Arms sets

[littlesparrow1]

How do you handle you arm sets, also do you include forearms in them? i currently do 18 sets per week (9 per biceps, 9 per triceps), would you add 1 day for forearms?

 

[redfox53]

@littlesparrow1 Hammer cable curls work for my forearms pretty well and same for most tricep exercises so I don’t tend to do much more for them, but doing basic forearm curls never hurts.

 

[tdidymas]

@littlesparrow1 Forearms can handle a ton of frequency as long as it doesn't interfere with other exercises that need your grip. Forearms are multiple muscles so you need some that involve curling, extending, and pronating the wrist if you want to hit them 100%.

I do hammer curls 2x a week and pronation curls 1x per week all close to failure.

Then I am starting to do other work that is more for volume/recovery. Far away from failure. Reverse curls, pronation curls, and finger curls. All on separate days. Don't do this without learning about nucleus overload so you don't over do it. Natural Hypertrophy has good info on this on his YouTube. This ends up being 6x a week for forearms but only 3 of these days are actual regular intensity work.

 

[sugarcookies]

@littlesparrow1 I recently switched my arm training a bit because I wanted to try something new. For biceps, I do poundstone curls and high rep hammer curls for prehab and pump.

For triceps, I do CGBP and OH tricep extensions.

I don't have forearm-specific work at the moment, though poundstone and hammer curls can be said to hit them pretty well. Apart from that, I just rely on all the other pull work in my routine.

 

[horation]

@littlesparrow1 I have an arm day with 12 sets for the flexors, 9 sets for triceps and 6 sets wrist curl/extension.

Then on one of my upper days i do 6 more sets of wrist curls/flexion.

 

[jujus]

@littlesparrow1 I aim for 15-20 sets of isolations each for biceps and triceps per week, but that doesn't include compound movements (like bench) that hit the same muscles.

Delts are technically shoulders, but I do exercises like overhead press to target the entire delt, then aim for about 12 sets each for front, middle, and rear delts.

I use a Sidewinder for my forearms, but I don't target them much because I'm a 5'2" woman and don't want my forearms to get too big. (They're already really vascular.) I do train my grip though.

 

[tdidymas]

@jujus That's a ton of front delt work. Most don't feel the need to add any if they do lots of bench and overhead presses. But if your body can handle it then maybe it works for you.

 

[jujus]

@tdidymas I am kind of a freak of nature when it comes to recovery. I very, very rarely get sore with the occasional exception of my quads.

I honestly don't bench that much. I run a powerbuilding program, which means I bench twice a week: one heavy (4-5 S, 5-8 R) and one more focused on hypertrophy (4-5 S, 8-12 R). Same with the overhead presses. And if I do skip a muscle, it's going to be front delt.

Every now and then I'll use my last workout of the week (back/biceps hypertrophy) to make up for muscles that I've skimped on during the week, that need technique work, or for exercises that I just feel like doing. Very rarely is that any form of bench because, with the exception of decline bench, I'm just not a fan.

 

[littlesparrow1]

@jujus When you say "each" you mean for the entire arm muscle group, or 20 for biceps and 20 for triceps? XD

 

[jujus]

@littlesparrow1 20 biceps, 20 triceps.

Workout 1:

EZ bar curl.

Bayesian curl.

Standing tricep kickbacks.

OH tricep extension.

Workout 3:

Tricep pushdowns.

Lying tricep extension.

Hammer curls.

Workout 5 :

Bicep curls.

Incline dumbbell bicep curls.

Overhead tricep extensions.

At least 4 sets of each exercise. Generally I aim for the 10-15 rep range, but that fluctuates.

This is what's in my program, but I also swap exercises out pretty regularly.

 

[littlesparrow1]

@jujus i use double progression with 10,9,8 reps and 3 sets, but since we should train muscles for max 20 sets per muscle group isn't that too much for the arm?

 

[swordland]

@littlesparrow1 Biceps and triceps are different muscles with their own local recovery.

As far as maximum set volumes, as far as I’m aware they haven’t found an upper limit yet. That doesn’t mean you should do as many as possible though. Do enough that allows you to make solid progress and ignore FOMO.

 

[littlesparrow1]

@swordland How many maximum sets per week you suggest for biceps and triceps?

 

[swordland]

@littlesparrow1 I suggest a range of: "as few as it takes to make progress on your lifts" all the way through "as many as you want to do and are still able to recover from".

There's a lot of problems with that question though. How are we counting volume? Are we including indirect sets (like many scientific studies do) or only counting direct sets? How many sets of pulling/pushing exercises are you doing for chest, shoulders, and back? How close to failure are you taking your sets? What is your personal recovery like?

It's important to keep in mind, any recommendations coming from science is based entirely on averages. Nobody can really give you a number of sets that is right for you. You just have to experiment with it and find out.

 

[littlesparrow1]

@swordland Got it. Just i'm not a scientist, just a person who likes training in the gym. Since you asked, i train 5 days a week. You're right with the indirect sets.. but when i wrote above that 10-20 sets per muscle group are suggested, yes we "should" count the indirect sets, but anyway i'm trying to stay on average of 16-18 direct sets per muscle group. I don't train to failure, i follow a linear periodization and double progression scheme, but i train hard. I asked for amrs because someone trains them everyday, or 40 sets(?!), i train them 3 days a week, 18 sets (9 bic, 9 tric, 4 forearms)

 

[swordland]

@littlesparrow1 Your mileage may vary, but in my experience, that’s plenty to make progress. You can always experiment with a little less or more and see how you like it, but as long as you’re progressing on your lifts with the same technique you’re likely on the right track.

 

[jujus]

@littlesparrow1 It's not too much for me, but my recovery rate is kind of ridiculous.

I run a powerbuilding program, so while I have all my isolations written out as 4 sets of 10-15 reps for hypertrophy, I rarely stick to that. I know myself well enough to know that I'm going to try to PR or work until failure, which might cause me to skip a set here or there. But for the most part, this has worked for me.

 

[hiswarriorprincess]

@littlesparrow1 Forearms can take a lot of volume. I do all my pulling with straps so i bought grippers and do gripper myoreps or dropsets 2x a week at home and then try to fit in some of both direction wrist curls when i can, it does a lot for size and forearm health its worth it and only takes a few minutes because you dont even really need to rest with forearms.

 

[wesf]

@littlesparrow1 If you really want to focus forearms I’d add 5 sets at least to the end of your arm workout of wrist curls