Better Arms, Less Work

I can't tell you how many people come up to me and ask, "Sandy, how do you get your arms to look like that? How often do you train them?" They're always surprised by my answer.

I guess you could say that my upper arms get worked several times a week. However, you'll only see me specifically curling and doing triceps exercises for just a few sets each week. The belief that working a body part more will "shape" and "tone" the area has to be one of the biggest myths I see, and it's especially made by women.

And I wish, oh, how I wish, that our bodies worked that way — trust me, I'd never leave the outer thigh machine — but that's just not the way it is! Yet, everyday I see women in the gym doing curls, curls, curls, and extensions, extensions, extensions. I have yet to see it work for anyone because, unfortunately, it takes a little more than just arm work to develop great arms.

Why You Don't Have the Arms You Want... Yet

There are several top reasons why your arms don't look the way you'd like them too, and lucky for you, I'm about to break 'em down, sort 'em out, and let you in on the solutions.

#1) Your Bodyfat is Too High

With all the curls, curls, curls, and extensions, extensions, extensions, you've been doing, you think you'd see at least some definition in your arms, right? Well, um... wrong!

The truth is, you probably do have some muscle in there, but if your bodyfat is too high, you won't be able to actually see the muscles. It's just like those people you always see in the ab training area of the gym.

You know, the ones who are incredibly overweight but insist on ab rolling and crunching away, hoping to get a magical six-pack. I'm trying to say this nicely; the six-pack is in there somewhere. The bottom line is that you can't see muscle under too much fat.

Solution: Losing bodyfat is (obviously) the only answer.

Increase your cardio so that you're doing 20-35 minutes, 5-7 days a week, and eat for fat loss — you know, the usual things like protein in every meal, meals three hours apart, focus on low glycemic carbs and vegetables, healthy fats, etc.

As your bodyfat drops, you'll start to see your hard-earned muscles appearing like magic. Quick, go tell the ab roller people your secret.

#2) You Don't Do Enough Compound Movements

The great thing about compound movements is that, not only do they work your arms, but they activate a greater amount of total muscle fibers, and elevate your heart rate, too. Greater muscle activation and an increase in heart rate leads to building more muscle, a faster metabolic rate, and more calories being burned during and after your workout.

Remember why we want to burn more calories?

Our arms already get a lot of indirect work when performing compound movements such as push-ups, bench presses, chin-ups, pulldowns, rows, and shoulder presses. In other words, your arms assist in just about every upper body compound movement you do. But, like we talked about earlier, many people love their curls, curls, curls, and extensions, extensions, extensions more than anything else.

Solution: Compound movements should make up 70-80% of your workout.

Like I said, compound movements not only burn more calories, but also lead to greater gains in muscle mass. And you know what that means... more muscle and more fat loss. Remembering what we figured out in the first step — less bodyfat makes your arm muscles more visible — it's a win-win situation!

#3) You're Not Eating Enough Protein

Think of a plant. Plants don't grow unless they're given plenty of water and sunlight. Your muscles are the same way. They won't look healthy or flourish if they're not given resistance training and the proper nutrients to allow growth and recovery.

Solution: After you apply the stress of resistance training, the quickest and most efficient way to properly replenish your muscles is by consuming a liquid protein and carbohydrate drink. Give Surge a try, or Grow! Whey mixed in a blender with some mixed berries or a banana.

Keep in mind that your body is constantly recovering from training (assuming that you train enough). So, your body needs a constant supply of protein in every meal throughout the day, in order to support muscle growth, recovery, and fat loss. You can't just gulp down a shake at the end of your workout and expect your arms to blossom. It takes a little more consistency than that.

#4) You Don't Lift Heavy Enough

This is a very common thing with women, and you all know it. Most of you reading this are past believing the myth that lifting weights will make you "big and bulky," so please, get out of that lightweight rep range. Enough with the sets of 15-20 reps!

Wrong, wrong, and wrong!

I tell my clients that rep range is for old people or people working bodyparts in rehab. I'll sometimes hear, "But... it is heavy." Okay, by the 20th rep, those few fibers that you're actually activating may start to get a little fatigued (and bored). But if you can do that many reps, the load isn't nearly heavy enough to recruit many muscle fibers.

Solution: Add weight!

For optimal benefit, stay in the 8-12 rep range. But every now and then, add 5 or 10 pounds and see how many reps you can do, using good form, of course. Don't be afraid of going heavy! Experiment with sets of 3-6 reps. Get those fast twitch fibers firing.

#5) Your Form Sucks

Have you ever watched a person's form when doing curls? Next time you're at the gym, go take a look at someone doing standing bicep curls. Specifically, watch their elbow joint.

In most cases, it only moves about 10 degrees. Notice how their elbows come forward as they raise the weight, and then move back as they lower the weight, and their arms stay bent. Their joint angle and range of motion barely changes!

It's amazing this guy survived the workout and became Governor of California.

If you were to stop that person and have them straighten their arms fully at the bottom position, I'd bet my bottle of Hot-Rox that they wouldn't be able to lift that same weight. (Note: Don't really approach someone like this, you might cause a scene. Especially with those guys; they're very sensitive, you know.)

Solution: Use proper form and a full range of motion!

You can't activate many muscle fibers if you only move your arms an inch or three. In a bicep curl, for example, straighten your arms, take slight pause at the bottom, and then lift the weight up explosively, but under control, and stop just short of having vertical forearms (to keep tension on the muscle). Briefly pause again up top, and then lower and repeat. That is a full rep.

The 8-Week Arm Attack

Here's a program that puts it all together for you! There are three days of lifting to be done with a day off in between. I used Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in my example.

The sets and reps (sets x reps) are listed for each week. Your rest period can be anywhere from 30-75 seconds. These exercises are to be alternated, for example, do one set of A1, rest, then one set of A2, rest, back to A1. Repeat until the total sets are completed, then move on to B1 and B2.

Week 1: 2x10-12
Week 2: 3x10-12
Week 3: 3x8-10
Week 4: 4x8-10

Week 5: 3x6-8
Week 6: 4x6-8
Week 7: 4x4-6
Week 8: 5x4-6

Monday

A1) Bent-over row, supinated (underhand) grip
A2) Bench press

Bent-over row

B1) Supinated (underhand) chin-up or pulldown
B2) Medium-grip push-up

Medium-grip push-up

C1) Dip (unassisted) or close-grip bench presses
C2) Preacher curl

Unassisted Dip

Wednesday

A1) Barbell lunge
A2) Triangle push-up

Triangle push-up

B1) Kneeling hamstring curl
B2) Close-grip supinated (underhand) chin-up or pulldown

Kneeling hamstring curl

Close-grip supinated chin-up

C1) Dumbbell shoulder press
C2) Squat or reverse lunge

Friday

A1) Wide-grip push-up (as wide as possible, without straining your shoulders)
A2) Neutral-grip cable row

Wide-grip push-up

Neutral-grip cable row

B1) Wide-grip pulldown
B2) Incline dumbbell press

Wide-grip pulldown

C1) Decline dumbbell arm extension
C2) Incline dumbbell curl with twist

Decline dumbbell arm extension

Incline dumbbell curl with twist

If you're still not happy with the size of your arms after these 8 weeks, take a three or four days completely off from lifting, and switch to another program for several weeks. This program has a high volume for upper body (in case you didn't notice) and your legs are put on maintenance.

I'd recommend you switch gears for a bit, to add some more leg training into your program for a few weeks. You can always come back to this program another time, but rotate the A, B, and C exercises to mix things up a bit.

Recommended Cardio

It obviously depends on your current bodyfat level. If you're fairly lean, I'd recommend 20-30 minutes, 3 times a week. If you feel as though a big reason you can't see your arm muscles is due to bodyfat, then I'd recommend 25-35 minutes of cardio 5-7 days a week.

Recommended Supplements

This program doesn't require any supplements outside what you usually take, or what your budget can afford. Personally, I consider myself "high maintenance" when it comes to supplements, and in the big picture, they're worth every penny.

For optimal muscle growth and recovery, I always use Surge, Metabolic Drive, BCAA's, Flameout, Superfood, and ZMA.

Wrapping It Up

Well-defined arms are a goal for many women, as they should be. They're very attractive and they tell everybody at a glance, "That's right, I workout, and I've got the guns to prove it!"

Give this full program a try and you'll see a huge difference in your upper body strength and your muscle.

About the Author

Sandy Joyce is a personal trainer and nutrition specialist in the Boston area who specializes in helping women of all ages lose fat and maintain better health. She has a reputation for not only getting women into great shape quickly, but helping them adopt lifelong healthy habits.

For info on her online training services, visit her website at BestBodyEva.com or email her at Sandy@BestBodyEva.com.