5 insane biceps and triceps workouts

Here's what you need to know...

1. Stubborn "Hollywood" muscles like biceps and triceps require increased volume, increased frequency and increased variability - thus the extreme and brutal nature of these arm training completion techniques.
2. The effects of these relentless training methods include increased time under tension, increased growth hormone release and pumping the muscles with oxygenated blood - all the ingredients necessary for muscle growth.
3. Use a different arm finishing technique every fourth training day.

The goal of these five different training techniques is to generate insanely high volume with little or no rest. They are definitely an improvement over the boring and virtually useless 3 sets of 10 reps Scott curls that are ubiquitous in gyms across the country. The effects of these relentless training methods include increased time under tension, increased growth hormone release and pumping the muscles with oxygenated blood - all the ingredients necessary for muscle growth.

I've been using these methods myself and with clients for some time, and as the new strength coach for the Washington State basketball team, I will definitely have my players use these methods as well - especially those who need some mass on their arms to feel more confident. The idea is to use a different one of these techniques every fourth day. Remember that these are finishing techniques that you should perform at the end of your training session. You will not need any additional arm training.

1 - The 10/20

Start by choosing two biceps exercises - one that will allow you to perform 10 reps at a moderate speed (1:1 tempo) and one that will allow you to perform 20 fast reps (your form may drop off a bit here, but that's okay).

Some example exercise pairings include:

• Barbell curls combined with dumbbell hammer curls
• SZ curls in combination with standing cable curls
• Spider curls on the Scott bench(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whPVTmSEIIM) in combination with Scott curls

Perform 10 repetitions of the first exercise at moderate speed and then 20 fast repetitions of the second exercise. Pause briefly and then perform another pair of exercises. Perform a total of 10 such exercise pairs for a total of 300 repetitions!

Then move on to the triceps and choose 2 exercises:

• Bench press with close grip in combination with cable tricep press with a rope grip
• Dumbbell tricep presses behind the head in combination with cable tricep presses with reverse grip
• Skull crushers (lying tricep press) in combination with dumbbell kickbacks

Again, perform 10 repetitions of the first exercise at a moderate speed and then 20 fast repetitions of the second exercise. Pause briefly and then perform another pair of exercises. Perform a total of 10 of these supersets.

2 -Dioxin 3-Way

Forget that the name of this technique sounds strange. Dioxin 3-Way is as intense as it gets. Grab a pair of dumbbells and perform the following in quick succession without pausing:

• 5 reps dumbbell curls
• 5 repetitions of hammer curls
• 5 repetitions of cross body curls (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsiI51h-jv8)

After you have performed the last repetition of cross body curls, put the dumbbells down and grab the next lighter pair of dumbbells (2.5 to 5 kilos lighter) and perform the entire exercise sequence - 5 curls, 5 hammer curls, 5 cross body curls - again.

Then move on to the triceps:

• 5 Tate Press (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ciauw1daxhQ)
• 5 repetitions dumbbell tricep press overhead
• 5 repetitions of dumbbell kickbacks

After performing the last repetition of kickbacks, grab the next lighter pair of dumbbells for each exercise (it is unlikely that you will be able to use the same weight for all exercises) and perform another descending set of the same exercise sequence - 5 tate presses, 5 repetitions of overhead tricep presses and 5 kickbacks.

The correct execution of Tate Presses:

Lie on a bench with a pair of dumbbells in your hands and extend your arms vertically upwards as if you were going to perform dumbbell bench presses. Your palms should be facing towards your feet. Without moving your upper arm and only by bending your elbow, lower the dumbbells until they lightly touch your chest. At this point, your elbows will be pointing straight out to the side. Then move the dumbbells back to the starting position by stretching your upper arms.

After you have completed the first round of triceps training, go back to the biceps and perform another triple set and then the second round for the triceps. Perform a total of 5 rounds each for biceps and triceps.

What makes this workout such a beast is the fact that there are no breaks between sets. You go non-stop from round to round.

3 - Repetitions with hold

1. Grab a couple of dumbbells. While standing, curl one arm up to a 90 degree angle and hold that position (a static hold) while performing 10 reps of hammer curls with the other arm.
2. After 10 repetitions, switch arms and perform 10 repetitions with the other arm.
3. After you have performed the 10 repetitions with the other arm, perform another 10 repetitions with both arms.
4. Then grab another pair of dumbbells and assume a tricep kickback position. Hold one arm straight back (another static hold) while you perform 10 repetitions of kickbacks with the other arm.
5. After 10 reps, switch arms and repeat.
6. After performing 10 reps with the other arm, perform 10 kickbacks with both arms simultaneously.
7. Start round two of the dumbbell curls with a static hold.
8. Perform a total of 5 rounds each for biceps and triceps alternately.

4 - Run the rack

Perform 10 dumbbell curls. Then grab two dumbbells that are 5 kilos heavier and perform 9 repetitions. Then take the next heavier pair of dumbbells and perform 8 repetitions. Continue this as best you can until you have completed one repetition.

Then do the same with dumbbell overhead tricep presses. Use one weight for 10 repetitions, take the next heavier weight and perform 9 repetitions, and so on.

After you're done with the dumbbell tricep press, go back to the biceps and repeat the dumbbell curl protocol. Alternate back and forth between dumbbell curls and dumbbell tricep presses until you have performed 3 rounds of each exercise or a total of 300 reps for the biceps and 300 reps for the triceps.

5 - Arm Tornado

This technique is all about having the necessary energy. Grab your training partner and turn on some adrenaline music. Choose a weight with which you can perform 20 repetitions of tricep presses on the cable and place a pair of dumbbells with which you can perform 20 repetitions of curls on the floor next to the cable. Start by performing tricep presses on the cable while your training partner performs dumbbell curls. When you are both done, switch exercises. Do this for 7 supersets and a total of 140 repetitions per exercise.

It will take a few days to recover from this type of training, which is why you will attack the arms with a different one of these techniques every fourth day. This will induce more muscle damage and cause more muscle soreness than using the same finishing technique every fourth day for several weeks.

As a college strength coach, I am a firm believer in 4 to 5 week phases during which you can increase the weight linearly, but for those stubborn "Hollywood" muscles like biceps and triceps we need to increase the volume, frequency and variability and for this we need the extreme and brutal nature of these arm training techniques.

By Scott Thom | 07/22/14

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/5-insane-biceps-and-triceps-workouts