SOMEWHERE ALONG THE line, directly training your biceps and triceps seems to have become seen as a bit of wasteful luxury. Sure, if you’re spending hours each week performing endless curls in front of the mirror, there’s an argument there. But let’s get real: not only does direct arm training act as accessory work for your bigger compound lifts, it may also help to aid joint health by strengthening the muscles supporting the elbows and driving blood flow to the area. And, to be honest, if nabbing a sweet arm pump every now and again keeps you enthusiastic, it’s probably only going to serve to keep your motivation high in the long run.
This simple two-move chipper will leave your sleeves stretched, and your itch for a pump satisfied, all in less than 10 minutes.
Form check
Grab an empty Olympic barbell or pair of light dumbbells (8-12kg each, should do it) and get to work. Aim for 100 high-quality bicep curls, using a full range of motion and lowering the bar down over 3-4 seconds on every rep. When you hit failure and can’t perform another rep – or can no longer control the eccentric (lowering) portion of the lift – put the bar down and perform 15 dips, hitting those triceps. Dips complete, take a breath, grab your bar and continue on from where you left off.
Keep going in this fashion until you hit 100 reps of curls, performing your dips each time you have to break.
100 x barbell curls (take each set to failure)
Stand tall, gripping your barbell at waist height, shoulder-width apart. With minimal momentum, curl the bar upwards towards your chin. Squeeze here and lower the weight slowly over 3-4 seconds. Repeat.
15 x dips (every time you break from curls)
Jump up on two parallel bars, your palms facing inwards and your arms locked out straight. Lean forwards and bend at the elbows, slowly lowering your body until you feel a deep stretch in your chest. Pause here before driving yourself back up to the top explosively.
This article originally appeared on Men’s Health UK.
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Grow massive arms in 12 minutes with just one dumbbell
Why you only need 5 minutes to build big arms