4 Arm Training Mistakes Almost Everyone Makes

Big arms! With the possible exception of a big bench press, big arms are the Holy Grail for bodybuilders.Even your casual trainees want big arms more than anything.Sure, genetics plays a role in arm size, but most people don't come close to their genetic potential.

There are a number of reasons for that, but there are a few big ones when it comes to upper arm size.

1. Following Pro Bodybuilder Routines

This may be the biggest killer of mass building dreams that ever existed! The pro bodybuilders in the magazines are one in a million (if not more) genetically speaking.They also spend a lot of money on PEDs.

With their genetics thay can get massive and crazy strong on just about any lifting routine they use. Some might even grow muscles just by looking at a barbell.

The point is, they are not you.And trying to use their routines will not get you the results you want! Have you every checked out Arnold's Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding? The workouts in there are six days a week, with sixty, seventy or more sets per workout! It is crazy!Arnold could grow on that routine.Mere mortals can not.

2. Ignoring The Big Muscles

Your body is only going to get so far out of balance.If your thighs measure twenty inches, you are not going to build twenty inch arms. Makes sense, right? And yet many bodybuilders, in their quest for big arms, or even a big chest, neglect the two biggest muscles that you must train hard if you want big arms. That's the legs and the back.

These get skipped a lot (at least by guys who don't enter contests) because most trainees want a big bench and big arms. Oh, and working the legs and back, that's really hard work!Not many people want to use big weights on the barbell squat or the deadlift.

Unless you workout in a hardcore bodybuilding gym, you'll rarely see anyone put much into squats or deadlifts, if you see it at all.

A lot of these modern “gyms” don't even have squat racks! Anyone that trains legs, it's usually done on some shiny machine where you can sit comfortably.

But if you want big arms, you need to dedicate some time and hard work to squatting and deadlifting.

3. Performing Too Much Bicep Work

The bicep is the “show me” muscle. It's what everyone flexes. But it's the tricep that makes up almost seventy percent of the size of the upper arm. Yet most trainees do a lot of bicep work and very little tricep work. It's almost an after thought.Hitting some tricep push downs just doens't have the same feel as barbell curls.

But if you really want to grow those arms, you need to focus on quality tricep work. This means exercises like dips, lying tricep extensions and the close grip bench press.

4. Too Much Arm Training

When it comes to focusing on building bigger arms, doing too much arm work is a big problem. Everyone wants to bomb, blitz, blast, and crush lots of arm exercises, sets and reps. But that's not the way to go.

It's not about quantity, it's about quality. This means choosing the right exercises, getting enough time under tension and training with intensity.Remember, the arms get a lot of work during chest, back and shoulder training.

Keep things simple. Make sure to work the legs and back. Focus more on the triceps than the biceps, limit the number of sets, but be sure and perform high quality, intense work. Then allow your body to recover before training again.