31 340BS at polebrook them eight hebdo past challenges tone curl with a really light dumbbell you can feel a contraction, but not a hard one. That said, 't compromise form for weight. Here's exercise called incline concentration curl that's really good for hard contractions: Push the dumbbells together as shown the upcoming video below and squeeze the heck out of them. Watch the video of the incline concentration curl to get idea of the form. For triceps, as mentioned earlier, all pushdown variations work extremely well for strong, forceful contractions. I really 't the value taking breaks with small muscle groups. Seriously, if you're winded and ready to pass out after a set of 8 reps on barbell curls, your cardiovascular conditioning is a joke. If you do some Googling you'll find studies that demonstrate increased hypertrophy from shorter rest periods. I'll let you do that on your own time, as this article is more about street knowledge. Blood flow. Shorter rest periods help you achieve more of a pump. I know this is controversial, as believe the pump is overrated. I 't agree. Through the years I've found the best arm training results when I was also getting the best pumps. I'm sure proper nutrition, pre and intra-workout supplementation, and other factors also play a huge role, but I'm convinced that short rest breaks on arms pump the heck out of them if you're using good form with a manageable weight. how should your breaks be? Here are a few things you should try: 30-second breaks. This is the rest interval I typically take when pre-contest mode. It's enough time to recharge for your next set, but not that you lose focus. If you're alternating between biceps and triceps exercises, the timing should work itself out. Just go back and forth, banging out your sets. Note: I 't sit and actually time myself, nor should you once you've gone through a few workouts and become accustomed to a brisker pace. Autoregulation, right? It works. Volume for biceps and triceps training is lower than with larger body parts such as legs and back. With these techniques for intensity, a high number of sets simply isn't necessary. Like all body parts, I like to gradually increase arm volume, train hard for six weeks or at that volume, and then bring the volume back down. Intensity doesn't change, but the difference volume provides built periodization. 12-week program for arms looks like this: Phase 2 Weeks 4: Use a high volume approach. Now we start to build volume each week. Your body be adjusting to the intensity you threw at it the first phase, we keep it off balance by adding more overall volume and total tonnage lifted over the course of another six weeks. Sets typically go to 9 sets for biceps and 12 for triceps, with more high intensity sets added weekly. Typically we use three to four exercises. You're going to for 6 weeks hard during this phase. Phase 3 Weeks 10: Use a low to medium volume approach. Set ranges be around 4 sets for biceps and triceps. Overall volume now goes down terms of sets, but the sets you do be the hardest sets you've done your life. We generally use two exercises during this phase. Deload Phase 2 weeks: As with any hard program, there's a period of deloading that benefit you the run by rebounding from the cumulative neural fatigue that accompanies high intensity work. Everyone is different though; I've had people insert this at the six week point and others go over 30 weeks training with lights out intensity while making continued progress. Generally, two weeks of light training is general recommendation after a brutal 12 weeks. Let's take a look at two sample workouts. Here's a typical arm workout from Phase I of program. It's 8 sets for biceps and 10 sets for triceps. Rest 30 seconds between sets on all exercises. body hammer curls: 3 sets of 10 reps. Do 2 warm up sets of 10 reps first. Do 3 working sets of 10 reps, remembering to squeeze hard on every contraction. Grip the dumbbells hard. When you lower the weight, let it come all the way down you begin to warm up your lower biceps. EZ bar preacher curl: 3 sets of 8 reps. Again, I want you to squeeze hard at the top. Lower the bar about 90% of the way down. 't straighten your arms all the way out as this is a recipe for injury. Barbell or EZ bar curls with 3-second descent: 2 sets of 8 reps. The key is to lower the weight with a 3 second cadence. Your biceps should be on fire at this point. Try to use as heavy a weight as you can with perfect form. The