“My arm training has sucked lately. Got any tips to make my biceps explode?” – Craig T.
I feel your pain. To keep my arm training effective, I rarely follow the ‘standard’ 8-12 rep protocol most lifters typically use when training biceps and triceps.
To keep your arms growing, and to make continuous progress in the gym, you not only have to vary the exercises, the repetitions, and the weight used in your training, you have to train with great intensity.
IGYG method
And nothing is more intense than the IGYG method. The I-Go-You-Go (or IGYG) method will make you a believer in using shorter rest periods to create more muscle mass.
The IGYG method is super-simple and easy to program. Two training partners will perform an exercise for a specific number of repetitions, and will only rest while the other one is working. So, once one lifter is done with his reps, the other partner will immediately begin his set. They will go back and forth until the total number of target sets is completed.
We like the use of the IGYG protocol with an escalating ladder. This is a perfect scenario, because as the repetitions increase in the ladder, so does each training partner’s rest period with the IGYC protocol. This will ensure quality repetitions, and keep the sets intense.
Here is a brutal IGYG / ladder combo that is guaranteed to tear your biceps off the bone.
Method: Escalating ladder with IGYG (only rest when the other partner is lifting)
Load: Around 70-75 % of your 3RM for barbell curls
The load on the bar will remain the same throughout all sets. As the reps increase, so does the rest periods for each lifter. Lifter A will perform set 1 and then Lifter B will perform set 1. Then the bar will immediately go back to Lifter A to start set 2—and so on. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Good luck.
