TLDR: John Meadows’ Arm Training Manual, 6 weeks specialization for bigger arms
Gym goers enjoy using too much body English for any arms exercise, prioritizing weights over bigger arms. In the Arm Training Manual, John Meadows breaks down the anatomy of arms, their muscle fibre type and how to train them.
For biceps, he splits the muscle group into these categories and training methods:
| Part | What does it do | Training Tip | Target Exercises |
| Brachialis | Primary elbow flexor | Go for exercises that target the biceps in mid-range joint positions and get a pump | 1) Reverse Grip EZ bar curls
2) Paused at the bottom hammer curls 3) Cross body hammer curls |
| Brachii (Long and short head) | Elbow flexor and slight elbow flexion | Rotate the arm from neutral to supinated position during a curl movement
Alter the starting position by slightly initiating the curl in front of the body instead of at the side (slight shoulder flexion) |
1) Alternating supination curl (start with the palms facing the body, palms up in the middle of the movement)
2) Barbell curl (slightly in front of body) 3) Kettlebell curl |
| Brachioradialis | Elbow flexor, secondarily forearm pronation or supination | End range exercises target this muscle the best | 1) Hammer Preacher curl
2) Seated hammer incline curl 3) Scott preacher curl |
As for the triceps, it is primarily 65/35 fast twitch to slow twitch ratio. The recommendations are:
| Part | What does it do | Training Tip | Target Exercises |
| Long Head | Shoulder extension, shoulder adduction and elbow extension | This muscle is activated the most when doing bench presses or overhead elbow extensions | Compound lifts:
Bench press/ pushups with a narrower grip
Isolations: 1) Cable Tricep pushdown 2) Dips 3) Skullcrushers 4) 60 degree incline bench chest supported kickback |
| Medial and Lateral Head | Elbow extension | Focus on the lockouts |
There is also a 6-week program attached for arms for 3x a week.
Pros:
- Specialization for arms (good to be focused)
Cons:
- Nothing much, should be a good program to make those guns grow