This month’s big workout from Men’s Fitness magazine is designed to add serious muscle size to your biceps, triceps and shoulders in just four weeks. You’ll train these muscle groups not once but twice a week to give them the added stimulus they need to grow bigger and stronger in the shortest possible time. In addition to two arms and shoulders workouts a week, there’s a chest and back session, and a legs and abs session, so while the main muscle-building focus is on your arms and shoulders, you’ll be targeting your other major muscles for growth too.
Here’s how the plan works
This month’s four-week workout is made up of four sessions a week. Workout one targets your chest and back; workout two, your arms and shoulders; workout three, legs and abs; and workout four, arms and shoulders again. This approach means your biceps, triceps and shoulders are trained directly twice a week, and this increased gym time and increased training volume will prompt these muscles to grow bigger far more quickly than you thought possible.
Each workout is made up of five moves. The first two moves are big, compound lifts done in straight sets of eight reps of five sets. The final three moves, which are more isolation-focused, make up a tri-set, which means you’ll do them in order without resting until you’ve completed all the reps of the third move. The first two moves of the first arms and shoulders workout are shoulder-focused, with the tri-set working the arms. This is reversed in the second arms and shoulders session. Simply do the workouts in order, sticking to the sets, reps, tempo and rest periods detailed, and transform your torso with more muscle mass across the board.
Tempo training
To get the full effect from these workouts, you need to stick to the four-digit tempo code for each exercise. The first digit indicates how long in seconds you take to lower the weight, the second how long you pause at the bottom of the move, the third how long you take to lift the weight, and the final digit how long you pause at the top.
The accumulated time under tension increases your heart rate to burn body fat and break down muscle tissue so it’s rebuilt bigger and stronger. Keep each rep smooth and controlled so your muscles – not momentum – do the work, and move through a full range of motion.
Your Four-Week Big Arms Plan
Here’s how each of the four weeks of the plan is structured. Click the links to jump to that particular workout.
Workout 1: Chest And Back
Workout 2: Arms And Shoulders
Workout 3: Legs And Abs
Workout 4: Arms And Shoulders
Workout 1: Chest And Back
1 Bench press
Sets 5 Reps 8 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec
Lie on a flat bench holding a barbell with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Brace your core, then lower the bar towards your chest. Press it back up to the start.
2 Bent-over row
Sets 5 Reps 8 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec
Hold a barbell with an overhand grip, hands just outside your legs. Bend your knees slightly, brace your core, then pull the bar up, leading with your elbows. Lower it back to the start.
3A Incline dumbbell press
Sets 3 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 Rest 0sec
Lie on an incline bench holding a dumbbell in each hand by your shoulders. Brace your core, then press the weights up until your arms are straight. Lower them back to the start.
3B Incline dumbbell flye
Sets 3 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 Rest 0sec
Lie on an incline bench holding a dumbbell in each hand above your face, with your palms facing and a slight bend in your elbows. Lower them to the sides, then bring them back to the top.
3C One-arm row
Sets 3 Reps 12 each side Tempo 2111 Rest 60sec
Kneel on a bench with one hand on it for support, holding a dumbbell in the other hand. Keeping your chest up, row the weight up, leading with your elbow. Then lower back to the start. Complete all the reps on one side, then switch.
Workout 2: Arms And Shoulders
1 Chin-up
Sets 5 Reps 8 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec
Hold a chin-up bar with an underhand grip. Brace your core, then pull yourself up until your chin is higher than the bar. Lower until your arms are straight again.
2 Triceps dip
Sets 5 Reps 8 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec
Grip rings or parallel bars with your arms straight. Keeping your chest up, bend your elbows to lower your body as far as your shoulders allow. Press back up powerfully to return to the start.
3A Seated dumbbell overhead press
Sets 3 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 Rest 0sec
Sit on a bench with a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height. Keeping your chest up, press the weights directly overhead until your arms are straight, then lower them back to the start.
3B Lateral raise
Sets 3 Reps 12 Tempo 2111 Rest 0sec
Stand tall with a light dumbbell in each hand with palms facing. Keeping your chest up and a bend in your elbows, raise the weights out to shoulder height, then lower back to the start.
3C Reverse lateral raise
Sets 3 Reps 12 Tempo 2111 Rest 60sec
Bend forwards from the hips with a light dumbbell in each hand, palms facing. Keeping a bend in your elbows, raise the weights out to shoulder height, then lower back to the start.
Workout 3: Legs And Abs
1 Back squat
Sets 5 Reps 8 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec
Stand tall with a bar across the back of your shoulders. Keeping your chest up and core braced, squat down as deep as you can. Drive back up through your heels to return to the start.
2 Front squat
Sets 5 Reps 8 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec
Stand tall holding a bar across the front of your shoulders with elbows up. Keeping your core braced, squat down as deep as you can. Drive back up through your heels to return to the start.
3A Glute bridge
Sets 3 Reps 12 Tempo 2111 Rest 0sec
Lie with your upper back supported on a bench and a barbell across the top of your thighs. Thrust your hips up, squeezing your glutes at the top, then return to the start.
3B Good morning
Sets 3 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 Rest 0sec
Stand tall holding a light barbell across the back of your shoulders, feet shoulder-width apart. Keeping your core braced, bend forwards slowly from the hips, as far as your hamstrings allow but not past horizontal. Return to the start.
3C Barbell roll-out
Sets 3 Reps 12 Tempo 2111 Rest 60sec
Kneel on the floor holding a barbell with both hands. Roll the bar forwards so you lower your torso, keeping your core braced. Then use your abs muscles to return to the start.
Workout 4: Arms And Shoulders
1 Overhead press
Sets 5 Reps 8 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec
Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a barbell across the top of your chest with hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Keeping your chest up and core braced, press the bar overhead until your arms are straight, then lower it back to the start.
2 Rack pull
Sets 5 Reps 8 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec
Stand tall in front of a barbell resting on safety bars at knee height. Using a double overhand grip, bend down and deadlift the bar up, squeezing your shoulder blades together at the top.
3A Seated dumbbell curl
Sets 3 Reps 12 Tempo 2111 Rest 0sec
Sit on a bench with dumbbells by your sides, palms facing forwards. Keeping your elbows tucked in, curl the weights up, squeezing your biceps at the top. Lower them back to the start.
3B Standing dumbbell curl
Sets 3 Reps 12 Tempo 2111 Rest 0sec
Hold dumbbells by your sides with straight arms, palms facing forwards. Keeping your elbows tucked in, curl the weights up, squeezing your biceps at the top. Lower them back to the start.
3C Triceps extension
Sets 3 Reps 12 Tempo 2010 Rest 60sec
Stand tall holding a dumbbell over your head with both hands, arms straight. Keeping your chest up, lower the weight behind your head, then raise it back to the start.
