We’ve yet to meet someone who is serious about fitness that desires to own flabby, weak arms. In fact, the mere thought that such a bizarre lifter exists sends terror shivers ripping down our spine.
But in order to achieve strong, defined pipes you a) have to remove the autopilot from your training routine, and b) must be aware of any red flags that could pose a threat to your progress. For help spotting the warning signals, we spoke with ACE personal trainer Franklin Antoian, creator of iBodyFit.com
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You’re Too Obsessive About Your Biceps …
Are you you neglecting your triceps? And considering your tri’s are two thirds of your arm, you’re shooting yourself in the arm, er, foot by ignoring them. “Guys especially tend to focus on the muscles they can see — chest, biceps, and quads, and they often forget about the muscles on the back of their body,” explains Antoian.
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You Train Your Arms Daily
When building your body, the more you practice the better you get, except there also needs to be a focus on rest and recovery. “Training your arms daily is a mistake most likely made by a novice weightlifter,” says Antoian. “That person probably thinks that in order for their arms to grow as quickly as possibly they need to train them as often as possible. However, muscle tissue it takes about 48 hours to recover after it’s broken down.”
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You Take Too Much Time Off
Remember what we told you about training too much? The other side to that is being too lax with your scheduling. “Try adding a midweek bi’s and tri’s workout into your routine,” says Antoian. “Make sure you’re getting that 48-hour rest period, but it’s about prioritizing the body parts you want to grow. If nothing else, it’s a fun workout and a great pump.”
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You Get Tunnel Vision
Be resolute and consistent with your exercise variety. Don’t stick to movements that allow you to showoff your strength or that come relatively easy to you. “There are so many variations of the curl: concentration, hammer, reverse drop sets — and that’s just with a dumbbell,” says Antoian. “Don’t just get into the habit of isolating the same parts of your arms. Doing that doesn’t utilize the entire muscle.”
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Your Reps Are Robotic
Going on cruise control with how many and how fast or slow you execute your reps is a one-way ticket to hitting a plateau. “There is a lot of misinformation about reps,” Antoian explains. “Guys tend to think you should only go heavy with low reps, and women tend to think you only need to do higher reps. But using a hybrid approach where you switch your reps up every four weeks or so enables you to incorporate more muscle fibers.” Translation: continuous progression.
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Your ROM is BAD
Going too heavy creates sloppy form and often truncates the range of motion used in a specific movement. And short-arming an exercise creates modifications that can alter its intended focus. “When you’re standing on your tippy toes and using momentum to try to complete a rep you’re not under control,” Antoian says. “Instead, aim to use proper form and remain under control while achieving the full range of motion of the exercise. This will ensure that you’re recruiting every muscle fiber for that exercise.”
