Gaspari Nutrition - The Name You Trust. The Brand That Works.

by Rich Gaspari

Since the beginning of my bodybuilding career I have always wanted to have huge arms. The first book I picked up when I was just 13 years old was by Arnold Called the Encyclopedia of bodybuilding. Well the front cover of that book has an amazing picture of Arnold posing somewhere in the mountains doing a One Arm bicep pose. Well I tell you the peak on that arm was just spectacular! It had a peak on top of a peak so Arnold in that mountain scene looked perfect and his arm looked bigger than the mountains around him! I actually at 13 years old went to a book signing and had Arnold sign a piece of paper because at the time I could not afford to buy the book. I said to Arnold "Someday I want to be big like you and be a famous bodybuilder!" "He smiled at me and said, "Just keep it up kid and stay focused. It takes time to build a body, but little by little you can do it!" I tell you I took in those words of wisdom and dedicated my life to bodybuilding. I told Arnold about that day at the book signing on what he said years later when I won his prestigious Arnold Classic and he smiled and said I did hundreds of books signings in my day and it would be hard to remember you at that time but I am glad I was able to effect you to keep going and become successful!

Well persistence and dedication was what I was all about! I wanted to be the best in bodybuilding! To me I knew it in my heart I would be a champion! It all was a matter of time. The thing was my arms were not as easy to develop as Arnolds and I did not have the genetics to have that super peak. So I needed to focus on training my arms smart to get them the best that I could get them. This took learning about my body and what was best for a stubborn arm gainer. Well I started lifting for arms I thought it was more important to lift as heavy as I could to get them big! The thing was I lifted heavy but did not focus on good form. So doing really heavy cheat curls did not help in getting my arms any bigger. They need to be stimulated correctly. I learned that arms can be over trained very easily if you train them with other body parts like Chest and Back. I learned that you needed to focus on good form as well as do both high reps and low reps on arm training to stimulate growth.

I found what was best for me was to cycle arm training. This meant training them with more of a higher rep system on their own and going into the next cycle of heavy strict form with my larger body parts like chest and Shoulders.

With this cycle training I was able to build my arms to a good 20 ½"!

Here is the routine:

Superset both Biceps and triceps together on a 5 day Split.
Day 1: Chest
Day 2: Back
Day 3: Off
Day 4: Legs and Hams
Day 5: Shoulders
Day 6: Arms
Day 7: Off

Arms Day:

• I start with standing DB Curls super-setted with Cable tricep Pushdowns: 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps.
  
• Next do Preacher Bench curls super-setted with close grip bench 3 sets of 12-15 reps.
  
• After this I do: Incline DB curls with Seated French Press: 3 sets of 12-15 reps.
  
• I finish off with Standing Reverse Easy curl bar curls with Lying Skull crushers for 3 sets of 15.
  
• Afterward I do 4 sets of 15 forearms curls with reverse forearm curls.
  
• I follow this system of arm training for about 5 weeks and than change to my heavy arm training system.

I change the body parts I train for the week to this:
Day 1: Chest and triceps
Day 2: Back, lower back abs
Day 3: Off
Day 4: Legs
Day 5: Shoulders and biceps.

I separate both the Biceps and triceps and concentrate in lifting heavy but with perfect form to really stimulate growth.

Here is the training:

Day 1: Triceps:

• Tricep pushdowns for 8-10 reps using either a V-bar or rope. 3 sets
• Tricep Pullover press. This is a great bulking movement which you lay on a flat bench grabbing an easy curl bar in a close grip. You do a close grip bench and on the way down on your chest you pull over the bar over your head for a stretch on the triceps. Keep elbows in and return back to the starting position of a close grip bench with the bar on your chest again. Do 3 sets of 8 to 10.
• Overhead Tricep Cable: From behind your head grab a V-bar attached to a cable either on your knees or seating. 3 sets of 8 to 10

Day 5: Bicep Training:

• Standing Barbell curls. Strict curls for 8 to 10 reps increase weight but make sure no swinging at all and on the last set finish off with a drop set taking off 10lbs off each side and do another 6 to 8 reps.
• Incline DB curls 3 sets of 8 to 10.
• Preacher Curls: Use an easy curl bar and curl strict for 3 sets of 8 to 10
• Reverse Preacher Curls: 3 sets of 8
• Finish off with Bent over DB Concentration curls. I do this the same way Arnold Use to. Bend over and place your elbow on the inside of your leg near your knee. Do 3 sets of 8 and make sure you turn your wrists at the top and squeeze the biceps.

Well that's it for arm training and give it a try to see if it can work for you to build those stubborn arms.