ARMS
Arm yourself with the following gun-growing advice
1 Curl higher
Four-time Mr Universe, sometime Governator and noodle-armterminator Arnold Schwarzenegger has always been a stickler for good form. With the biceps curl, that means flexing and extending fully at the top and bottom. Any lateral movement away from the line between your hand and shoulder is a cardinal sin – if you move your hand in or out a fraction, you’ll ease the tension on your biceps and stay closer to the noodle zone. And squeeze at the top.
2 Go heavier
You can do this and still follow the sound advice to ‘leave your ego at the door’ – the key is to cheat the concentric (lifting) part of a lift and then focus on the eccentric (lowering) phase. A study at the University of Florida found that neglecting the eccentric phase could cut your gains in half. So, instead, try overloading it. On your final set pick a weight you’d struggle to lift fully, get help hefting it to the top of the move from a spotter, then dig in and lower the weight as slowly as you can. Take a breath and repeat, five times minimum.
3 Shoot for a ton
Three-time America’s Strongest Man victor Derek Poundstone was renowned for his pain-tolerance training. He’d do a century of curls with just the 20kg bar, learning to handle the searing lactate in his biceps so he could work harder with other lifts while also sparking a huge surge of hypertrophy for his atlas st
