I remember interviewing Olympic athletes back in 2008 and being astonished by their 6- and 7-day per week plans, consisting of multiple hours pounding their muscles each day.

So much for worrying about more than 60-minutes of exercise turning your muscles into cortisol drained mush, right?

Your biceps respond best to specific, high-tension techniques that usually require nothing more than your body weight.

During my “famous” Dwight Freeney (the tire workout) interview, the All-Pro defensive end crushed his workout for 2 hours.

When interviewing and spending time with True Blood star and Evolution author Joe Manganiello, I learned that the shredded actor consistently pushed his body 6 days per week.

While most people don’t have the time (or desire) to train frequently, it’s one of the most misunderstood aspects of training.

You can achieve great results pushing your body with full body routines three days per week. You can also do it with bodyweight exercises. Or you can do it with more frequent, but shorter sessions. The secret lies in the execution, says strength coach Chad Waterbury. 

To offer a different approach to building your biceps, let Waterbury be your guide to a better understanding of how to program your training frequency—and discover a unique way to bigger arms. -AB

The 4-Step Biceps Builder

By Chad Waterbury

Helping people add mass to their most stubborn muscle groups has been my passion since I started training professionally in 1996. For the first five years of my career I trained my clients using a mix of low reps with heavy weights and high rep sets to failure.

That’s what most trainers did back then, and still do today.

However, my approach to building muscle changed in 2001 after I went to see the Cirque du Soleil show, Mystere, in Vegas. As I was watching the now-famous Alexis Brothers perform their incredible feats of strength, I couldn’t help but be astonished by two things.

First, they had two of the best physiques I’d ever seen: an ideal combination of muscle, symmetry and cuts. Second – and this is most important – I was shocked when I looked at their weekly schedule.

Those two dudes were performing their mind-blowing strength performance 10 times per week.

I didn’t care if they were using every pharmaceutical that Tijuana had to offer. What they were doing defied all the “laws” of training and recovery I learned in college, textbooks and articles.

That’s when I had what alcoholics refer to as a moment of clarity (thanks Pulp Fiction): I was going to start training my client’s most underdeveloped muscles more frequently each week.

That strategy changed everything for me; however, it was a long road of many failed attempts to figure out just how often a guy or gal with average genetics could stimulate a specific muscle or their entire body while avoiding burnout.

The High Frequency Training Plan

By 2012 I had accumulated enough experience with frequent training to write my first book on the subject, High Frequency Training (HFT).

My overall approach with HFT was pretty straightforward. You’d choose an exercise such as the pull-up and perform a total number of reps per day (e.g., 50), regardless of how many sets it took. Then you’d add one rep to that total and continue the plan for 6-8 weeks.

It worked well and many guys built up their biceps while the gals finally got the glute size they wanted. But, based on the feedback from a wide range of people around the world, that approach still didn’t work as well for some muscles as I’d hoped.

So I continued to endlessly experiment with higher frequency training plans. Part of my evolved strategy was to look at athletes that built proportionally large muscle groups from their sport. Cyclists have impressively muscular thighs, and gymnasts that do the rings have the best biceps on the planet.

These are their strengths. But for many people, these body parts are weaknesses. So my approach focused on taking what works from the best, modifying, and creating a structured plan to build up any weak body part using a frequency model of training.

The 4-Step Biceps Blast

Since it’s a common area of focus, let’s use the biceps as an example. First, unless you’re genetically gifted (congrats to those who won that lottery), my experience has taught me that most people struggle to build their arms from high rep training. If they did, every collegiate rower would have massive guns.

But maybe more importantly, it’s that people don’t know how to activate the muscles in your biceps. Everyone knows how to flex, but that’s not what happens when we start cranking away at curls.

Body language takes over. Your shoulders and back help move the weight. And the next thing you know, you cranked out an awesome set, only to see arms that look just like they did on rep 1.

Maybe you got a pump, but within an hour your arms are back at their original size.

Second, simply training heavy won’t work, either. There are plenty of guys with average-sized pipes that can curl a lot of weight. Your biceps respond best to specific, high-tension techniques that usually require nothing more than your body weight.

Here’s one biceps-building technique that uses what I call an Iso-Squeeze Countdown. One great exercise for this technique is the inverted row.

Here’s the 4-step plan that will turn the inverted row into powerhouse biceps builder.

Step 1: Assume the starting position with your arms straight and hands 10 inches apart with an overhand grip (palms facing down).

Step 2: Pull your body up to the peak contraction position, hold it, and squeeze your biceps as hard as possible for 3 seconds. Then, immediately do 3 full range of motion reps. Rest for 10 seconds.

Step 3: Pull your torso back up to the peak contraction position and squeeze your biceps intensely for 2 seconds, followed by 2 full range of motion reps. Rest another 10 seconds.

Step 4: Again, pull your torso up to peak contraction, squeeze your biceps with as much tension as you can muster for one full second, then do just 1 full rep.

That short but intense protocol, when performed for the right number of sets and frequency throughout the week is just one of the three ways I stimulate new growth in your most underdeveloped muscle groups. For example, I would combine that movement with an antagonist (opposite muscle) exercise, such as a pushup, and follow the same protocol. Superset just 2 sets of this combination, and then combined with a frequency model of training, you’ll be on your way to faster results.

Targeted Muscle Building and Strength

What could you accomplish if you were matched with some of the best fitness coaches in the world? Now you can find out what that experience is like. Welcome to the next level. CLICK HERE to see how you can be paired with a Born Fitness coach.

READ MORE: 

The Tension Weightlifting Technique: How to Make Every Exercise More Effective

3 Rules for Building Bigger Arms

Are Toned Arms Genetic? (And Why Arm Workouts for Women are Flawed)

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post The 4-Step Biceps Builder appeared first on Born Fitness.

No matter whether your goal is to add size and strength to your arms, or to shed some fat to show off the muscle that’s already there, chances are that you’ve found your arms to be, well, pretty stubborn.

You’ve tried Michelle Obama’s favorite exercises for toned arms. You even went so far as to add an “arm day”—an entire workout dedicated solely to building your bi’s and tri’s—to your weekly training rotation. But after countless sets of biceps curls and triceps kickbacks, you haven’t seen the results you expected.

Say goodbye to days when you only did lighter weights with higher reps. That alone won’t get the job done.

So where are your toned arms and definition? Or better yet, are certain people simply incapable of having more defined arms?

The short answer: no — “toned arms” are not reserved for winners of the genetic lottery. (Although, some will find their desired look easier to achieve.)

The real problem is that your workouts — the constant focus on biceps and triceps exercises in one rep range — are suffering from a lack of TLC.

“Toning up” is a magazine favorite, but it’s misunderstood. Achieving “tone” (a concept of what you desire, more than a scientific reality) results from a combination of adding muscle and losing fat. So if you want to truly have a set of arms that reflect the work you’re putting in, you need to shift your mindset and your workouts. Say goodbye to days when you only did lighter weights with higher reps. That alone won’t get the job done. [Eds. note: keep reading, and we’ll provide two different workouts programs that you can download for free.]

The solution starts with one simple idea: Volume. What does that mean? In the simplest sense, you need to do more reps and sets of certain exercises and not fear that those movements will make you bulky. Because they won’t. Instead, it will shape your body in a way you desire. [Note: Bulk does not come from any particular exercise, which is why you shouldn’t worry.]

“Women can handle a lot more upper-body volume than they tend to lift,” explains Colorado-based online personal trainer Kourtney Thomas, C.S.C.S. “A couple of push-pull and isolation movements once per week isn’t going to be enough to trigger significant change.”

“Volume” is exercise-speak for the number of reps you perform, multiplied by the weight lifted during each of those reps. While it might sound surprising, you can steal a few tricks from the guys in the gym with muscular upper bodies. (Again, don’t worry, you won’t end up looking like this men). This strategy can help turn up the volume on your workouts, and make sure you finally see the results from your time with the weights.

Here are four strategies that will help you reveal the “toned arms” (or muscular, stronger, more capable) you want.

Arms Workout Upgrade #1: Increase Your Intensity

“In general, the biggest thing that I see keeping women from their arm goal is using pink dumbbells for 20 reps,” says Minnesota-based exercise physiologist Mike T. Nelson, Ph.D., C.S.C.S.

It’s not that higher reps are bad. And it’s not that women are afraid to use heavier weights, it’s that they are selective with the body parts they target and don’t train their upper body — particularly their arms — with both high and low reps.

“Women seem to be more comfortable lifting heavy weights for their lower body than for their upper body,” adds Nelson.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. After all, 2016 research published in the Journal of Applied Physiology shows that lifting light can trigger muscle size increases similar to those from lifting heavier weights. But here’s the thing: That’s true only if you are willing to perform enough reps so that your arms reach a point of fatigue on every set.

So yes, lifting the pink dumbbells will get you there—but it’s going to take a looooong time to do it. Bumping up the resistance will save you time and get you more results a lot faster.

(If you need extra convincing why heavier weights do not make you bulky, this is a myth that has been debunked over and over again. And if you need even more proof, here’s Kate Upton squatting some serious weight and looking decidedly not-bulky while doing it.)

If you want to build muscle — the type that gives you the definition you desire — shoot for sets of six to 12 reps on movements that require more overall muscle (think rows, press, pushups, pulldowns), and then sets of 8-20 reps (oftentimes in the higher range) for the more focus movements, like curls and triceps pressdowns. The most important part: you do both types of movements (more on this). If you only do direct arm exercises, then you will limit your ability to go heavier, as rows and presses are the best (and safest) way to accomplish this goal.

The weight you use should be heavy enough that you can just barely squeeze out the very last rep of your last set—but also manageable enough that you’re able to perform every rep with perfect form. Put another way, if you’re sneaking in extra reps after your form has completely broken down, you should either stop or lower the weight slightly.

Arms Workout Upgrade #2: Do More “Arm Days”

OK, so now that we’ve covered the sets and reps part of the equation, the other half involves how regularly you perform those exercises.

“If you arms are a major training goal for you, you need to put more attention there and start skewing the percentage of your total training that targets your arms,” Thomas says. “For example right now, upper-body work is literally like 75 percent of what I’m doing. I lift four days per week, and three of those days are upper-body days.”

After making the switch from two to three upper-body days, she notes that it took less than four weeks to see results in the mirror.

Here’s why: while it differs for everyone, women tend to carry less fat in their arms compared to their thighs, butt, and pelvic area. From what we understand, this is merely an evolutionary trait and should not be viewed as a bad thing. The fat stored in those areas are a byproduct of two things: 1) your higher levels of estrogen and 2) the fat levels appear to act as a storage center for the demands of your body should you become pregnant.

Let’s be clear: the fact that women carry a little more fat around their lower body is a physiological advantage that prepares you for the unique responsibilities of being a woman.

Lactation requires a lot of energy, so your body has adapted to store more fat to be prepared for that need (think from an evolutionary standpoint of undernourished females needing to provide for their babies; the energy needs to come from somewhere, so the body has created reserve storage — just in case.)  

Comparatively, men store much more fat in their stomach, and it’s a much worse situation. While you might not like the way fat loss around your legs or butt, it should be embraced because it doesn’t create any health threat, per se. [We realize you might not like the way it looks, but it’s completely natural.]

On the other hand, fat storage in your gut — as men experience — is dangerous. If your waist dimensions are bigger than your hips, it can be strongly correlated with a host of medical problems including risk of coronary artery disease, diabetes, elevated triglycerides, hypertension, cancer and general overall mortality.

So while you can’t “spot reduce,” knowing that certain body parts are naturally leaner means that a target focus can make it easier for results to come faster — if you provide them with a little extra attention.

At a minimum, Thomas recommends that you have at least two upper-body training days per week if your goal is to improve your arms. Two ways you can break down those training sessions are:

One “push” day, one “pull” day

On a push day, you’d perform exercises like the bench press, shoulder press, and tricep pushdowns, while on a pull day it’d be movements like pull-ups or chin-ups, rows, and bicep curls.  

One full body day, and one “accessory” day

Here, you’re spending one day on the bigger lifts that involve more musculature (such as the standing shoulder press or pull-ups), and day two on smaller, more targeted lifts like biceps curls, triceps push-downs, and shoulder raises.

However you divide those lifts across training days, Nelson recommends that you perform compound exercises in sets of six to eight reps. For the accessory, isolation-focused exercises, go with sets of eight to 15 reps.

Bonus tip: You can actually use higher reps with triceps exercises, such as 20-25 reps. This is because they involve such a small range of motion that you might need more reps fatigue your muscles to the point you need them to show, Thomas says.

Arms Workout Upgrade #3. Work Your Legs

While it’s totally true that you’ll need to do more training specifically targeted toward your upper body, you can’t dismiss the importance of big lifts such as deadlifts and squats—especially if you arm goal involves developing more muscle tone, which requires you to also lose some fat, Nelson says. Remember, if you’re going for a “toned” look, it’s a two-part equation of gaining some muscle and losing fat.

As we already mentioned, spot reduction of fat does not exist. For example, in one Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise study, when 104 people worked one arm crazy over the course of 12 weeks, and MRI scans showed that the trained arm didn’t lose any more fat than the untrained one. So if you want to ditch the fat that hangs onto your arms, you have to work to lose fat, and build muscle in the specific areas you want to improve (a process some call spot-enhancement).

From an exercise standpoint, the best way to achieve a fat-burning effect is through performing large, compound lifts that involve the most musculature possible, Nelson says. While upper-body compound moves such as rows, pull-ups, and bench presses use a lot of musculature for a sizeable caloric burn, lower body exercises like deadlifts and squats will take that caloric burn to the next level, Nelson says.

So if your upper-body physique goals require you to reduce body fat, it’s best to incorporate lower-body compound lifts in your routine at least twice a week.

Before you start to panic about the number of days adding up in the gym, it’s not as time-intensive as it sounds.

Let’s use the examples above for how you could structure your workout.

Option 1: One “push” day, one “pull” day

On your push day, you could do exercises like shoulder presses, chest presses, squats, lunges, and then triceps pushdowns and extentions.

On your pull day, you’d combine rows, pull-ups (or lat pulldowns), deadlifts, kettlebell swings, and biceps curls variations.

Option 2: One “compound” push-pull day, one “accessory” day

This variation will require at least 2 push-pull days, and then, at least, one accessory day. So day 1 of the push-pull days could include squats (push), row (pull), shoulder presses (push), and step-ups (push). Day 2 (accessory) would then focus on biceps curls, triceps pushdowns and extensions, and shoulder raises. Day 3 could include deadlifts (pull), chest presses (push), and pulldowns/pull-ups (pull), and lunges (push).

THE LAB: Want to try one of a workout we’re testing with our Born Fitness coaching clients? Join “The Born Fitness Lab” to receive your free full-body workout with an arms emphasis.

Arms Workout Upgrade #4. Adjust Your Nutrition to Meet Your Goals

The right nutrition will fuel your workouts, support your recovery, and help you build and maintain the muscle you want. But what—and how much—is “right” for you depends on your goals.

For instance, it is totally possible to build some muscle while losing fat if you increase your training volume (using the tips we provided) while keeping your caloric intake relatively consistent. This is where we recommend you start. It’s impossible to know what you need until you consistently apply the right techniques and see the results you get. Try an approach consistently for 8-12 weeks before making any decisions on how you need to adjust.

If you find that you are not moving in the right direction, you might need to making some additions to your diet. To build the most muscle, you need to be in a caloric surplus (a.k.a. you consume more calories than you burn per day). Simply put, you have to eat to see results.

Meanwhile, if your goal is to lean up and lose fat, you must achieve a caloric deficit (a.k.a. you burn more calories than you consume per day).

No matter your caloric approach, both building strength and muscle as well as losing weight from fat (rather than from muscle) requires consuming adequate levels of protein, of which women are notorious for not getting enough.

According to the American Council on Exercise, to build muscle mass, you should eat 1.2 to 1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of your body weight per day (if you weigh 150 pounds, that works out to 75 to 120 grams of protein per day). Nelson recommends that women eat 30 grams of protein at least three to four times per day to promote healthy muscle levels. Reach for complete sources such as eggs, meat, fish, dairy, soy, and quinoa.

Whether you choose to eat more or less, your right to bare your arms is about you determining what goals are most important to you, and how you want to look and feel. If you’re seeing results in the gym, are stronger in your day-to-day life, and loving how you feel, don’t feel as if you have to adjust to meet an image perception that isn’t your own.

Great results start with the understanding that appearance is not the end goal. The process, the enjoyment, and the fulfillment of how you feel are what will keep you working hard and seeing results. Whether you are adding calories or subtracting them, both can feel difficult. So it’s important to gravitate towards the path that feels both sustainable and like it’s the right fit for what you’re trying to achieve. When that happens, success is almost an inevitability now that you’re not wasting time with your training.

READ MORE: 

3 Fundamental Rules for Building Bigger Arms

Why Weight Machines Are Better Than You Think

How Much Fat Should I Eat?

The post Toned Arms: Are They Genetic? (And An Arm Workout Upgrade) appeared first on Born Fitness.

For years, I was pulled in one extreme direction or the other, never really finding the sweet spot that resulted in real growth. It started when I was sucked into the idea of “you don’t need curls to build bigger arms.” Big mistake.

After my anti-curl era, I was obsessed with progressive overload. That is, I only concerned myself with using heavier weights on all exercises—curls included. This led to non-stop elbow issues and more time rehabbing than growing.

Today, things are different. I know the exercises, rep ranges, and frequency that help build an impressive set of biceps and triceps. Avoid my mistakes from the past and follow my tips for the future, and maybe – just maybe – I’ll never have to write one of these articles again.

Arm Workouts Require a Pump

As much as I love using heavy weights, great arm workouts usually require plenty of volume to help with growth and reduce the likely of injury to your elbows. And the reason is simple: when you go very heavy, you start cheating more than you want. A few cheat reps are fine on any exercise, but your arms will grow by volume and tension. If the weight is too heavy, you start to use your traps, shoulders and momentum, which removes the tension from where you want it — your biceps and triceps. Stick to sets of 8-15 reps, and even sometimes finish with sets of 20 reps.

Make it Simple(r)

There are approximately 800 exercises for your arms, and most are a waste. Hammer curls, EZ bar curls, and dumbbell variations (standing, seated, and incline) are all your biceps need. For your triceps, think big movements like ring dips, close grip bench presses, and pushups. This creates overload, which will force them to grow. Finish them off with movements that create a greater stretch throughout the movement, such as cable extension or skull crushers.

And don’t forget your forearms, whether it’s through direct work or preferably heavy weighted carries like farmer’s walks. These exercises, while not seemingly great for size, will dramatically improve your grip strength. This will help increase weight on all exercises, and especially pulling movements, which are an important part of overall arm growth.

Try Arm Workouts on Leg Day

Here’s something you don’t hear too often: if you want big arms, train your legs. This isn’t a ploy. You see, your body likes to grow in proportion. So while there are plenty of guys that skip leg day and still have some big arms, you will rarely find a guy with a big squat and deadlift with pencil arms. It just doesn’t happen.

But here’s the trick: because your biceps are a smaller muscle group, they can respond well to high frequency, especially if you have a couple of years of weight training experience. You want to train them at least 2-3 times per week for optimal growth. A way to make this happen: add direct arm work on your leg days (Actually, begin your workouts with the arm training.) This is something former Mr. Olympia, Dorian Yates, did early in his career, and it works.

Target Your Training

Just like any other goal—fat loss, muscle growth, or strength gains—science has proven over and over again the benefits of having a specified, short time period for any specific goal. I could literally list 100 studies that show why you must periodize—or cycle—your training. Or maybe just as important, you must realize that frequency is an important part of growth.

If you want big arms, don’t train arms like crazy year-round. Instead, pick an 8-12 week period where you focus on training your arms 2-4 times per week. Make them a priority and they will grow, and then back off for another 12-20 weeks, before focusing on them again.

Stretch and Grow

If you’re like most guys, you treat stretching like hair conditioner: great in theory, but not worth your time. But if you want sleeve-expanding arms, a good stretch is invaluable. You won’t see much research on it, so this is about observation from some of the best in the business. After a few sets, your arms are pumped and full of blood. A good stretch can help increase blood flow, which means more potential growth. You can wait for the science, or you can do it and experience the results for yourself.

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post Rethinking Arm Workouts appeared first on Born Fitness.

Those were the opening lines of an article I edited several years ago while working at Men’s Health. Looking back now, it’s funny because not much has changed.

Guys still feel their arms are too small. Women, on the other hand, tend to want their arms to be smaller, but “long and lean.” In fact, I answer the “how to get better arms” question all the time. And no matter what information has been passed on, biceps and triceps always will receive more attention than they probably require. 

If it seems like your arms won’t grow no matter what, I can assure you that’s not the case. I’m no stranger to small arms. There’s a picture floating around somewhere of a picture when I was 18 and flexing. The image was, well, pathetic. Pipecleaners had bigger biceps than me. Eventually I learned a few things, put them to good use and grew bigger biceps.

If you want bigger arms, you need to give them the right type of love. To help you find the right type of TLC, I spoke with Dan Trink, C.S.C.S, founder of Trink Fitness and the Director of Training at Peak Performance—one of the top gyms in the US.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with Dan several times, and when he created a guide to building bigger arms To no surprise, Dan put together exactly what I expected: A program specifically designed to squeeze as much growth as possible. Here are a few of his tips to help you win the arms race. -AB

3 Rules for Building Bigger Arms

By: Dan Trink, CSCS

Heading to the gym with the goal of developing bigger arms is somewhat absurd.

Almost all of us would be better served by trying to increase our strength on the squat, developing better mobility in our hips, driving up work capacity on the Prowler or even sharpening our pick-up skills with new fitness model who works the membership desk.

Yet, it’s hard to beat that moment on the first Spring day warm enough to wear your “Arnold in Numero Uno” t-shirt, when you catch that slight reflection in the parked car window of a dude with seriously jacked arms and, after a brief second, realize, “Holy crap, that’s me!”

Having two USDA Prime slabs of beef hanging down from your shoulder sockets can be a reality for anyone. You just have to be smart about it. So, with that in mind, here are my ‘rules’ for building bigger arms.

Follow these and I can’t guarantee you’ll need to hire a tailor to let out your shirtsleeves but it will give you the confidence to tackle an arm specialization program (and, hopefully, that girl at the membership desk).

Rule 1: You Have To Specialize

Everyone’s first year or so of training should be spent learning movement patterns and developing a base level of strength. But once you get past these beginning stages, if you want to reach a specific goal, you have to get very specific about your training. This goes for growing bigger arms, pulling a 500-pound deadlift or getting on stage in a Speedo and a deep tan. Be a generalist and you’ll get mediocre results. Spend your hours in the gym working towards one main goal, however, will yield results much more quickly than you might expect. So, if you want freaky-deaky pipes, don’t be afraid to lay off the Olympic lifts and improving your mile time for a while and focus on the task at hand.

Rule 2: Volume Is The Name Of The Game

You should feel ridiculous spending your workout banging out tons of reps of every curl variation known to man. You should feel even more ridiculous when your arms are so sore the next day that you can’t properly wash your face in the shower. But, guess what? That’s what it takes.

For hypertrophy (mass building) to take place efficiently, you need to keep your volume (amount of work being done) fairly high as this causes the most muscle damage and, ultimately, growth. Plus once you’re in better shape you’ll find tons of girls who want to shower with you and they can wash your face. Problem solved.

[Editor’s note: I considered removing this line because I questioned whether it was factually accurate. After all, this has never happened to me. But then I realized my arms weren’t as big as Dan’s, and that it did happen to the author, so I felt it had to remain.]

Rule 3: Don’t Forget About Time Under Tension

Time under tension is just a fancy way of saying the how long your muscles are moving a load during any given set. From what I see, most sets are just too short to deliver the maximum muscle building effects.

The sweet spot seems to be between 30 and 50 seconds per set and there are two ways to hit this mark.

The first would be to set a timer for, say, 40 seconds and rep out until the alarm goes off. The second is to dictate the tempo of each rep (for example, lower the bar for 4 seconds, lift for 1). This way you’ll know that each rep lasts 5 seconds.

Knock out 8 reps and you are right in that 40-second sweet spot (5 seconds x 8 reps = 40 seconds). If you’ve never trained with tempo in this manner, be warned. It’s much tougher than just pumping out reps so you’ll have to keep your ego in check and lighten the loads that you’d normally use.

Are there more secrets to getting bigger arms? Yes. But trying to incorporate too many strategies at once can end up slowing your progress.

Want Personalized Fitness Coaching?

If you want help building muscle, losing fat, or both, join me by applying for online coaching. This is your chance to work with some of the best coaches in the world, have your questions answered, and receive the personalized program you can. You can apply here.

READ MORE: 

The 4-Step Biceps Builder

Are Toned Arms Genetic? (And Why Arm Workouts for Women are Flawed)

How to Master the Art of “Old School” Bodybuilding

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post 3 Rules For Building Bigger Arms appeared first on Born Fitness.