets
4A. Lying DB tricep extension x 10-12
4B. DB hammer curl x 10-12
4C. Lying DB Tate press x 10-12
Rest 60s. Complete 3 tri-sets
Day 7 OFF
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