[h=1]Branch Warren [/h]
30 Sets for Arms: Overkill?
I was watching a video on MD with Victor, Juan Morel and Jonathan De La Rosa training arms, and they must have done five exercises each for biceps and triceps. I want to say the total amount of sets was around 30. That strikes me as overkill. What do you think? How many exercises and sets do you feel is about right on arm day?
It’s really up to the individual. You can certainly go very heavy and get the job done with a lot less sets and overall volume. That’s fine unless your tendons don’t agree with it. It got to the point for me where my elbows couldn’t take super heavy close-grip bench presses and skull-crushers anymore, so I started going a little lighter and using more volume. There was also a period of a few years when I trained my arms twice a week to bring them up. One workout was pretty standard volume with heavy weights, the other was higher volume, with higher reps and supersets and aiming more for a pump. That worked like a charm for me. I agree that 30 sets or more for arms is probably too much for most guys, but then again, there are also guys out there who would grow better doing that. Until you’ve tried both styles, how would you know what worked best for you?
Bringing Up Weak Hams on Leg Day
A lot of guys talk about working the hamstrings before quads on leg day, when trying to bring up your hamstrings. I’ve been considering doing something similar, as my hamstrings aren’t on a par with my quads. My lower back fatigues quite a lot during squats and front squats, and I end up struggling to complete any stiff-legged/Romanian deadlifts or any other hip extension exercises. I’m still relatively new to training (just under the two-year mark), but not worried about my quads as much because they tend to be more responsive. Do you think this is a good approach, or do you have any other options I could explore?
If your hams are a weak point, then you should definitely make them a priority. The two ways of doing that are either working them before quads like you’re thinking about doing, or hitting them at a different workout either that same day or another day of the week. If your quads are growing pretty well, it probably just makes sense for you to train hamstrings before quads in one workout. I did try breaking up the quads and hams briefly just to see how it would go, but it never felt right to me. As for your lower back fatiguing, that also used to happen to me back in the day. Your lower back is probably a weak link, so you need to start hitting your deadlifts and hyperextensions. Once I began doing more deadlifts and my lower back thickened up and got stronger, I never had that problem with it giving out on me on leg day.
30 Sets for Arms: Overkill?
I was watching a video on MD with Victor, Juan Morel and Jonathan De La Rosa training arms, and they must have done five exercises each for biceps and triceps. I want to say the total amount of sets was around 30. That strikes me as overkill. What do you think? How many exercises and sets do you feel is about right on arm day?
It’s really up to the individual. You can certainly go very heavy and get the job done with a lot less sets and overall volume. That’s fine unless your tendons don’t agree with it. It got to the point for me where my elbows couldn’t take super heavy close-grip bench presses and skull-crushers anymore, so I started going a little lighter and using more volume. There was also a period of a few years when I trained my arms twice a week to bring them up. One workout was pretty standard volume with heavy weights, the other was higher volume, with higher reps and supersets and aiming more for a pump. That worked like a charm for me. I agree that 30 sets or more for arms is probably too much for most guys, but then again, there are also guys out there who would grow better doing that. Until you’ve tried both styles, how would you know what worked best for you?
Bringing Up Weak Hams on Leg Day
A lot of guys talk about working the hamstrings before quads on leg day, when trying to bring up your hamstrings. I’ve been considering doing something similar, as my hamstrings aren’t on a par with my quads. My lower back fatigues quite a lot during squats and front squats, and I end up struggling to complete any stiff-legged/Romanian deadlifts or any other hip extension exercises. I’m still relatively new to training (just under the two-year mark), but not worried about my quads as much because they tend to be more responsive. Do you think this is a good approach, or do you have any other options I could explore?
If your hams are a weak point, then you should definitely make them a priority. The two ways of doing that are either working them before quads like you’re thinking about doing, or hitting them at a different workout either that same day or another day of the week. If your quads are growing pretty well, it probably just makes sense for you to train hamstrings before quads in one workout. I did try breaking up the quads and hams briefly just to see how it would go, but it never felt right to me. As for your lower back fatiguing, that also used to happen to me back in the day. Your lower back is probably a weak link, so you need to start hitting your deadlifts and hyperextensions. Once I began doing more deadlifts and my lower back thickened up and got stronger, I never had that problem with it giving out on me on leg day.
