CHRIS BUMSTEAD
4X Classic Physique Mr. Olympia
Arm Routine
Smith Machine Incline Close-Grip Press: 4 x 8 (after warm-ups)
Skull-Crushers: 3 x 12-15
Superset with
Straight-Bar Cable Pushdowns: 3 x 12-15
V-Bar Cable Pushdowns: 3 x 20-25
EZ-Bar Curls: 4 x 8-12
Seated Incline Dumbbell Curls
2 x 8-10 (alternating)
1 x 10-12 (both arms at once)
Dumbbell Hammer Curls Across Body: 4 x 8
One-Arm Rope Extensions Across Body: 3 x 12-15
Reverse-Grip Barbell Curls: 3 x 12-15
What Chris Has Learned About Arm Training
“What’s worked best for me has been to train them twice a week, but with two different types of workouts. I have an arm day, plus I will train biceps with back, and triceps with shoulders. When I train my biceps after back, the weights will be lighter, and the volume will be greater. When I work biceps on arm day, I will load up some weight on the bar and murder them with heavier weights and not quite as much volume. Another method I use to give my arms an advantage is to adjust my food intake. My legs grow very easily, so I eat less on leg day and give them more nutrients. My arms need more help, so I will bump up my carbs on arm day, specifically before and after training. In addition to my regular meal, I will add in a muffin or a doughnut. Finally, I have been getting myofascial release and Graston technique work done on my arms since early January of this year by Ian Casiple, RMT. Probably because I had been training my arms so frequently, they were getting tight and bound up to the point where I couldn’t even straighten them, and I was hardly getting pumps when I trained arms. It was inhibiting my progress. Once Ian started working on them, my pumps immediately improved.”
BREON ANSLEY
2X Classic Physique Mr. Olympia
Biceps Routine
Machine Preacher Curls
Warm-ups: 2 x 15
Sets: 4 x 10-12
Incline Dumbbell Curls: 4 x 10-12
EZ-Bar Curls (wider grip): 4 x 10-12
Superset with
EZ-Bar Curls (closer grip): 4 x 10-12
Dumbbell Concentration Curls: 4 x 10-12
OR
Alternate Dumbbell Curls*: 4 x 10-12
EZ-Bar Reverse Curls: 4 x 10-12
OR
Hammer Dumbbell Curls; 4 x 10-12
*For alternate dumbbell curls, Breon often will do 3 reps with each arm, then 3 with the other, until each arm has done 12 reps.
Triceps Routine
Rope Push-downs
Warm-ups: 2 x 15-20
Sets: 4 x 12-16
Dumbbell Skull-Crushers: 4 x 12-16
Superset with
Dumbbell Kickbacks: 4 x 12-16
Close-Grip Bench Press (barbell or Smith): 4 x 12-16
Single-Arm Overhead Cable Extensions*: 4 x 12-16
*Breon usually does these with minimal rest, just switching off arms until all 4 sets have been completed.
Breon on Rep Ranges for Arms
“I like a mix of heavier weight and lower reps along with getting higher rep totals and longer time under tension via techniques like drop sets and supersets. And occasionally I will just rep out without even counting. You need to use both types of rep ranges to get the best of both worlds. Some people do find that they respond very well to sets of as few as 5-6 reps, while others discover that it might take as many as 20 reps for them to get their best biceps gains. I think you often hear that 10 reps is best simply because it’s in the middle, but I wouldn’t always stay with it.”
On Strict vs. Loose Form
“I don’t think there’s ever a time or a place to let your form go. I don’t believe in sloppy form at any time, or any reason. Typically, loose form means you are engaging other muscle groups more so than your actual target. What’s the point? Is it just to use a heavier weight? Never lose your good form or your mind-muscle connection. Those are what’s going to make the muscle grow.”
TERRENCE RUFFIN
2X Arnold Classic Champion
Arm Routine
Preacher Curls: 3 x 5-8, 8-12, 12-15
Barbell Triceps Extensions: 3 x 5-8, 8-12, 12-15
Dumbbell Curls: 3 x 5-8, 8-12, 12-15
Dips: 3 x 5-8, 8-12, 12-15
Rope Hammer Curls: 4 x 8-12
Overhead Triceps Extensions: 4 x 8-12
Unilateral Training
Often, Terrence includes unilateral movements for arms such as one-arm dumbbell preacher curls and single-arm cable extensions. “If you’re having trouble getting your arms to grow, unilateral movements can be extremely beneficial,” he says. “Often if someone is having difficulty achieving proper mind-muscle connection with exercises that employ both limbs at once, training just one arm or leg at a time allows them to fully focus on the feeling of that muscle contracting.”
