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Pretty good article I found from the guy with, in my opinion, the best arm devel

opment in the history of bodybuilding...


Best Arms of All Time
By Lee Priest
You can develop your own best arms if you follow these fundamentals religious. L
ee Priest
I've yet to read a textbook that contributed more to my arm size than what I've
learned from my own lifetime of lifting. Since age 13 (1985), I've trained my ar
ms as a total package of biceps, triceps and forearms in the belief that they ar
e equally important.
These are the 17 arm fundamentals: 8 for biceps, 5 for triceps and 4 for forearm
s that I've always used. Lets get started.
BICEPS
RULE #1 VOLUME
Don't buy in to the cop-out that small muscle groups need fewer sets. The more s
ets I do, the more I grow, so 20 sets for biceps is an embarrassing minimum for
me. Usually I do 25 to 35. Obviously, I don't recommend that volume for you unle
ss you're at my level, but you should always push yourself to do more. How much,
more is indicated by the muscle?s refractory period. Beat it so senseless with
heavy weight that it remains fatigued until your next workout.
RULE #2 INCLUDE STANDING BARBELL CURLS IN EVERY WORKOUT
Every muscle group has its classic mass builder. For biceps, that exercise is st
anding barbell curls. They don't always have to be your first exercise, but they
must be in every biceps workout, Go very heavy with them, but never cheat. Keep
your elbows at your sides and get a complete contraction at the top. Lower the
bar slowly and tightly, but do not extend all the way to the bottom. Do these as
straight sets. They're too heavy to superset-at least they should be.
RULE #3 SUPERSET
Almost always, I superset near the end of my workout. By that time my biceps are
so numb from heavy straight sets that the blood has nowhere to go, so if I atta
ck them quickly with two different movements, it stirs things up and restores th
e pump. Beginners: Wait until you are intermediate or advanced before supersetti
ng. Build mass, with straight sets first.[/size]
RULE #4 INCLUDE TWO-ARM PREACHER CURLS IN EVERY WORKOUT
Preacher curls with either a barbell or cambered bar are a necessary power-isola
tion movement that involves just enough leverage to force the biceps bellies to
pull with maximum stress at both ends of their insertions.
RULE #5 CHANGE YOUR WORKOUTS
Just because I believe an exercise should be used every time doesn't mean it sho
uld be used in exactly the same way every time. Your body will familiarize itsel
f with a movement by coordinating various muscles. That makes the movement easie
r, but it reduces stress on the muscle. As a bodybuilder, you want to increase t
hat stress, so change your order of exercises every time. Never give your body a
chance to adapt.
RULE #6 INCLUDE DUMBBELL PREACHER CURLS IN EVERY WORKOUT
A one-arm dumbbell curl on a preacher bench enables me to apply power-isolation
to areas that cannot be reached by two-arm curls. By keeping the dumbbell level,
supinating it or pronating it, I can respectively target my biceps peak, inner

head, outer head or brachialis. This is not effective as a superset movement, be


cause of the delay between sets, but it's ideal for heavy straight sets.
RULE #7 BEGIN YOUR WORKOUT WITH DUMBBELL CONCENTRATION CURLS[/size]
If I already have a pump before my heaviest sets, the fatigue is driven deeper a
nd quicker into the muscle, so I pre-exhaust my biceps with concentration curls,
sometimes free-armed, sometimes from a spider bench and sometimes off the top o
f an incline bench.
RULE #8 INCLUDE ALTERNATE DUMBBELL CURLS IN EVERY WORKOUT
I credit this exercise more than any other for giving my biceps their spherical
mass. The versatility of this movement, and the fact that it allows me to use lo
ts of weight, endows me with the power to place that mass in any area of my bice
ps I choose. If I hold the dumbbells level, the bulk of the work is directed int
o my biceps brachii. If I supinate as I curl, I spread the mass around the ball
of my biceps.
TRICEPS
RULE #9 INCLUDE TWO-ARM DUMBBELL EXTENSIONS IN EVERY WORKOUT
You've seen those guys with the sides of their triceps horseshoes bulging around
the muscle bellies all the way to their elbows. This is how they got that mass,
it's the safest power movement for triceps. Interlocking my thumbs inside one e
nd of the dumbbell, I lower it until my hands are at the base of my skull, then
explode with all my might, pressing as far as I can, without locking out.
RULE #10 ONE-ARM BEHIND-THE-NECK DUMBBELL EXTENSIONS, THE PERFECT PRIORITIZER
I'm convinced that no one can have complete triceps development without this mov
ement. It hits all three heads of the triceps with sufficient distribution of po
wer to keep them in muscular balance. I get a fairly good stretch at the bottom
but I don't press all the way to the top. Constant tension works best with these
.
RULE #11 INCLUDE TRICEPS EXTENSIONS IN EVERY WORKOUT
I don't care where you put extension movements in your triceps workout just do t
hem every time. You can't have optimum triceps mass without them. I like a cambe
red bar but some guys prefer a straight bar. Also lying hits the belly seated hi
ts the horseshoe. In either case. I control the weight on the way down tightenin
g as I go then gradually turn on power for the press.
RULE #12 INCLUDE V-BAR CABLE PRESSDOWNS IN EVERY WORKOUT
The worst mistake bodybuilders make with cable pressdowns is to use them as a st
rict isolation movement, when they're perfectly designed for applying power and
building overall triceps mass, especially with a V bar. That's how I use them. I
lean in slightly, so I can press straight down through the power axis of my bod
y. Because of the weight I use, I let my elbows go where they want; my triceps s
till get all the work. I also stay in the six- to eight-rep range, using constan
t tension.
RULE #13 INCLUDE CLOSE-GRIP BENCH PRESSES IN EVERY WORKOUT
Nothing heats basic close-grip benches for building belly size in your triceps.
If you use a monkey grip and keep your hands just far enough apart to apply expl
osive power. the inner head of each triceps and the total length and girth of it
s belly--from your traps all the way down to your elbows--will become so huge th
at people will think you're keeping something in there that needs to be set free
. Look at what close-grip benches did for me.[/size]
RULE #14 CAMBERED-BAR REVERSE CURLS ARE THE BEST MASS-BALANCING ARM EXERCISE
My biceps-triceps-forearm proportions may be the best in the sport because I wor
k each of those muscle groups equally hard. I also make sure I hit them in a com
pound manner with this exercise. High reps produce a paralyzing pump in my lower

forearms and burn ropelike separations into my upper forearms. At the same time
, I'm working my biceps and brachialis to tie them in with my forearms.
FOREARMS
RULE #15 TRAIN FOREARMS AFTER BACK
Your forearms are used all day, every day, so in order to get them to grow, you
need to take them to extremes. The most efficient way to do that is to make sure
they're pre-exhausted, and they're optimally pre-exhausted after a back workout
. That's when I hit mine. My forearms then fatigue quicker and deeper, resulting
in a very efficient forearms workout.
RULE #16 USE VERY HIGH REPETITIONS
My forearms, and presumably yours, are accustomed to low reps from lifting heavy
weights for other bodypart workouts, so I figure that the best way to shock the
m awake is to do just the opposite: Hit them directly with insanely high reps, n
ever less than 25 and frequently going up to 100.
RULE #17 CURL AND TWIST THROUGH THREE DIMENSIONS
Not only must you do reverse curls for the top of your forearms and wrist curls
for the underside of your forearms, but you should also add hammer curls and twi
sts to spread mass around your entire forearms areas.
CALL TO ARMS
By following these fundamentals, the upside is that my arms keep getting bigger.
The downside is that what I'm doing never gets easier. The moral is that if you
're willing to suffer these rules, you'll eventually need a flatbed truck to lug
around your arms, as I do. What are you waiting for?
LEE PRIEST'S ARM PROGRAM FOR BEGINNERS
BICEPS
Dumbbell Concentration Curls 3 10-12
Barbell Curls 3 10-12
Alternate Dumbbell Curls 3 10-12
Barbell Preacher Curls 3 10-12
Dumbbell Preacher Curls 3 10-12
TRICEPS
French Presses 3 10-12
Two-Arm Dumbbell Extensions 3 10-12
Close-Grip Bench Presses 3 10-12
V-Bar Cable Pressdowns 3 10-12
One-Arm Dumbbell Extensions 3 10-12
FOREARMS
Cambered-Bar Reverse Curls 3 12-18
Alternate Dumbbell Hammer Curls 3 12-18
Barbell Wrist Curls 3 12-18
Dumbbell Wrist Curls 3 12-18
LEE PRIEST'S ARM PROGRAM FOR INTERMEDIATES
BICEPS
Dumbbell Concentration Curls 4 6-8
Barbell Curls 4 6-8
Cambered-Bar Preacher Curls 4 6-8
Seated Alternate Dumbbell Curls 4 6-8 superset with Underhand Chinups 4 to Failu
re
Dumbbell Preacher Curls 4 6-8
TRICEPS
Close-Grip Bench Presses 4 6-8
Two-Arm Dumbbell Extensions 4 6-8
Lying French Presses 4 6-8
V-Bar Cable Pressdowns 4 6-8 superset with Seated French Presses 4 6-8

One-Arm Dumbbell Extensions 4 6-8


FOREARMS
Cambered-Bar Reverse Curls 4 6-8
Barbell Wrist Curls 4 6-8
Alternate Dumbbell Hammer Curls 4 6-8
Dumbbell Wrist Curls 4 6-8
LEE PRIEST'S ADVANCED ARM PROGRAM
BICEPS
Dumbbell Concentration Curls 5 6-8
Barbell Curls 7 6-8
Alternate Dumbbell Curls 5 6-8
Cambered-Bar Preacher Curls 5 6-8 superset with Underhand Pullups 5 Sets to Fail
ure
Dumbbell Preacher Curls 5 6-8
TRICEPS
Close-Grip Bench Presses 7 6-8
Two-Arm Dumbbell Extensions 5 6-8
Lying French Presses 5 6-8
V-Bar cable Pressdowns 5 6-8 superset with Dips 5 Sets to Failure
Seated French Presses 5 6-8
One-Arm Dumbbell Extensions 3 6-8
FOREARMS
Alternate Dumbbell Hammer Curls 5 8-10
Barbell Wrist Curls 5 25+
Dumbbell Wrist Curls 5 25+
Cambered-Bar Reverse Curls 5 25+
LEE PRIEST'S TRAINING SCHEDULE
Day 1: Legs
Day 2: Back, Forearms
Day 3: Chest
Day 4: Shoulders
Day 5: Arms
Calves Trained Daily
Abdominals Trained Every Other Day
TRAINING GUIDELINES
* For all workouts, warm up with two or three light sets of the first exercise.
* Beginners should work to just short of failure.
* Beginners and intermediates should train arms twice a week, with two or three
days between each workout.
* Intermediates and advanced trainers should work to failure.
* Advanced trainers should train arms once per week.
CURRENT RING COUNT
MBC2K4: 0
LeBron James: 0
I AM THE CHOSEN ONE!!!

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