Building Jacked Arms I The Swoliest of Pumps

Sit down, saddle up, and prepare to dive into what will be the swoliest arm workout you’ve done in a long time.

Complete with video demos, notes on exercise execution, and what each movement should feel like, prepare to stretch your sleeves, while blowing up your arms with an ungodly, skin-splitting pump.

Let’s get to warming up…

A1. Reverse Grip EZ Bar Curls

You’re going to kick things off with 2 sets of 20, resting no more than 30 seconds between sets. After the second set of 20, take 60-90 seconds of rest. Then, move into 3 sets of 8-10. On these final 3 sets only curl up until your arms are at 90 degrees, and hold that peak contraction for 2s before lowering again.

Here’s what these look like:

B1. Straight Bar Pushdowns

You’re going to use a straight bar attachment for these. Instead of getting all up in the business of the weight stack, take a few steps back, then hinge forward at your hips about 25-30 degrees. Keeping your elbows locked in by your sides, push down and away from your face, holding the peak contraction for 1 full second. Control the eccentric as you move into the stretch position. You’re going to do sets of 20, 15, 10, 10, and 8. As the reps go down, jump up in load on each set.

Check your form here:

C1. Kneeling Dual Cable Pressdowns — 12-15 reps

Set up a cable station so you’ve got the handles at the top, then reach across your body, so that your arms form an X in front of your chest. Angle your torso slightly forward, then press down while thinking of driving your hands towards your heels. When you reach the peak contraction, hold it for 2 seconds before letting the weight back out. Move right to C2.

Here’s what perfect form looks like:

C2. Close Grip Barbell Bench Press — 6-8 reps

On these, you want to push some serious weight, but keep it controlled. Lower each rep over 4 seconds, pause for 1 second in the stretch, then explode into a strong peak contraction. Lower the bar towards your mid-chest, and let your elbows flare a bit as you lower. Catch your breath, and move right to C3.

Smooth as butter, Baby:

C3. Tate Pressess — Max Reps

Start with a weight that you can get for 10-12 reps, then stick with it for all rounds (no matter how much your strength drops off). Begin lowering the dumbbells towards your shoulder, while flaring your elbows out to the side. Think of “dropping” the DBs straight down to your shoulder from the peak contraction. When you’re sitting in the stretch, pause for a moment, then flex your triceps to press the DBs straight up overhead. Rest for 90-120 seconds before starting back at C1.

These are to be done very slowly and methodically:

Repeat the above triset for 3-5 rounds, depending on performance, and how quickly you need to reduce your loads to hit the required reps.

D1. Standing EZ Bar or Barbell Curls — 10 reps

Start with a grip that’s just outside shoulder width, and you’re going to do hard sets of 10 here. Meaning, you should be failing (with perfect form) on the tenth rep. Lower into a full stretch on each rep, and keep the movement controlled.

Let your elbows come forward at the top so you can maximize the contraction:

D2. Dumbbell Hammer Curls — 6-8 Reps + Partials

These are nasty. Do these seated so you can focus solely on your forearms. Keep your elbows back behind you, and practice initiating each rep by flexing your forearms. Hold the peak contraction of each rep for 3 seconds before taking 4 seconds to lower the weight. You don’t need to go very heavy on these. Aim to hit form failure in the 6-8 rep range, then do as many partials out of the bottom as you can.

Here’s what the final set should look like:

D3. EZ Bar Preacher Curls — 8-10 Reps

At this point, your arms are going to be blown up. Focus on pressing your upper arm into the pad as you lower the bar, and only lower to ¾ of a full stretch. Pause briefly, then curl up in a strong contraction.

Check your range of motion here:

Repeat the above triset for 3-5 rounds, depending on performance, and how quickly you need to reduce your loads to hit the required reps.

To put the finishing touches on your arms, we’re going to stretch the life out of your bi’s and tri’s.

E1. Bent Reverse Grip Pushdowns — 3 sets of 10-15 reps

Ensure that you work through a full range of motion on these, and really spend time in the stretch position. Adjust your weight as needed to stay within the rep bracket, and immediately move to the Incline Dumbbell Curls below.

It’s easier to show you how these are done than it is to explain:

E2. Incline DB Curls — 3 sets of 8-12 reps

Keep your elbows behind your torso, and your palms supinated as best you can. Spend 1-2s letting the weight stretch your biceps in the bottom of each rep, and flex hard in the contraction for 1 second. Like above, adjust your weight as needed to stay within the rep bracket. Rest for 45-60 seconds before starting back on the pressdowns.

Chances are you won’t be needing much weight here when alls said and done:

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Aaaand that’s a wrap on this swoley arm session.

If you feel like you need more than the session above, you did not execute the session as it was meant to be. Use the videos to look for examples of what your exertion should be like, and how close to failure you are on each set.

It’s not necessarily what you do that makes a difference so much as it is how you do it. There’s something for you to stew upon as you eat your pre-arm blast meal.

If you want more sessions of this order of swole-itude, take your raging pump down to the link in my bio below, and join my world…where there’s no shortage of arm pumps, raging muscle-boners, fitness advice that doesn’t suck, or wicked training sessions.

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