Muscles are developed by performing exercises against a form of resistance, and the best form of resistance for developing a good or even great physique is the barbell or dumbbells.
Then there are methods or systems of training that also do their part in accelerating the development of the muscles. These must change from time to tome or else boredom can creep in and either make training a very difficult procedure or put an end to it entirely.
Variety is the spice of life, so the old saying goes, and it is very true. Suppose you had to eat the very same thing at every meal day in and day out, you would soon tire of it and probably end up starving rather than to continue eating that way. Training can be similar in that sooner than go in in the same old rut, making no progress and becoming bored to tears, you'd rather give it up altogether.
This is where alterations and changes come in to assist in making training more of a pleasure and to help you achieve your goals. Changes in sets and reps, the speed of movement and even the compounding of movements all can greatly enhance your muscular size and development.
Some of the best built men of today do not remain on the same exercises for longer than a month simply because they become bored with the same routines and when this happens their training suffers.
Bodybuilders have been supersetting exercises for years and although it is possible to superset almost any muscle group, I feel that the arms are the muscles most often dealt with in this manner and so in this article I will demonstrate a different twist in supersetting, one that may well assist the reader in making gains he thought were impossible before.
In this system you will need three exercises for each muscle group, the biceps and triceps. Choose exercises that you know work well for you from past experience. Now, to commence the routine . . .
It really makes no difference which you begin with, so let's just go with the triceps first. Perform between 10 and 12 reps of the first triceps movement and then take no more than a 30-second break before beginning the second set of triceps. After another 30-second pause, do your third set, and then your fourth set of triceps. Only after four sets of triceps will you begin your biceps exercise and here again you will complete 4x12 with a 30-second break between sets.
After the first four sets of biceps have been completed you return to triceps and perform four sets of your second triceps exercise in the manner described. Again, after these four sets you return to the second biceps exercise and go through the same routine. This is continued until all three biceps and triceps movements are completed. At this time you will experience a fully congested sensation in both the biceps and triceps which will remain with you for quite some time following the workout.
This type of superset differs from the standard way in that with the four sets being completed before changing to another muscle group, a much greater pump can be effected and maintained in the muscle prior to a change being made. You will be performing a great many reps in completing this system if you stay with the number suggested per set, but then it is the reps that bring the much needed nutritious blood to the working muscle, which brings about its eventual growth.
On the other hand, some bodybuilders who have been training for many, many years may that even this is not quite enough and may wish to repeat some of the supersets. This is entirely up to the individual, what he can manage, and you must decide just what is best for you.
Obviously this is not the type of routine that is done every day! Some will prefer three arm workouts weekly and find that they improve on this, while others will find that two such workouts will suffice. When training like this one must realize that much rest if required between workouts.
Remember, though you man derive an excellent pump while working out, the actual muscle growth takes place during rest and relaxation.
Concentration is extremely important and you must think only of what you are doing and the muscles you are working if you wish to obtain the best results. A halfhearted workout will not produce results no matter what type of routine it may be.
You will probably find that moderate poundages work best, particularly if you want to get fairly high reps, and they will produce a better pump than the heavies but here again it is a matter of choice and lessons learned from experience on the part of the individual.
I feel that you will benefit by trying this form of supersetting. It has to be better than the former method simply by virtue of the fact that you are demonstrating a much better congestion of the muscle each time you work it prior to changing to the other muscle group. Formerly only one set was performed of one muscle group and then one set of the opposing muscle and this was repeated several times, but by performing four sets before changing, the muscle is thoroughly worked prior to a change.
As well all need changes in training routines from time to time, I feel you cannot go wrong by giving this system a good try. If you will apply yourself to it, it will bring you good returns for your efforts, I am sure.
Here's a list of 148 arm exercises from Bob Hoffman:
And of course, there's plenty of listings of various arm exercises everywhere you look online. . . arms, eh.
Enjoy Your Lifting!
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