This 30-Day Arm Challenge Can Help You Get Swole This Summer
YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD THAT IN FITNESS, as in other aspects of your life, maintaining a sense of balance is a virtue. That's why the workout plans we typically recommend are stacked from top to bottom with exercises that compliment each other to build strength everywhere. From push-pull splits to total body programs, we're all about the total experience.
But this month, toss that truism out the window, at least when it comes to chasing a pump and a formidable pair of arms. With the right plan, every day can be arm day. Good thing too, because sleeveless season is here.
Sure, the conventional wisdom suggests you can’t train the same body part every day, so you can’t train arms for 30 consecutive days, right? Wrong, because arm training isn’t exactly like your leg day hell or that big back day. Biceps curls and triceps extension don’t fry your central nervous system the way deadlifts, squats, and big bench presses do, so you can sneak in a little extra arm work more often than you think.
This month, your challenge is to train arms for 30 consecutive days (plus one bonus workout if you're really into the plan). The catch: Not every single day is going to be biceps curls. Some days, you’ll do classic biceps or triceps moves. Others, you’ll stimulate your bis and tris by having them perform the way they do in everyday life (your biceps helps pull loads to you; your tris are critical in pushing things away from your body). Your brachialis, the muscle that helps your biceps to pop, receives some focus, as your your shoulders. Don't worry if you forgot about your forearms, which help with all-important grip strength—you'll work on those, too.
Each day, you’ll do 4 sets of the given movement for the programmed amount of reps. It’s 5 minutes on the back end of your regular workout, or 5 minutes when you have time to spare and spot a dumbbell or kettlebell. If you don't have those weights handy, any household item with a handle will do, from jugs of water to backpacks filled with books. You'll also need a weight bench or some similar raised platform for some of the movements.
Along the way, you’ll learn 14 arm moves you might not have been familiar with, and gradually load those exercises more from week to week. If you stick to the plank you’ll walk away with bigger, stronger arms. Variety might be the spice of life, but this particular road will lead you to the big loaded guns of Ron Burgundy's dreams.
The Men's Health 30-Day Arms Challenge Exercises
▼ Close-Grip Pushup
▼ Half-Full Hammer Curl
▼ Half-Kneeling Shoulder Presses
▼ Double Skullcrusher to Double JM Press
▼ Tall Kneeling Clean to Eccentric Curl
▼ Half-Iso Hammer Curl
▼ Kneeling Curl
▼ Pause-and-Twist Hammer Curl
▼ Paused Row
▼ Reverse-Grip Plank Row Hold
▼ Single-Arm Press to Windmill
▼ Skullcrusher
▼ Spider Hammer Curl
▼ Two-Step Close-Grip Pushup
Week 1
Day 1 - Functional Biceps (Pull)
Dumbbell Paused Row - 4 sets of 10 reps per side
Day 2 - Functional Triceps (Push)
Close-Grip Pushup - 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps
Day 3 - Biceps
Kneeling Dumbbell Curl 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps
Day 4 - Triceps
Skullcrusher - 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps
Day 5 - Shoulders
Half-Kneeling Press - 4 sets of 8 to 10 reps
Day 6 - Brachialis
Spider Hammer Curl - 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps
Day 7 - Forearms
Pause and Twist Hammer Curl - 4 sets of 8 to 10 reps
Week 2
Day 1 - Functional Biceps (Pull)
Reverse-Grip Plank Row Hold - 4 sets of 30 seconds
Day 2 - Functional Triceps (Push)
Two-Step Close-Grip Pushup - 4 sets of 8 to 10 reps
Day 3 - Biceps
Half-Kneeling Clean to Eccentric Curl - 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps
Day 4 - Triceps
Double Skullcrusher to Double JM Press - 4 sets of 3 to 4 clusters
Day 5 - Shoulders
Half-Kneeling Press to Windmill - 4 sets of 8 to 10 reps
Day 6 - Brachialis
Half-Full Hammer Curl - 4 sets of 8 to 10 reps
Day 7 - Forearms
Half-Iso Hammer Curl - 4 sets of 8 to 10 reps
Week 3: Dropsets
Day 1 - Functional Biceps (Pull)
Paused Row - 4 sets of 10 reps, then row hold for 15 seconds
Day 2 - Functional Triceps (Push)
4 sets of 6 to 8 Two-Step Close-Grip Pushup reps, then 4 to 6 Close-Grip Pushups
Day 3 - Biceps
4 sets of 8 Kneeling Curl reps, then 3 to 4 Tall Kneeling Clean to Eccentric Curl reps
Day 4 - Triceps
4 sets of 8 Skullcrusher reps, then 2 to 3 clusters of Double Skullcrusher to JM Press
Day 5 - Shoulders
4 sets of 4 to 6 Half-Kneeling Press-to-Windmill reps, then 4 reps of Half-Kneeling Press
Day 6 - Brachialis
4 sets of 6 to 8 Half-Full Hammer reps, then 4 to 6 Spider Hammer Curl reps
Day 7 - Forearms
4 sets of 6 to 8 Pause-and-Twist Hammer Curl reps, then 4 to 6 Half-Iso Hammer Curl reps
Week 4: Focused Reps to Failure Reps
Day 1 - Functional Biceps (Pull)
4 sets of 15 second Row Hold to 8 to 10 Paused Row reps
Day 2 - Functional Triceps (Push)
4 sets of 10 Close-Grip Pushups to Two-Step Close-Grip Pushups to failure
Day 3 - Biceps
4 sets of 4 to 6 Kneeling Clean to Eccentric Curl reps, then Kneeling Curls t0 failure
Day 4 - Triceps
4 sets of 2 to 3 Double Skullcrusher to Double JM Press clusters, then Skullcrusher reps to failure
Day 5 - Shoulders
4 sets of 6 Half-Kneeling Press reps, then Half-Kneeling Press to Windmill to failure
Day 6 - Brachialis
4 sets of 6 Spider Hammer Curl reps, then Half-Full Hammer Curl reps to failure
Day 7 - Forearms
4 sets of 4 Half-Iso Hammer reps, then Pause-and-Twist Hammer Curls to failure
Week 5: Devastating Combos
Day 1 - Functional Biceps (Pull)
4 sets of 30 second Row Hold to 8 Kneeling Curl reps, to 6 Half-Iso Hammer Curl reps
Day 2 - Functional Triceps (Push)
4 sets of 8 Skullcrusher reps to 8 Two-Step Close-Grip Pushup reps, to Close-Grip Pushup reps to failure
Day 3 - Biceps
4 sets of 6 Kneeling Clean to Eccentric Curl reps to 6 Kneeling Curl reps to 6 Half-Iso Hammer Curl reps
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