ARMS, Part 2: Beginner/Intermediate | Advanced
VIDEO GAMES AREN’T USUALLY ASSOCIATED with fitness. But you could probably learn something about building muscle from that old Gameboy in your basement. Like most video-game systems, it lets you start with easier versions of a game when you’re a beginner and adds tougher levels of play later on. The reason: You need to keep challenging yourself in order to improve.
The same holds true for your muscles. They adapt to your exercise routine by growing, which in turn makes your workout easier. But the longer you do the same exercises the same way, the less the muscles are forced to progress. And that means you get diminishing returns on your workout investment. In this segment, we’re going to make all of the standard arm exercises guys normally use more difficult. Think of it as playing a video game on the "expert" level for the first time. You have to rise to the occasion. Follow this plan and your muscles will do the same.
Do the arm exercises first in your workout. After that, it’s up to you how to fit in exercises for other muscle groups. Here are some suggestions.
BEGINNER
Do a total-body workout two or three times a week. Try one set of eight to 12 repetitions of the following exercises after you finish your arm exercises.
INTERMEDIATE
Divide your program into two workouts, one for your upper body and one for your lower body. Perform arm exercises in the upper-body workout.
Alternate between the two taking a day off after each. So you might do the upper-body workout on Monday and Friday one week and the lower-body workout on Wednesday, then the following week do the lower-body workout on Monday and Friday and the upper-body workout on Wednesday.
Upper-body workout After arm exercises, choose one exercise each for your chest, back, and shoulders. Do two or three sets of the chest and back exercises and one or two sets for your shoulders.
Lower-body workout Choose one "hipdominant" lift—an exercise that emphasizes the hamstrings and gluteals (examples include stepups and deadlifts).
Then choose one "knee-dominant" exercise, meaning the emphasis is on the quadriceps muscles of the front of the thigh (squats, leg presses, and lunges qualify). Do two or three warmup sets and two work sets. (A work set means you’re using the most weight you can for that number of repetitions. The warmup sets should be percentages of that weight maybe 40, 60, and 80 percent. Do fewer repetitions in each successive warmup set.) Add your choice of abdominal and calf exercises.
ADVANCED
Divide your workout into four parts. Do each one once a week; don’t work out more than 2 days in a row.
The same holds true for your muscles. They adapt to your exercise routine by growing, which in turn makes your workout easier. But the longer you do the same exercises the same way, the less the muscles are forced to progress. And that means you get diminishing returns on your workout investment. In this segment, we’re going to make all of the standard arm exercises guys normally use more difficult. Think of it as playing a video game on the "expert" level for the first time. You have to rise to the occasion. Follow this plan and your muscles will do the same.
Do the arm exercises first in your workout. After that, it’s up to you how to fit in exercises for other muscle groups. Here are some suggestions.
BEGINNER
Do a total-body workout two or three times a week. Try one set of eight to 12 repetitions of the following exercises after you finish your arm exercises.
- Lat pulldown
- Squat or leg press
- Leg curl
- Dumbbell chest press
- Cable or dumbbell row
- Crunch
INTERMEDIATE
Divide your program into two workouts, one for your upper body and one for your lower body. Perform arm exercises in the upper-body workout.
Alternate between the two taking a day off after each. So you might do the upper-body workout on Monday and Friday one week and the lower-body workout on Wednesday, then the following week do the lower-body workout on Monday and Friday and the upper-body workout on Wednesday.
Upper-body workout After arm exercises, choose one exercise each for your chest, back, and shoulders. Do two or three sets of the chest and back exercises and one or two sets for your shoulders.
Lower-body workout Choose one "hipdominant" lift—an exercise that emphasizes the hamstrings and gluteals (examples include stepups and deadlifts).
Then choose one "knee-dominant" exercise, meaning the emphasis is on the quadriceps muscles of the front of the thigh (squats, leg presses, and lunges qualify). Do two or three warmup sets and two work sets. (A work set means you’re using the most weight you can for that number of repetitions. The warmup sets should be percentages of that weight maybe 40, 60, and 80 percent. Do fewer repetitions in each successive warmup set.) Add your choice of abdominal and calf exercises.
ADVANCED
Divide your workout into four parts. Do each one once a week; don’t work out more than 2 days in a row.
- Arms and shoulders
- Knee-dominant exercises (described above), plus abdominals and calves
- Chest and back
- Hip-dominant exercises (also above), plus abdominals and calves again
