After yesterdays three quad workouts, getting out of bed this morning fight like an Olympic event. After todays three arm workouts, I will be shocked if I have the ability to style my hair tomorrow morning!
We covered three different hypertrophy protocols for arm training while emphasizing multiple angles on the strength curve to reach the end results of bigger arms. I am absolutely grateful for the opportunity to be around individuals who have made this line of work their life calling so they can make my life better and I can hopefully do the same for you,
Okay, here are today’s take aways…
1. Every arm exercise moves through a force curve – the stretch (fully extended) position, mid range (where you are strongest) and the shortened (fully contracted) position. Isolating different points of the strength curve makes a huge difference in hypertrophy.
2. Arnold (probably intuitively) got this correct. If you study his workouts you’ll notice he uses many exercises to stretch the length, overload the mid range and strengthen the contraction. Maximize Your Muscle members know this style of training as Positions of Flexion (as coined by Steve Holman of IronMag)
3. It’s “Tricep(s)!” not Tricep….”
4. Slight cervical extension is needed for max strength while training because when you flex your neck forward you won’t get max activation of all the muscles innervated by C1-c7. In short, when you train, keep your neck neutral or very slightly extended back. Once you look down or flex your neck forward, you’ll lose a good percentage of strength immediately.
5. The lateral head of the triceps is the lazy ass of the three. It requires loads of greater than 85% to be activated.
6. The long head head and medial head of the triceps are the work horses.
7. The more your elbows are away from the mid line of your body, the more lateral head.
8. For the majority of the population the typical individual has fast twitch triceps. (The greatest hockey players will typically have slow twitch muscle fibers as it contributes to accuracy. Hockey goons have fast twitch biceps (yank the guy in) and fast twitch triceps (to pummel the guy in the face).
9. The best tricep extension of all time is a decline tricep extension with chains. (I’ll show you why in a video some time).
10. Heavier weight (reps of 2-3) on chin ups, before your bicep work, will potentiate (activate) more work in the elbow flexors (biceps). Before you train biceps next, do 5 sets of 2 (heavy weight on chin ups) and then go train your lifts. Get ready to set some PBs!
11. Biceps are climbing muscles. Start climbing trees 
12. Trying to learn anatomy through text books is like training to learn how to fight by watching Bruce Lee videos. At some point, you need to get in a real fight!
13. The best way to learn anatomy is through dissection courses. Google search “anatomy with cadavers for strength coaches” and start learning about the human body with a 3-D view.
14. Charles talked about his breakthrough with knee rehab. His secret? Squatting balls to the hells = bulletproof knees. I’ll be taking future courses to understand this better in the future. Note: this does not apply IF you’re currently injured.
15. The BIGGEST limiting factor for skinny guys who want to build muscle: APPETITE. Your appetite will dictate how big you get. Ben reminded us that three of the guys who have the biggest appetite he knows also happen to be the biggest bodybuilders – Kai Greene, Victor Martinez and Ronnie Coleman. In short, the guys who build muscle the FASTEST have huge appetites.
16. Certain volume training (think high rep leg workout) can lead to a high level of acidity. Balance your pH levels with a greens drink.
17. The sports that deplete glycogen the fastest are judo, speed skating and wresting.
18. The average weight training workout burns 350 calories.
19. Want to get the best carb sources for your carb powder? Find out what the guys in the Tour De France use. We’ll be using what they use right now in about 15 years from now!
20. Look at supplements like this. The supplements you take pre workout will determine how strong you are. The ones you take while you train will determine your work capacity and the ones you take after your workout will dictate your recovery.
21. You probably know this but Red Bull is the biggest scam of all time. I believe at least two of the ingredients are stimulants but those sneaky bastards put in another ingredient called taurine – a supplement that is a “downer”. In short, it can put you to sleep. Taurine kicks in after the stimulants have got you wired taking you down and causing you to want to drink another one! Stop drinking Red Bull! Don’t ever buy a pre workout supplement with taurine in it. You’ll fall asleep in the locker room.
I know there were a lot of sound bites and some of the points are not put in context so if you need any clarifications about anything, let me know below. Your comments, feedback and questions are always welcome.
ALWAYS be learning!
Vince
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