Arms workouts The Ultimate Arms Workout Plan

The Ultimate Arms Workout Plan

Add size and strength to your biceps and triceps while also building a bigger and stronger chest with this four-week workout plan

If you want to train your arms, you can’t just train your arms. For starters, doing purely arm-focused workouts every day just isn’t an option – you need to take time between training sessions to let the muscles recover and grow. To progress with your arm exercises you also need to build strength in other parts of the body otherwise some exercises become too tough. And perhaps most importantly of all, having bulky arms hanging off a small torso will look a bit ridiculous.

So an effective training plan that works the entire body is the order of the day and that’s exactly what the plan below is. However, arms are still the focus of the plan, so if your aim is to build sleeve-busting biceps and triceps rest assured this training routine will have you ruining T-shirts in no time.

The four-week plan is broken down into two two-week blocks. In each of these you’ll tackle four workouts a week, with two of those focused on the arms and the others targeting the chest, shoulders, legs and abs. That means at the end of the four weeks you’ll not only have stronger, bulkier arms, but you’ll also have added lean muscle all over the rest of your body as well.

Session Theory

The plan contains two two-week blocks. The first has four sessions a week: chest and back; legs and abs; biceps and triceps; and shoulders and arms. The second has four sessions a week: chest and back; legs and shoulders; chest and triceps; and back and biceps.

Workout Order

Each workout has six moves you’ll do as straight sets, sticking to the sets, reps, tempo and rest detailed. Tempo is the speed at which you lift and lower the weight in seconds. A 3010 tempo means you take three seconds to lower it and one to raise it, with no pause at the top or bottom.

Plan Progression

In the first week of block 1 you’ll do four sets of ten reps for moves 1 and 2, then three sets of 12 reps for moves 3 to 6. In the second week of the block the moves are the same but you’ll do one additional set of ten reps of moves 1 and 2, and four sets of 12 reps for the remaining moves. Jump to block one week two.

In block 2 the session structure and exercise you’ll do will change so you keep your body growing bigger and stronger. There are still six moves in each workout and they’re to be done as straight sets, and it’s important you stick to the sets, reps, tempo and rest periods detailed. Jump to block two week one, or jump to block two week two.

How To Warm Up

There’s no easing in with any of these workouts, because each of them starts with a big compound lift like the bench press or barbell back squat. This means that you need to prime your body for action with a thorough warm-up. This will help you perform better, especially in the early sets of your workout, and also make it less likely that you’ll injure yourself during your session.

The bulk of your warm-up needs to be specific to the workout you’re about to do, but it’s a good idea to begin with a series of dynamic stretches that hit muscles all over your body. You’ll find such a series with this pre-workout warm-up, with seven moves that prime all the key muscle groups.

After performing that routine, it’s time to get specific and the easiest way to do that is to perform some of the exercises you’re about to do in the workout. Using lighter weights that you would normally, or no weight at all if appropriate, perform sets of the first two moves of each workout. Begin by doing a high-rep, low-weight set to get your muscles moving, then increase the weight and decrease the reps as you move towards starting your workout proper.

How To Fuel For This Training Plan

What you eat is as important as how you work out if you want a bigger and stronger body. Follow these five rules to accelerate your progress.

1. Choose Slow-Release Carbs

You don’t need to ditch carbs completely. Indeed, eating the right carbs at the right time will help your body build lean mass faster. Focus your dietary efforts on avoiding sugar and limiting your consumption of fast-release carbs like processed white bread and pasta, which have been stripped of many of their nutrients and much of their fibre. Choose slow-release carbs, such as sweet potatoes and brown rice.

2. Eat Plenty Of Animal Protein

You need to eat more protein from red and white meat, fish and eggs to build lean muscle mass quickly and effectively. Lifting weights causes microscopic tears in your muscles, and it’s the consumption of protein that repairs this damage and rebuilds your muscles bigger and stronger. Aim for at least a fist-sized portion of high-quality lean protein at every meal. A protein shake is fine after workouts but don’t rely on supplements.

3. Eat All The Vegetables

A wide variety of vegetables should make up around half of your plate at both lunch and dinner to provide your body with all the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients it needs to look and perform at its best. Eat a wide variety of different-coloured veg to give your body the range nutrients it requires after hard training, as well as fibre to keep you feeling fuller for longer.

4. Cut Out Alcohol

To gain the maximum amount of muscle while also shedding as much fat as possible, you should seriously consider cutting out alcohol for the duration of this four-week plan. Booze is high in calories you don’t need, and too much booze will kill your motivation to hit the gym hard and eat well. Your best bet is to stick to water, green tea and black coffee to stay hydrated.

5. Get Some Help

If all the dietary advice above sounds like a lot of hard work and you find that after a couple of days of making good decisions in the kitchen your motivation wanes and you order your favourite takeaway again, there is another option – healthy meal delivery services.

Fair warning, this is a more expensive option than meal planning and cooking for yourself, but if that’s not a concern then it’s extremely helpful to get all your meals delivered to your door and tailored to your fitness goals and dietary preferences. Some companies, like Fresh Fitness Food (use code COACH50 for £50 off your first order), will sort all your meals and snacks, based around an exact nutritional profile to fit your targets, and deliver them daily; others will deliver a load of healthy ready meals in one go for you to store and heat at your leisure. If this idea appeals, check out our round-up of the best healthy meal delivery services to find one that fits your requirements.

There is also the in-between option of recipe kits, where all the ingredients and instructions for your meals are delivered to your house, so you can skip the time-consuming big shop and just focus on the cooking.

Block 1 Week 1

Monday Workout: Chest And Back

1 Bench press

Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Lie flat on a bench, holding a bar with a shoulder-width grip. Plant your feet on the floor and tense your muscles. Lower the bar until it touches your chest, then press it back up powerfully.

2 Bent-over row

Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall, holding a barbell with a shoulder-width overhand grip. Bend forwards, hinging from your hips, but keep your chest up and your core braced. Row the bar up to your body, leading with your elbows. Pause at the top, then lower.

3 Incline dumbbell flye

Sets 3 Reps 10 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Lie back on an incline bench, holding two dumbbells directly over your chest with straight arms. Bend your elbows slightly, then lower your hands out to the sides until you feel a stretch across your chest. Squeeze your pecs to return to the start.

4 Lat pull-down

Sets 3 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Position yourself at the machine with a shoulder-width overhand grip on the bar. Keeping your chest up and abs braced, pull the bar down, leading with your elbows. Hold the bottom position for a second, then return to the start.

5 One-arm cable press

Sets 3 Reps 10 each side Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall with your back to a cable machine, holding a D-handle in one hand. Keeping your chest up and core braced, press your hand forwards until your arm is straight. Reverse back to the start and repeat for all the reps, then switch arms.

6 Dumbbell pull-over

Sets 3 Reps 10 Tempo 4010 Rest 60sec

Lie flat on a bench, holding a dumbbell in both hands above your chest with straight arms. Lower the weight behind your head in a slow and controlled movement, keeping your arms straight, then raise it back to the start position.

Wednesday Workout: Legs And Abs

1 Back squat

Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Stand tall, holding a bar across the back of your shoulders. Keeping your chest up and your whole body tight, bend your knees to squat down as low as you can but don’t let your knees roll inwards. Push through your heels to stand back up.

2 Romanian deadlift

Sets 3 Reps 10 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Stand tall, holding a barbell with an overhand grip. Keeping your chest up and core braced, bend forwards, hinging at the hips, to let the bar roll down the front of your legs until you feel a good stretch in your hamstrings. Reverse the movement.

3 Leg extension

Sets 3 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Position yourself correctly on the machine with the padded bar against the bottom of your shins. Keeping your upper body tight, raise your feet to straighten your legs. Pause at the top with your quads engaged, then lower back to the start.

4 Hamstring curl

Sets 3 Reps 10 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Position yourself correctly on the machine with the padded bar against the backs of your lower legs. Keeping your upper body tight, push your feet down to bend your legs. Pause at the top with your hamstrings engaged, then lower back to the start.

5 Crunch

Sets 3 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Lie flat on your back with your knees bent and hands by your temples or crossed over your chest. Engage your upper abs to raise your torso, then crunch your upper body up towards your knees. Lower slowly, keeping tension on your abs throughout.

6 Plank

Sets 3 Time 30sec Tempo N/A Rest 60sec

Get into position with your elbows under your shoulders, your feet together and your hips raised with abs and glutes engaged so your body forms a straight line from head to heels. Hold this position without letting your hips drop.

Friday Workout: Biceps And Triceps

1 Underhand lat pull-down

Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Position yourself at the machine with a shoulder-width underhand grip on the bar. Keeping your chest up and abs braced, pull the bar down, leading with your elbows. Hold the bottom position for a second, then return to the start.

2 Triceps dip

Sets 4 Reps 6-10 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Grip parallel bars with straight arms and your legs crossed behind you. Keeping your chest up and core braced, bend your elbows to lower your body until your elbows are bent at 90°. Press back up to return to the start.

3 Dumbbell biceps curl

Sets 3 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall, holding a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing forwards. Keeping your elbows tight to your sides, curl the weights up to shoulder height. Squeeze your biceps at the top, then lower the weights back to the start.

4 Dumbbell triceps extension

Sets 3 Reps 10 each side Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec

Stand tall, holding a dumbbell over your head with your arm straight. Keeping your elbow pointing to the ceiling, lower the weight behind your head, then straighten your arm to return to the start. Repeat for all the reps, then switch arms.

5 Cable biceps curl

Sets 3 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall in front of a cable machine, holding a straight-bar handle attached to the lower pulley with palms facing forwards. Keeping your chest up and elbows tight to your sides, curl your hands up to shoulder height. Squeeze your biceps at the top, then lower.

6 Cable triceps press-down

Sets 3 Reps 10 Tempo 2011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall in front of a cable machine, holding a straight-bar handle attached to the high pulley with palms facing down. Keeping your chest up and elbows tight to your sides, press your hands down to straighten your arms, then slowly return to the start.

Saturday Workout: Shoulders And Arms

1 Overhead press

Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall, holding a bar across the front of your chest with an overhand grip. Keeping your chest up and core engaged, press the bar directly overhead so your arms are straight. Lower it under control to return to the start.

2 Chin-up

Sets 4 Reps 6-10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Hold a bar with an underhand grip and hang with your body straight. Brace your abs and glutes and engage your lats, then pull up until your chin is above your hands. Pause at the top, then lower yourself back to the start under control.

3 EZ-bar upright row

Sets 4 Reps 6-10 Tempo 3010 Rest 60sec

4 Incline dumbbell shoulder press

Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3010 Rest 60sec

Lie flat on an incline bench, holding a dumbbell in each hand at chest height. Plant your feet on the floor and tense your muscles. Press the weights straight up so your arms are straight, then lower them under control.

5 Cable triceps press-down

Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3010 Rest 60sec

Stand tall in front of a cable machine, holding a straight-bar handle attached to the high pulley with palms facing down. Keeping your chest up and elbows fixed to your sides, press your hands down to straighten your arms, then slowly return to the start.

6 Press-up

Sets 4 Reps 10-15 Tempo 3010 Rest 60sec

Start in the press-up position – hands on the floor, shoulders, elbows and wrists aligned, and feet together. Brace your core, then bend your elbows to lower your chest to the floor. Press back up powerfully to return to the start.

Saturday Workout: Back And Biceps

1 Chin-up

Sets 4 Reps 6-10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

2 Lat pull-down

Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

3 Prone dumbbell row

Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Lie chest-down on an incline bench holding a dumbbell in each hand. Keeping your chest against the bench, row the weights up, leading with your elbows. Hold the top position, then lower the weights back to the start .

4 Prone dumbbell reverse flye

Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Lie chest-down on an incline bench holding a light dumbbell in each hand. Keeping your chest against the bench, raise the weights to the sides, leading with your elbows. Hold the top position, then lower the weights back to the start.

5 Dumbbell biceps curl

Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall, holding a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing inwards. Keeping your elbows tight to your sides, curl the weights up to shoulder height. Squeeze your biceps at the top, then lower the weights back to the start.

6 Dumbbell hammer curl

Sets 4 Reps 10 Tempo 3011 Rest 60sec

Stand tall, holding a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing each other. Keeping your elbows tight to your sides, curl the weights up to shoulder height. Squeeze your biceps at the top, then lower the weights back to the start.

Block 2: Week 2

For the second block of your four-week plan, the session structure has been changed to shift the high-volume emphasis from your arms towards your chest. So in this block there are two chest workouts a week, but don’t worry about losing your newfound arm size and strength – there is still enough dedicated training time for your biceps and triceps to keep the gains coming.

In a similar vein to the second week of block 1, in this second week of block 2 the session structure, exercises and exercise order remain the same as in the first week, but again there are two big changes to keep your muscles growing and your belly shrinking.

This week you’ll do an extra set of moves 1 and 2 of every workout, taking the total to five sets of ten reps, then you’ll do an extra two reps for all subsequent moves. Stay focused and keep your form on point to end the plan as big as possible!

Monday Workout: Chest And Back

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Tempo	Rest
1 Incline bench press	5	10	3010	60sec
2 Wide lat pull-down	5	10	3011	60sec
3 Dumbbell bench press	4	12	3010	60sec
4 Seated row	4	12	3011	60sec
5 One-arm cable press	4	12 each side	3011	60sec
6 Straight-arm pull-down	4	12	3011	60sec

Wednesday Workout: Legs And Shoulders

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Tempo	Rest
1 Barbell back squat	5	10	3010	60sec
2 Overhead press	5	10	3010	60sec
3 Leg extension	4	12	3011	60sec
4 Dumbbell lateral raise	4	12	3011	60sec
5 Hamstring curl	4	12	3011	60sec
6 EZ-bar upright row	4	12	3011	60sec

Friday Workout: Chest And Triceps

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Tempo	Rest
1 Bench press	5	10	3010	60sec
2 Incline dumbbell flye	5	10	3011	60sec
3 Triceps dip	4	8-12	3010	60sec
4 Dumbbell bench press	4	12	3010	60sec
5 Cable triceps press-down	4	12	3011	60sec
6 Press-up	4	12-15	3010	60sec

Saturday Workout: Back And Biceps

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Tempo	Rest
1 Chin-up	5	6-10	3011	60sec
2 Lat pull-down	5	10	3011	60sec
3 Prone dumbbell row	4	12	3011	60sec
4 Prone dumbbell flye	4	12	3011	60sec
5 Dumbbell biceps curl	4	12	3011	60sec
6 Dumbbell hammer curl	4	12	3011	60sec