The 30-Day Arm Challenge for Dramatic Size & Strength Gains

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Big arms demand immediate respect.

They are the body’s “show muscles,”; the most frequently displayed part. So the faster we can add size to our biceps, triceps, and forearms, the better.

However, most lifters fail to grow their arms. You might be one of them.

Are you having trouble making your forearms bigger? Have your biceps reached the height of their potential? Are you unable to get that amazing triceps horseshoe out?

What’s needed is an intervention — a short, sharp arms shock that will leave your bis, tris, and forearms no choice but to respond.

This 30-day arm challenge is designed to do just that.

Understanding the Arm Muscles

The arms consist of the following three muscle groups:

Biceps

The biceps brachii muscle comprises two heads — long and short. The short head originates higher than the long head on the scapular. The radius, or forearm bone, is connected to the one tendon that traverses the elbow joint and receives both the long and short heads.

The biceps are responsible for extending the elbow. They also have a small impact on shoulder flexion, which occurs when the arm extends in front of the body.

Triceps

The triceps is situated behind the biceps, on the upper arm. The biceps and triceps are opposing muscle groups so that when one contracts, the other relaxes. Since its purpose is to straighten the arm, any exercise that requires you to do so while facing resistance will engage your triceps. 

The triceps muscle has three heads:

• Medial
• Lateral 
• Long

The region immediately below the side of the shoulder is known as the outer or lateral head. This head gives the arm a thicker, more robust appearance when fully developed and originates at the shoulder socket on the scapula. The long and medial heads originate at the top of the humerus, or upper arm. The triceps tendon is attached to the olecranon process of the ulna, the bigger of the two forearm bones, where all three heads of the triceps insert. 

When completely developed, the triceps give the back of the upper arm a horseshoe shape.

Forearms

The muscles of the forearms can be divided into four groups:

• Flexors
• Extensors
• Rotators
• Extrinsic muscles

The flexor muscles are located on the side of the palm. The extensor muscles are on the side of the back of your hand. The forearm rotators supinate the hand, rotating it externally. They also pronate it to move in internally.

The fingers are moved by very small muscles divided into extrinsic muscles on the forearm and intrinsic muscles in the hand itself. 

The forearm is capable of six actions. These are:

• Wrist Flexion
• Wrist Extension
• Wrist Abduction
• Wrist Adduction
• Forearm Supination
• Forearm Pronation

Should Women Train Their Arms Differently?

No, women should not train their arms differently from men. Men and women should not only perform the same forearm, biceps, and triceps movements, but they also shouldn’t use different rep ranges. In the past, women have been advised to tone their arms by using those lovely pink lightweight dumbbells and focusing on high repetitions. That counsel, however well-intentioned it may have been, will not produce the outcomes that most women desire.

Any lady I have ever met with strong, athletic arms has managed to lift what seemed like a heavy object to them. These women’s lack of testosterone, rather than their training methods, was the main reason their arms didn’t get bulky.

The musculature of men and women is the same despite our hormones being different. As a result, this 30-day arm challenge is just as effective for women as it is for men. 

30-Day Challenge Overview

The 30-day Arm Challenge is divided into four 7-day phases as follows:

• Strength A
• Hypertrophy A
• Strength B
• Hypertrophy B

Strength and size go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other. Each week you will develop greater arm strength to propel muscle growth. You will train each body part (biceps, triceps, and forearms) twice to thrice weekly. 

Let’s now drill down on each of the four training phases:

Phase One: Strength

• Rep ranges: 4-6 & 6-8
• Focus: Strength development / Balanced strength across arm muscles
• Rep Style: Straight sets
• Main Stimulus: Central nervous system

The exercises selected for this stage are those that most people struggle with. As a result, you can improve your arm strength and balance, preparing you for the hypertrophy phase. 

You will gradually increase the weight with each set during each strength phase. Your final set will be the heaviest weight you can lift while maintaining perfect technique. As a result, if you are performing eight reps, a ninth rep would be impossible for you to complete with good form.

Phase Two: Hypertrophy

• Rep range: 10-12, 12-15, 15-20
• Focus: Muscular development (hypertrophy) / targeting muscle heads
• Rep Style: Tri-sets
• Main Stimulus: Muscular system

The goal of Phase Two is to build the various muscle heads. Tri Sets are a part of your Phase 2 exercises. You perform these three exercises back-to-back. You can rest for 10 seconds between exercises and 120 seconds before your next round. 

Phase Three: Strength

• Rep ranges: 3-5 / 5-7
• Focus: Strength development / Balanced strength across arm muscles
• Rep Style: Straight sets
• Main Stimulus: Central nervous system

During your second strength phase, you will lower your reps slightly from Phase One. Your body has already adapted to the 4-6, 6-8 rep range, so you need to go lower to continue getting stronger. You will be alternating between biceps and triceps exercises over four exercises. Rest between sets ranges between 60 and 120 seconds. 

Phase Four: Hypertrophy

• Rep range: 12
• Focus: Muscular development (Hypertrophy) / targeting muscle heads (double emphasis)
• Rep Style: Supersets
• Main Stimulus: Muscular system

During this phase, you will double down on a particular muscle head by performing supersets (i.e., Scott curls and prone incline curls for the short biceps head). This forces the body to recruit maximal muscle fibers. After each superset, you will rest for 90 seconds. The workout will consist of a bicep superset (A1 & A2) followed by a triceps superset (A3 & A4). Then, move on to your second biceps superset (B1 & B2) and a final triceps superset (B3 & B4). 

The Workouts

Here’s what the workout split for the four phases looks like for this 30-day arm challenge:

• Strength A: Days 1-8
• Hypertrophy A: Days 9-16
• Strength B: Days 17-23
• Hypertrophy B: Days 24-30

You won’t train your arms daily, as it can lead to over-training. Instead, you will train them every 48 hours. Recent research shows this is the ideal time frame for optimal hypertrophy and recovery. [2]

Here is an overview of your training days:

Day 1 Workout One	Day 2	Day 3 Workout Two	Day 4	Day 5 Workout Three	Day 6	Day 7
Day 8 Workout Four	Day 9	Day 10 Workout Five	Day 11	Day 12 Workout Six	Day 13	Day 14 Workout Seven
Day 15	Day 16 Workout Eight	Day 17	Day 18 Workout Nine	Day 19	Day 20 Workout Ten	Day 21
Day 22 Workout Eleven	Day 23	Day 24 Workout Twelve	Day 25	Day 26 Workout Thirteen	Day 27	Day 28 Workout Fourteen
Day 29	Day 30 Workout Fifteen

Phase One Workouts: Days 1-8

Your phase one workout consists of a pair of superset exercises that have you alternate a biceps and triceps exercise. Moving between the superset exercises should take you at most 10 seconds. That means you must have each exercise set and ready to go before you begin your workout. Rest for 90-120 seconds between supersets. 

Superset A

Optimized Exercise Form:

Preacher Cable Curls:

1. Take an underhand grip on the barbell or EZ curl bar before settling into a preacher curl bench position. Your chest and upper arms should be in touch with the arm pad once you adjust the seat.
2. Keeping your chin tucked the entire time, extend your arms down the pads with a slight bend in the elbows. Keep your wrists in a neutral position and use a relaxed grip. 
3. Squeeze your biceps and bend your elbows to start the upward movement while keeping your upper arms in touch with the arm pad. Lift until your shoulders are in line with the barbell or EZ bar.
4. Squeeze your biceps in the top contracted position.
5. Slowly straighten your elbows to bring the barbell back to the beginning position.

Close-Grip Bench Press:

1. Lay down on a flat bench with your feet planted on the floor. Grab a barbell with a grip that is just inside your shoulder width. 
2. Unrack the bar.
3. From a starting position with the bar hovering above your chest, slowly lower the bar to your lower chest while keeping your elbows close to your body. 
4. Press the bar firmly back up to the starting position.

SuperSet B

• Close-Grip Chin-Ups: 4 x 8,6,6,4
• Dips: 4 x 8,6,6,4

Forearms: 

• Reverse Curls: 3 x 12,10, 8

Optimized Exercise Form:

Close-Grip Chin-Ups

1. Reach up and hold the bar with a supinated grip and your little fingers about six inches apart. 
2. Pull your chin up to and over the bar by pulling with your biceps and back.
3. Holding your arms in the highest contracted position, squeeze your biceps as hard as possible for a two-second hold.
4. Lower back to starting position under control.

Dips

1. Grab parallel bars with a neutral grip, then lift yourself until your arms are completely extended. Maintain an upright body position with straight legs.
2. Now, descend by bending your elbows to bring your torso toward the floor (do not allow your elbows to flare out to the side). 
3. Push through the triceps to return to the start position. 

Reverse Curls

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and a pair of dumbbells held at arm’s length with a pronated grip in front of your thighs.
2. Maintaining a neutral spine and keeping your elbows at your sides, bring the weights up to shoulder level.
3. Lower under control and repeat.

Phase Two Workouts: Days 9-16

Your phase two workout consists of a pair of tri-sets. Moving between each exercise in the tri-sets should take at most 10 seconds. Rest for 120 seconds between tri-sets.

TriSet A

• Alternate Dumbbell Curls: 3 x 20/15/10
• Tricep Pushdowns: 3 x 20/15/10
• Incline Dumbbell Hammer Curls: 3 x 20/15/10

Optimized Exercise Form:

Alternate Dumbbell Curl

1. Hold dumbbells at your sides with your palms facing inward towards your thighs while standing with your feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Turn your right wrist to the front while keeping your elbow at your sides. Curl the weight up until your bicep is fully contracted. 
3. Lower under control reversing the wrist motion so that your palms face your thighs in the bottom position again.
4. Repeat with the other arm.

Tricep Pushdown

1. Stand in front of a high pulley cable with a rope attachment. Hold the bottom of the rope handles with your elbows pinned to your sides.
2. Your hands should be at mid-chest level at the start position. Extend your arms down and slightly outward to fully extend the triceps.
3. Return to the start position under control and repeat.

Triceps Kickbacks

1. Grab a light dumbbell in your right hand and stand with your torso at a 45-degree angle and your left hand resting on your thigh. 
2. Fully extend your right arm back from the starting position.
3. Revere and repeat, making sure not to use momentum to lift the weight.

TriSet B

• Skullcrusher: 3 x 20/15/10
• Barbell Curl: 3 x 20/15/10
• Triceps Kickbacks: 3 x 20/15/10

Forearms:

• Zottman Curl: 3 x 20/15/10

Optimized Exercise Form:

Skullcrusher

1. Lie on a flat bench with your feet firmly set on the floor. Hold a pair of dumbbells in your hands and hold them above your chest. Angle your arms slightly toward your head.
2. Keeping your elbows in, bend at the elbows to slowly bring the weight down and over your head. Do not move the position of your upper arms as you lower the dumbbells.
3. Press through the triceps to return to the start position.

Barbell Curls

1. Grab a barbell with your hands at shoulder width. 
2. Keeping your elbows at your sides, bring your forearms up while squeezing your biceps. Contract as strongly as you can in the top position. 
3. In that position, your knuckles should be at the level of your shoulders.
4. Now, slowly lower the bar to the start position. This eccentric portion of the rep should take twice as long as the concentric lifting portion.

Zottman Curls

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and a pair of dumbbells held at arm’s length with a neutral grip.
2. Supinate the dumbbells during the eccentric motion. Your palms should face the ceiling when your hands are at your chest level. 
3. Rotate your hands into a pronated (palms down) position. 
4. Slowly lower the dumbbells to the start position. 
5. Rinse and repeat.

Phase Three Workouts: Days 17-23

In phase three, you will do straight sets. Your total focus is on lifting maximum weight with perfect form. Rest as long as needed between sets to fully recover for the next set. At this stage, you should use a dip belt to add poundage to your bodyweight exercises.

• Close-Grip Bench Press: (warmup 15 reps) 4 x 7,5,5,3
• Close-Grip Chin-Up: 4 x 7,5,5,3
• Barbell Curls: 4 x 7,5,5,3
• Dips: 4 x 7,5,5,3
• Reverse Wrist Curls: 4 x 12, 10, 8, 8

Optimized Exercise Form:

Reverse Wrist Curls

1. Sit on the edge of a bench with a pair of dumbbells held with a palms-down grip. Your hands should be about eight inches apart. Rest your forearms on your knees with your wrists hanging over the edge of your knees. Make sure your forearms are parallel to each throughout the movement.
2. Extend your wrists down all the way as you allow the dumbbells to roll down your fingers.
3. From the bottom position, flex your forearms to bring the dumbbells back to the start position.

Phase Four Workouts: Days 24-30

Your phase four workouts consist of nine exercises. They are divided into four supersets, two each for biceps and triceps and a standard set for forearms. Rest for 90 seconds after each superset.

Superset A1

• Preacher Cable Curls: (warmup 15 reps) 4 x 12
• Incline Dumbbell Curls: (warmup 15 reps) 4 x 12

Optimized Exercise Form:

Incline Dumbbell Curl

1. Set the angle on an incline bench to 45 degrees.
2. Grab a pair of dumbbells and sit on the bench with your arms hanging at your side. 
3. Rather than starting with your arms hanging down in a fully vertical or neutral position, begin the exercise with your forearms about 10 percent from the vertical position. Your palms should be facing the ceiling.
4. Flex at the elbow to bring the right-handed dumbbell to the shoulder; contract the bicep in the top position.
5. Lower under control, again stopping 10 percent short of full extension.
6. Repeat with the left arm and continue alternating to complete your rep count. 

SuperSet A2

• Single-Arm Triceps Pushdown: 4 x 12
• Reverse Dips: 4 x 12

Forearms:

• Farmer’s Walk: 3 x 20 paces

Optimized Exercise Form:

Single-Arm Triceps Pushdown

1. Attach a single-handle attachment to a high pulley cable.
2. Stand in front of the pulley, facing it. Grasp the handle in your right hand and hold it at chest level with your elbows at your sides. Adjust your positioning so that the cable is taut in the start position.
3. Extend your arm and contract your triceps.
4. Reverse the motion to return to the start position, keeping your elbow at your sides.

Reverse Dips

1. Position yourself in front of a chair with your palms resting on the chair seat and feet on the ground about two feet in front of it. Your hands should be about six inches apart and your knees bent. 
2. Lower your body toward the floor by bending at the elbows, going down all the way. 
3. Push through the triceps to return to the start position. 

Farmer’s Walk

1. Grab a heavy pair of dumbbells off the rack and hold them at arm’s length by your sides.
2. Walk around your workout area, taking 20 paces away from the dumbbell rack and then returning. This should take 3-60 seconds.
3. Replace the dumbbells on the rack.

SuperSet B1

• Close-Grip Chin-Up – (warmup 15 reps) 4 x 12
• Alternate Cable Curls – (warmup 15 reps) 4 x 12

Optimized Exercise Form

Alternate Cable Curls

1. Set the cable pulleys at their lowest level.
2. Stand in front of the machine, facing away from it, and grab the cable handles.
3. Adjust your position so the cables are taut, with your arms slightly behind your torso and elbows at your sides.
4. Flex the right elbow to curl your hand up to your shoulder. Squeeze the biceps tightly in the top position.
5. Lower under control and repeat with the left arm.
6. Alternate sides to complete your rep count. 

SuperSet B2

• Close-Grip Bench Press: 4 x 12
• Triceps Push-Ups: 4 x 12

Optimized Exercise Form:

Triceps Push-Ups

1. Get down in the standard push-up position, but with your hands together under your body so that your thumbs and first fingers are touching. The gap between your hands will form a diamond shape.
2. Maintaining a tight core and a straight line from head to toe, lower your chest to the floor.
3. Push back to the start position.

30-Day Arm Challenge Nutrition

You will never grow your arms unless you eat a personalized nutrient-dense diet. Your body can only work with the building materials you provide it. Even if you are following the best arm workout on the planet, you will not add a single gram of muscle to your body without creating the right sort of caloric surplus.  

Your workout places stress on your muscles. The type of workouts in this program will cause micro-tears in the muscle fibers. As a result, when you walk out of the gym, you will be weaker and smaller. Only when you feed the muscle with the protein and carbs needed to repair the micro-tears in your muscle fibers can you benefit from all your hard work. Besides repairing the muscle, your body will add a little bit more size to the muscle fiber to meet a similar challenge in the future.

You must create a daily caloric surplus to give your body the nutrients needed to build muscle. That means you are taking in more calories than you use.  

To determine how many calories you need, multiply your body weight by 20. So, a 180-pound guy needs to consume 3,600 calories to give his muscle cells the building blocks for creating new mass.

Those 3,600 calories should be divided into six meals of equal size and spaced around three hours apart to get the most benefit from them. Each meal should have 50% carbohydrates, 30% protein, and 20% healthy fats as its macronutrient ratio. Aim for one gram of protein per pound of body weight. 

These are the best protein sources to include in your mass gain diet:

•  Eggs 
•  Dairy products
•  Whey protein powder
•  Lean beef
•  Chicken breast
•  Lean pork
•  Fish

You should also be consuming generous servings of these starchy and fibrous carbohydrates:

•  Potatoes
•  Yams
•  Brown rice
•  Corn
•  Pumpkin
•  Broccoli
•  Asparagus
•  Brussels sprouts
•  Cauliflower

Maintaining Your Gains

The week after you complete the 30-day arm challenge, you should take a break from training your biceps. Then follow a periodization program where you spread out each training phase from a week to a month. Here’s how it will look:

• Month One: Hypertrophy 1
• Month Two: Strength 1
• Month Three: Hypertrophy 2
• Month Four: Strength 2

Take a week off from training at the end of the second and fourth phases. You can follow this periodization program continuously to make ongoing gains. 

Myths Around Arm Training

Several persistent myths surrounding arm training must be wiped away before every lifter can get the best bang for his lift. Let’s put straight the four most common arm workout fallacies:

Myth #1: You Can Build Arms with a Partial Range of Motion

Everywhere you look, whether in your local gym or on YouTube, you see guys doing partial reps, usually with weights that are far too heavy for them. Make no mistake; this is not a smart way to train. You need to work a muscle through its full range of motion for full development and maximum strength.

Myth #2: Standing Barbell Curls Are All You Need

The standing barbell curl has been the go-to exercise for the biceps since the beginning of organized weight training. As a result, you see a lot of guys rely on it as their sole bicep builder. That, however, is a mistake. Barbell curls allow you to use a lot of weight but have limitations. They do not allow for grip supination to target the different heads of the biceps. 

When it comes to the triceps, a lot of guys spend their time on exercises of dubious value that do not allow for much weight, such as triceps kickbacks, when they could be doing moves that allow for a lot of weight, like close grip bench press and dips. 

The bottom line is that you do not want to rely on just one or two exercises for arm development – variation is a must for overall development.

Myth #3: It’s All About the Weight

The standing barbell curl has got to be the most abused exercise in the gym. The reason is simple — people try to impress others with how much weight they can curl. As a result, they use so much body swing and momentum that their biceps are getting no stimulation at all. 

Don’t be like those guys — leave your ego behind and focus on perfecting your exercise form and increasing your strength. Remember, 5 pounds curled perfectly is much better than 10 pounds with a bad form.

While we’re on the subject of weight, progressive overload should be gradual. So, rather than jumping from a 10-pound to a 15-pound dumbbell on the curl (a 50% increase), look to add just a single pound on the next set (a 10% increase). If your gym has microplates, you can make jumps of just 1-2%, which is even better.

Myth #4: You Can Wing It

The old saying that those who fail to plan, plan to fail is as true on the gym floor as anywhere else. You cannot turn up and train by feel if you are serious about getting results. Instead, you should record every exercise, set, rep, and weight in a training journal. That will allow you to know exactly how many sets, reps, and pounds to target on the next workout.

Most Common Arm Training Mistakes

There is generally no shortage of enthusiasm when it comes to arm training. There are, however, many common mistakes that tend to hold people back from getting anywhere near achieving their potential. Here are three of the common arm training mistakes and what to do about them:

Over-Reliance on Isolation Exercises

Which exercise will get you to bigger arms faster, curls or chin-ups? Pushdowns or triceps dips?

When you encounter someone who trains frequently but has poor arm development, they are usually weak for their body weight in the fundamental heavy compound pulling and pushing exercises. 

All exercises can be divided into two main groups — isolation (single joint motions) or compound (gross motor activities). Compound movements often involve two joints, whereas isolation movements only involve one. Curls are single-joint exercises solely using the elbow, whereas chin-ups are compound exercises using both the elbow and the shoulder. Compound movements are the type of exercise that contribute the most to muscle growth.  So, you won’t be able to add inches of thick, powerful muscle if you don’t focus on getting stronger at challenging pulling and pushing exercises like chin-ups or presses.

Lack of Arm Training Frequently

In the early stages of weight training, before drugs and protein powders, the training methods differed significantly from those employed today. They worked out their entire bodies three to five days a week, including their arms. Nowadays, training a body part more than twice per week is uncommon. In fact, the most popular bro split involves working out one body part per day and then working out every body part once weekly.

The introduction of steroids is credited with starting the tendency to train body parts sparingly. After bodybuilders began using steroids, training more than once weekly became unnecessary. All they had to do to gain muscle was pound a muscle group long and hard once every week. But for the vast majority of natural lifters, this simply does not work. 

You transmit a signal to your muscles to grow when you lift weights. This signal can be measured using a process known as “muscle protein synthesis.” According to studies, this signal increases significantly after exercise, peaks at around 24-48 hours, and then rapidly declines. It reaches baseline and even deviates from baseline after 48 to 72 hours. [1]

This is not a concern for steroid users, but it is for natural lifters. Additionally, studies reveal that the duration of this muscle-building signal decreases with expertise. Only 14 hours may pass with an elevated signal for advanced lifters. You need to frequently send that muscle-building signal if you are like most participants in these trials. Maybe even every day. Sounds simple enough, but if you train and pound your arms daily, the cumulative damage will make you extremely sore, swollen, and over-trained. So, how can we circumvent this issue? 

By adjusting the intensity.

Start by exercising your arms thrice weekly at a relatively high intensity. On these days, work out hard, but don’t lift to failure; instead, stop one or two reps shy of it. Divide the volume you currently perform for your arms each week into three workouts.

For most people, this translates to 12–21 sets overall per week for each muscle. For instance, if your objective is to complete 12 sets over the week, perform four sets on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. 

Allowing Workouts to Get Stale

The saying “everything works, but nothing works forever” is certainly true when it comes to gaining muscle. No matter how great your training plan, exercise, and rep range, your body will eventually stop responding. People who find themselves in this scenario frequently increase the intensity or make minor adjustments, such as concentrating more on muscle contractions. They usually end up hitting the dreaded training plateau.

Unless you regularly alter your programming, your body won’t be able to build muscle consistently. Although switching up your workouts is crucial, switching up your rep range is even more important. Most rep ranges are beneficial for gaining muscle, but training in each one is a completely distinct experience. 

Consider contrasting sets of 20 reps with sets of doubles. Both rep ranges create muscle, although being very different. Low reps (1–5 reps), moderate reps (8–12 reps), and high reps (15–20 reps) are the three main rep ranges for gaining muscle. Each one of them has been shown to increase muscle mass. 

Use low rep ranges to maximize the development of grinding strength, use the low rep ranges. The traditional bodybuilder rep range for muscular development is the moderate rep range. In research, the 8–12 rep range consistently produces the highest muscle growth when other rep ranges are compared head-to-head. Most people undoubtedly get trapped in this rep range for this reason, and after being locked for a few months, their muscles cease reacting. 

When used in a cycle with other rep ranges, going as high as 30 reps, this rep range is fantastic. Workouts with this rep range may seem like marathon sessions. They produce the craziest skin-bursting muscle pumps, but they are also draining. Remember that up to 70% of your arm’s volume consists of fluid and non-muscle fiber components. By increasing the ability of your arms to hold more non-muscle fiber structures and fluids, they will grow bigger if you train them to produce insane pumps with high reps. Start with a single rep range, then switch to a different range after a few weeks. Each time, observe how your arms respond.

Key Arm Training Principles

Here are five principles that need to form the foundation of your 30-day arm challenge:

1. Intensity + Volume

Many people who want to focus on arms development are relatively weak in terms of their arm strength. As a result, they cannot lift enough weight to build bigger arms consistently. You will not progress unless you combine intensity with volume. 

2. Variety

If you repeatedly do the same thing, your body will adapt and stop responding. As a result, periodization has been a part of organized weightlifting from the beginning. That is why you must switch between intensification (strength work) and accumulation (hypertrophy work). 

3. Targeted Stimulation

The key job of the arm muscles is elbow flexion and extension. The elbows flexors consist of four muscles:

• The brachialis
• The brachioradialis
• The pronator teres
• The bicep brachii (long head + short head)

Each of these muscles responds differently to stimuli. For example, the brachialis responds better to force, while the brachioradialis responds better to speed. Changing the grip also changes the focus of the exercise. A pronated grip targets the brachialis, while a supinated grip hits the biceps brachii. Even though the exercises may seem similar, they have a very different effect on the arm muscles.

4. Prioritization

To prioritize your arm development, you must train them at the beginning of the week. This applies to your training week cycle and your specific workout. So, arm training should be on Day One, and you should train your arms first during that workout. That way, you can pour all your training energy into your arm workout while you are fresh.

5. Progressive Overload

When you work a muscle, the stress leads to micro tears within the muscle fiber. Proper nutrition and rest allow the muscle to get bigger and stronger to meet that stress in the future. So the muscle can meet the previous stress level in the next workout. Unless you add extra stress in the form of either more weight or reps, it will not be overly stressed, and the micro-tears that lead to growth will not occur.

Read also: Progressive Overload: The Science Behind Maximizing Muscle Growth

Bonus Section: How To Improve Arm Vascularity

Nothing says badass like a pair of big and vascular arms. Vascularity refers to the clearly visible veins running throughout the body. A vast network of veins crisscross your body. These veins are typically not visible as they are covered by body fat that lies underneath the skin.

The pinnacle of fitness is having a muscular body that is also vascular. It announces that you are in excellent physical condition with little body fat. Of course, there are a lot of folks who have never set foot inside a gym but have visible veins. Some people are genetically predisposed to develop insane vascularity. There are also several medical problems that increase a person’s vascularity.

Even if you were born on the wrong side of the veiny genetic pool, there are definitely things you can do to improve your vascularity:

1. Reduce Your Body Fat Percentage

The more fat you have, the less noticeable your veins will be. Therefore, reducing your body fat percentage is the first thing you should do to highlight your vascularity.

Men must be in the 10 to 12 percent body fat range to have clearly visible veins. On the other hand, women must be even lower. 

The first thing you need to do is enter a negative calorie balance. The difference between the calories you burn off and consume should ideally be 500 calories.

Second, drastically reduce your complex carb intake. The timeframe immediately following your workouts is the only time you should be eating carbohydrates. Approximately an hour after your workout, consume a meal or smoothie that is 50% carbs and 30% protein.

Add steady-state cardio to your weight training sessions if you’re trying to get vascular. Most of the calories you burn while exercising with high-intensity interval training (HIIT) will come from your glycogen stores. The calories you burn from steady-state cardio will come from your body fat reserves.

2. Strength Training

Contrary to popular belief, doing a lot of high rep sets with lesser weights is not the greatest approach to developing arm vascularity. The best technique to develop size and vascularity simultaneously is through heavy training in the 8–12 rep range. Blood pumps through the body more intensely the harder you train. The veins enlarge as a result, making them easier to observe.

You should end your workout with high-repetition sets to achieve a maximum pump. This will saturate the working muscle with blood, giving it the impression that it is about to explode. This kind of exercise is a component of Hany Rambod’s FST-7 program for bodybuilders trying to get into a super-ripped (and veiny) condition.

3. Include Isometrics

You should perform isometric holds during your recovery period and after your workout to further improve your vascularity.

4. Cut Water

A layer of fat beneath the skin will prevent your veins from peeking through. Water can also get between your veins and your skin. The bodybuilders on the Mr. Olympia stage appear so diced because they have removed most of the water from under their skin.

Wrap Up

The 30-Day arm challenge works. So long as you stick to the plan, you will develop significantly bigger and stronger biceps, triceps, and forearms. And those arms will not only be big but also defined. Put your all into this program with total dedication, belief, consistency, and grit, and you’ll be rewarded with arms to impress! 

References

1. MacDougall JD, Gibala MJ, Tarnopolsky MA, MacDonald JR, Interisano SA, Yarasheski KE. The time course for elevated muscle protein synthesis following heavy resistance exercise. Can J Appl Physiol. 1995 Dec;20(4):480-6. doi: 10.1139/h95-038. PMID: 8563679.
2. https://www.patreon.com/posts/frequency-66701244