Do you dream of having a 50 cm biceps? Then you need to adopt the specialized exercises that bodybuilding pros use. Athletes need to include arm training in their training program so that the muscles have time to recover and supercompensation is achieved. It is also important that the volume of training is optimal, and the technique of performing movements is high.
Optimal volume means loading the target muscle with the required tempo and amplitude. Today we are going to talk about specializing in arms in bodybuilding.
Features of hand training
All muscles in the body obey the same laws of biology, and therefore, athletes should use a stress-recovery scheme to maximize their results. However, in practice, many athletes pay great attention to isolating movements and do not progress the load. In this case, hope for an increase in muscle mass.
This is a very complex biological process of adaptation of the body to constantly increasing physical activity. You need to understand that you will be able to progress by increasing the load on the target muscles. Since the arms are significantly inferior in strength to other muscle groups, and especially when they are retarded in development, it is necessary to isolate them. You should shift your priority to exercise technique.
For these purposes, it is advisable to use devices for fixing the elbow joints when performing exercises for the biceps, for example, the California press or the reverse grip press, when training the triceps. A livestock bench can be an excellent fixation device. And, say, Arnie used a nylon belt for this.
You also need to correctly manipulate the working weights so that the equipment does not suffer as the load progresses. It may look like this: after completing 15 or 16 repetitions with one weight, increase it. After that, start with 12 repetitions and gradually bring them to 15 or 16 and increase the weight again.
You can do hand training once every 3 or 4 days. This is due to the fact that small muscle groups recover faster in comparison with large ones. But the duration of the training and its volume must be reduced. Pain in the muscles will indicate the presence of an overload. If you have soreness, then you have overloaded your muscles and a large amount of lactic acid interferes with the production of protein compounds. Thus, the most important thing in arm training is load progression and correct technique. You should choose such working weights that will not disturb the technique, while not forgetting about the progression. If your training program has more than one lesson for arm development during the week, then the rest of the groups should only be trained to keep fit.
The reasons for the lag in the development of the muscles of the hands
In total, there are three main reasons why hands may fall behind. The first is genetics. Each person has a different muscle structure. For example, some have longer biceps, while others have shorter biceps. The situation is similar with the triceps.
The length of the muscles plays a large role in the rate at which their growth progresses. The shorter the muscle, the longer the tendon will be, and the more difficult it is to use the muscles. The body will try to use other muscles during exercise, as this is easier for it. Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that with a short bicep, it is very important to isolate it qualitatively. You should also do with triceps.
The second reason for the lag in the arms can be the composition of the muscles. As you know, the fibers of muscle tissue are divided according to the number of mitochondria and the criterion of the ATPase of the myofibril. Someone has a large number of slow fibers, while others have fast ones. For each of them, various training methods will be most effective. You need to independently select the training system that will bring more results. The easiest way to do this is with a diary.
The third reason is various errors that are not related to genetics or other individual characteristics of the athlete. Most often these are mistakes in building a training program. During exercise, you need to stimulate the production of protein compounds, which will allow you to get results. You need to put into practice all the basic principles of bodybuilding, about which a huge number of words have already been said.
Triceps and biceps training
It would be best to set aside one day for the development of these muscles or combine it with training of the shoulder group. You can work only on the arms in one lesson, and combine with the shoulder group in the second. It is very important to remember that when combining you need to first work on the arms, and only then move on to the shoulder group. The situation is similar with the muscles of the arms. Train the one that has a higher priority for you first.
Three techniques are most effective for hand development:
- Superset;
- Alternation of muscle groups;
- Alternation of movements.
The most effective supersets are when you work on the biceps in one set, after which you immediately begin to perform the triceps exercise. After that, pause for a minute and repeat the approaches. In this case, the muscles recover faster and the quality of tissue nutrition improves.
The alternation of exercises consists in performing movements on one muscle, and then on the second. Here you can use dropsets and complex approaches. It should probably be clarified that the dropset is a long-term approach with a gradual reduction in working weight. An integrated approach - 2 movements per muscle group, performed in a row.
Alternation of groups - the implementation of the entire complex of movements for one group, and then for the second. This will allow you to pay more attention to the target muscles, since there is much more strength at the beginning of the session than at the final stage.
For more details on hand specialization, see here:
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