There is nothing like thick and sculpted arms to get you noticed, fast. If you’re reading this, chances are, you’d like to stretch your shirt sleeves and serve notice to the world that you are not only in shape, but paid your dues; you’re certified to carry lethal sidearms – welcome to the gun show.

Big, shredded arms, complete an imposing physique like a set of 24 inch chrome wheels finish off a Hummer. They are the most visible attribute you have and a short sleeved shirt is all you need to show off your hard work in the gym. Huge guns command instant respect and a bodybuilder who lacks them is never taken seriously. I’ve put together a wide array of sure-fire exercises to get the results you are looking for. This is some of the best ammunition you will definitely want to add to your arm training arsenal. Anyone serious about adding inches and gaining pounds of lean muscle to their guns should pull up a seat and read on.

Over the years I have used several different rep ranges and training methods. Of every variation I’ve tried, 12-15 reps is where I have noticed my best gains. 12-15 is not a magic number but it does allow you to use heavy weight in a controlled manner and get a sufficient number of repetitions in to pump the target muscle.

The Pump. What is it? How will it help you? I'm going to take you and your guns on a journey into Pump-Based Training, but first let's examine what the pump is and why it's so effective. Every rep causes both a stretch and a contraction forcing blood and nutrients into in your working muscles. This causes muscle fibers to elongate, swell and create micro tears.

If your goal is to increase muscle mass, you need to create the biggest pump possible in the target muscles. Key isolation motions we will cover here create a voluminous pump, and simultaneously fully fatigue and tear as much muscle fiber as possible. In nature, each stimulus has a response. Your body's response to Pump-Based Training is to increase muscle protein production to repair the muscle fiber micro tears.

Your ongoing dedication to Pump-Based Training forces your body to respond by gaining both strength and size. Continual and gradual increases in along with variations in the exercises from session to session, the body will continue to adapt and add muscle mass as a result of this.

During intense Pump-Based Training, the body is pumping 4-8 times its regular amount of cardiac output (blood volume) from 5L/min to 20-40L/min and is an optimum time to intake nutrients which are beneficial to enhance pump, growth and recovery. Furthermore, intake of properly timed vitamins/minerals and nutrients before, during and after training will optimize results, in addition to adequate amount of recovery time between weight training sessions. In the next issue of Status, I will discuss these in detail in my article entitled “The ABC’s of Anabolism”- a virtual Coles notes on everything to do outside the gym, to make the most of your time spent inside.

Awesome pumping exercise.

Position: Rather than always performing the traditional standing dumbbell kickbacks, I sometimes prefer to do these lying on an incline bench. Set the bench to a medium incline (30 degrees approx.) and lie face down, with the head just past the top of the bench.

Movement: Attempt to raise the dumbbells, in a kickback motion, past parallel with the ground. This will keep much tension on the triceps and create an almost painful, massive pump. Keep the repetitions constant, beginning the next rep immediately after completion of the preceding one-pumping as much blood into the triceps as humanly possible. I also alternate grips between a hammer/neutral grip and palms facing down. This variation will target the all three heads of the triceps (long, medial and lateral)

This motion is a must for adding mass to the triceps, due to the fact that it works all three heads of the triceps. Since this is a unilateral motion, each arm works independently and has an equal amount of workload placed on the muscle eliminating any compensation for the weaker arm.

Position: Take a pair of dumbbells and sit in a low rise seat with back support. Extend both arms fully until the triceps are flexed. Begin to lower the dumbbells in a controlled motion, behind the head, until you have gained a maximum stretch in the triceps.

Movement: Keep the elbows as vertical as possible to maintain maximum tension on the target muscles (triceps). Return the weight back up to the starting position, twist the wrists, so that the palms face forward creating a peak contraction in the triceps.

This is one of my “meat and potatoes” mass building exercises for the triceps.

Position: Take a cambered bar and sit in a low rise seat with back support and begin the motion in the fully extended position, above the head.

Movement: Allow the bar to come down towards the back of your head in a full range of motion to achieve a maximum stretch in the triceps. Do not attempt to lock the elbows parallel to each other; instead allow them to drift into their natural plane minimizing the stress on the joint. After the bar has been lowered, raise the bar with the triceps until reaching the fully extended starting position. This exercise is the one of the best for adding size to your triceps, but is also an easy way to injure the elbows if performed incorrectly.

Use a high cable pulley and select a v-bar, cambered bar or straight bar. Mixing it up from session to session will keep your muscles from becoming accustomed to the same movement. Stimulating all areas of your triceps which will ensure you pack on more mass!

Position: Stand one step back from the cable and lean forward, maintaining an arch in the back and keeping your knees slightly bent. This will reduce the amount of stress to the abdominal muscles during the motion and will enable you to place maximum tension on the triceps.

Movement: Keep the elbows tight to the body and press the bar down until the arms have reached full extension. Pause in the flexed, contracted position for a half second and then begin the next rep by slowly raising the bar to the starting position. The forearms should be the only parts moving during this motion, isolating the triceps and creating a vicious burn and engorging your triceps with a volumizing pump.

A great warm up exercise for the triceps and the elbow joints and adds more detail to the triceps.

Position: Using a high cable pulley with a rope attachment, face away from the weight stack. Grasp the rope and take two large steps forward. Lean down with upper body until parallel with the floor and remain in this position throughout.

Movement: Extend the rope past your head until the arms are in a straight, extended position, creating a peak contraction in the triceps. Next, allow the arms to return to the bent, relaxed starting position until the forearms are touching the biceps, with a full range of motion. The overhead triceps rope extension is also a safe way to use negative repetitions and drop sets to push the muscles past failure.

Bodyweight dips have become a staple for me over the years. These are often performed for the lower pecs during a chest workout, with the triceps acting as secondary muscles. However, with a slight adjustment to the angle of the body, the triceps can be isolated and can become the primary target muscle.

Position: Perform dips on parallel bars or a gravitron machine, with a grip around shoulder width.

Movement: Lower your body in an upright position until you feel a stretch in the triceps. Then press yourself back up to the starting position, with arms fully extended and a flex in the triceps. Pause for a second in a peak contraction and then proceed with the next repetition. This exercise works for the pump so well, because of the amount of tension you are able to focus on the triceps. Completing your reps at different speeds and pausing for static contractions from time to time will activate the maximal number of both slow and fast twitch muscle fibers. If completing sets of 12-15 with only the bodyweight becomes easy, additional resistance can be achieved by incorporating a weight belt and plates. Conversely, if attaining under 6-8 reps is not possible with one’s bodyweight, use a gravitron machine with an assisting, counterbalanced pad under the knees to complete 12-15 repetitions. This is the time to take that unnecessary walk to the fountain to showoff how pumped you are, despite the fact that you have a gallon of water with you at all times. Even if the fountain is out of order, your favorite mirror is bound to be somewhere in that area.

This is a must at the end of every tricep training session. After hitting your triceps with a barrage of exercises, fully fatigue your muscles by hitting some close grip pushups off a dumbbell or a step. The catch is, you will do these unilaterally, alternating from one side to the other.

Position: Set a heavy dumbbell on the floor, in an upright position and place your hands on it. Fully extend your arms in a pushup position, with legs wide to maintain balance.

Movement: Remove one hand and place it on the floor, about shoulder width from the dumbbell and lower your chest towards the floor, keep your arm close to your body to maintain focus and tension on the triceps. Push back up and return your hand to the top of the dumbbell and then alternate arms. Once you can no longer complete the alternating unilateral pushups, keep both hands on the dumbbell and do a few more close-grip pushups until you are totally spent.

I always begin my biceps workout with hammer curls. This mass building motion is great for targeting the brachialis and the brachioradialis. Well developed brachialis cause the biceps to appear wider from the front and add that finished look to the arms. You will begin to notice a much more full appearance to the arms once the brachialis has been targeted, in addition to the biceps brachi.

Position: Begin by grasping two dumbbells at the sides of your body, with the palms facing each other.

Movement: Curl the weight up with one arm, towards the shoulder, keeping the elbow tight to the body until you have achieved peak biceps contraction . Do not turn the weight over, your palms must face inward throughout the motion, not upward. Lower the weight and proceed with the opposite arm. Perform two warm up sets. The third set I use a style borrowed from IFBB pro David Henry. Select a weight that will help you achieve failure at 10 repetitions. After completion of this set to failure, set the dumbbells down and rest for 10 seconds. Next pick up the same dumbbells again and curl until failure. Rest for another 10 seconds and perform one final set until failure. Do this and your Pump-Based Training will rise to a whole new level. Try this style for other sets too.

This motion is great for isolating just the biceps. Using a supinated grip (palm up) to focus on the inner biceps brachii or hammer grip to target the brachialis.

Position: With feet a little wider than shoulder width apart lean forward until the upper body is parallel with the floor. Grasp a dumbbell in one hand and place the opposite hand against the other knee to minimize any stress to the lower back.

Movement: With arm hanging perpendicular to the floor, curl the weight up keeping all the stress on the bicep and be sure to not let the elbow drift. Avoid any swinging or momentum to complete the repetition. I like to use ascending sets here as one arm has time to rest while the other is working. As I increase the weight, I decrease the number of reps ie. 30 lbs for 15, 40 lbs for 12 and 50 lbs for 10. The next set I will begin with 40 lbs for 15, 50 lbs for 12 and then 60 for 10.

(Palms up) employ my Modified Alternating Isometric Hold/Curl Technique (MAIHCT). An Isometric hold is when you resist against an object for an extended period of time in the same position.

Position: Sit on an incline bench set to a steep incline of 75% approx.

Movement: Take a set of dumbbells and curl up a single rep with both arms and hold both arms in the flexed position creating a peak contraction in the biceps. While holding the weight with one arm in the fully contracted position, lower the opposite arm through a full range of motion. As the dumbbell of the working arm is returned to the top and contracts, the opposite arm will then lower and work while the other remains tightly contracted. I like to use this method with every exercise to really bring out hardness, definition and vascularity. The use of the incline bench will create an angle at which the bicep is well isolated and unable to recruit secondary muscles or momentum to complete the repetition.

This exercise is great to bombard the biceps and really focus on the peak contraction maximizing the pump.

Position: Set an incline bench at a steep angle (approx 75 degrees). Stand behind it and sink your armpit in as deep as you can, resting your tricep on the pad.

Movement: Slowly lower the dumbbell down toward the bench, about 90% of the way down, maintaining tension throughout. Flex hard to bring the weight back up to the top , pausing in this position for a half second. Keep the reps quick and steady. Focus on pumping as much blood into the muscle on each successive rep, like a hydraulic pump forcing fluid in to propel a machine into motion. This will technique will create a massive swelling in the biceps and expand them to new dimensions. This is also a great opportunity to incorporate the ascending set technique as mentioned above.

With elbows against ribcage to support (isometric hold for last 5 reps). Back in the Golden days of bodybuilding, Arnold Schwarzenegger was photographed doing standing straight bar curls with a sling around the neck which held a metal brace that went over the abdominals and behind the triceps. This allowed Arnold to fully isolate the biceps, by having a portable preacher bench so to speak, strapped to his body. Here, he was able to eliminate elbow motion and maximize tension and workload on the biceps, thus allowing for greater isolation and over time, resulting in better gains.

Since Arnold has two of the best peaked biceps in bodybuilding history, I thought I would incorporate one of his favorite motions into my regimen. Unfortunately, these braces have become a thing of the past and are very difficult to find. This is where you have to get creative in the gym you train at, since you don't always find the equipment you are looking for, you may have to pull a McGyver and make your own.

Position: Grab two dumbbells, most likely less than half the weight you would use for regular standing curls and place the arms out in front of the body, resting the elbows against the ribcage. Lean with your back against an incline bench set almost at 90 degrees (straight up).

Movement: Raise the dumbbells either palms supinated (up) or in hammer position (neutral grip) until you have achieved a peak contraction in the biceps. Lower the dumbbells 90% of the way down, until almost at full extension, but always maintain tension on the biceps.

This motion I borrowed from the Great 8 time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman, who also possesses two of the most impressive bicep peaks in history.

Position: Stand at a low cable pulley and turn your back towards the weight stack. Grasp the bar and direct the cable through the legs, standing in a bent, forward position, maintaining an arch in the back at all times. This will keep constant tension on the biceps from the top to the bottom of the motion, giving them no place to run or hide until finished the final excruciating, expansive rep.

Movement: Raise the bar to peak contraction, then lower and extend the arms almost all the way down. Do not fully extend the arms, as this removes the tension from the biceps and can overstretch them, resulting in injury to the biceps tendon. This is a great motion for adding detail to the biceps. Drop sets and static contractions are well suited for this exercise.

Be sure to stretch as much as possible, before, during and after your training session. This will elongate the muscles and prepare them for the impending punishment. Stretching is also important between every set as this will keep muscles loose to avoid injury while facilitating growth. It should be noted that one should not overstretch, but lightly pull the muscle until it feels tight, then hold this stretch for 10 seconds.

Pump-Based Training is also responsible for stretching the muscles. As the muscles become engorged with blood, the muscle fascia expands. The greater the pump, the more ability the muscle has to grow. Now you have all the ammo you need to have your guns locked and loaded for battle with the iron. A beginner should try 2-3 exercises for each bodypart. An intermediate to advanced level trainer (3-5 years of consistent training), should aim for 3-4 exercises for each bodypart and a total of 3-4 sets per exercise. Try to incorporate drop sets, supersets and ascending sets to maximize pump and muscle fatigue.

My training philosophy usually encompasses 3-4 sets for each exercise:

• Set 1 (warm up) begin with a weight you can easily do 30 times, but do this for 15)
• Set 2 - select a weight that you can do for 20 reps but only do 15
• Set 3 (working set) - choose a weight that will achieve failure in the muscles by 12-15 repetitions.
• Set 4 (optional) drop set – when you want to fully fatigue the target muscle. Select a weight that will reach failure by 8-10 reps, then immediately cut the weight to just above half, perform another 8-10 reps and drop the weight one final time to just above half and work until absolute failure. Then hold the last rep in a static contraction (for as long as possible).
• Superset- The pairing of two exercises
• Trisets- The grouping of three exercises
• Giant sets- The grouping of four or more exercises
  
  

I also train bis after back and tris after chest. Grouping triceps with chest for example is beneficial because the triceps are already pre exhausted from all the pressing while training chest. Once pre exhausted, the triceps are easily fully fatigued with two to three of the above motions. Same goes for biceps. The biceps are secondary muscles used in all the pulling motions during back training. Since the goal of training any muscle group is to fully pump and fatigue the muscles, pairing a secondary muscle with a primary muscle in the same workout will easily achieve this. Then I give my arms their own day at the end of the week with deadlifts.

Now you have the combat and tactical training necessary to build guns like the pros. Each time you enter the gym, you need to treat it like your battle ground and wage a war with the weights. Remember that persistence and consistency will be the tools that lead you into your campaign each session, on the odyssey towards building massive arms. There is no substitute for hard work, determination and dedication. If you apply all of these to your training and everyday life, you will achieve things far beyond your original goals and expectations. One great man once started with a goal of creating mountains out of his biceps and that won him 7 Olympia Titles. Next, he took those guns and stormed the silver screen. Then he ran for Governor of California…and won.

Andre Rzazewski is a successful certified personal trainer, competitive bodybuilder and fitness model. He has been featured in MuscleMag International and Planet Muscle and is a regular contributor to STATUS Fitness Magazine.  He was the 2008 Winner of the Elite Body Building title at UFE (Ultimate Fitness Events) and 1st Heavyweight and Overall Champion at the 2007 Musclemania Canadian National Championship.

Andre is an outspoken advocate of the ALLMAX line of products and regularly consumes MUSCLEPRIME pre-workout mix, ISOFLEX shakes, TESTOFX Hardcore and Glutamine to speed up recovery from his intense workouts. Since Andre started using MUSCLEPRIME, he loves the mental focus it provides his workouts and has sworn that he will never train without it.

This article was featured in the Winter 2009 issue of STATUS magazine, if you are interested in more articles like this by Andre Rzazewski, subscribe to Status Magazine.

You can find out more about Andre on his personal website at www.totrainer.com  or you can reach him via email at andre@naturalprotrainer.com.