Arnold: Even to this day, I’m often asked about my arms. Although they still look pretty decent for a guy my age (which is to say, very young), people are endlessly fascinated with how I built my arms to 22″ when I was competing. More specifically, they want to know how I built such peaked biceps.
Arnold Throughout The Years
The fact is, every bodybuilder wants peaked biceps, but the shape of one’s biceps is largely a matter of genetics. Everyone is born with a different set of genes, including those that determine muscle size and shape. I was fortunate to be born with good muscle shape and fullness, particularly in my biceps. Even when I was a teenager, my biceps were a strong point and I found that they were very responsive to almost anything I did for them. But what is most important is that you work to maximize your own potential.
In the beginning
I performed a ton of barbell cheat curls to bulk up my biceps. As I progressed, I realized that bodybuilding was about more than just slapping muscle onto one’s body.
I needed to sculpt my muscles the same way that an artist molds clay into a beautiful form. So I looked at how different exercises affected my muscles and started organizing my workouts according to my specific wants and needs. This type of “instinctive training” was the first key to developing the physique that won seven Olympia titles.
The Peak
When it came to biceps, I saw that I had a natural propensity toward highly peaked biceps. So I made the decision to accentuate this strength by including dumbbell concentration curls in my routine. Concentration curls are the single best exercise for maximizing the biceps’ peak and they should definitely be included in your own biceps workout.
Scene from Pumping Iron
Concentration Curls
The exercise can be performed in a variety of ways, so which one you choose depends on your personal preference. The basic movement requires bending at the waist with a dumbbell held in one hand hanging below your shoulder. Without moving your upper arm, curl the dumbbell to your shoulder, squeeze the biceps hard at the top of the movement and lower it again in a smooth, controlled manner.
Schwarzenegger’s Peaking Routine
EXERCISE | SETS | REPS |
---|---|---|
Barbell curls | 5 | 10 |
Seated incline dumbbell curls | 5 | 8 - 10 |
Dumbbell concentration curls | 5 | 10 - 12 |
NOTE: Every third week, switch the order of the last two exercises, performing concentration curls before incline dumbbell curls, to prioritize the peaking effect
You can perform concentration curls either sitting on a bench or standing, with the working elbow braced against a knee or hanging loose. Personally, I prefer standing with my arm hanging free, but this is a technically advanced form of the exercise, so I’d recommend starting with your elbow against your knee. You may not be able to develop a peak like mine or you may be able to build an even better one. The only way you’ll know for sure is to maximize your potential–and there’s no better way to do so than by performing dumbbell concentration curls.
Failure Is Not An Option
Author: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Copyright 2009 Weider Publications
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Dianabol
stuk of 7 bij het ontbijt ????
Brian Bothmer eet ze als smarties
??
You’ve got to love Arnie.
ARNOLD FOR PRESIDENT !!!!2020
Make this a thing
My mum is your mum
Did he include steroids haha.
Yawn here come the anti steroid police ?
This fuckers are the liberals of bodybuilding ??
Not a liberal, watched Sergio Olivia die from kidney failure. Steriods.
Dorrie Hubbard Jr. have u evidence of this
It was in the news papers here in chicago.
It was in the news papers here in chicago.
Fgt cunt
Thomas Creamer
Sasa Alcatel your aiming for 22″ arm now ? 😀
Ne.Nikad i nisam.50 je dovoljno.
The guy never had 22 inch arms. More like 19 inches.
Mine are a little over 18. No way in hell his were only 19
Yes they where. They just had a high peak with good definition. Don’t forget he barely weighed 235 pounds at a height of 6,2.
he was up to 260 at one point…
he was up to 260 at one point…
People love to act like he wasn’t that big. Look at him next to all the guys from that Era. He trumps most of them and they weren’t small. Arnold was a beast don’t downplay it. And his arms were absolutely bigger than 19″. A high peak would make them measure larger, not smaller. That’s like saying that mountain isn’t really 1000ft it just has a high peak. A high peak doesn’t change the measurement.
Thanks for your input Ryan. I disagree with you. The top bodybuilders today have arm sizes around the 22 inch mark. so your saying that his arms are mr olympia quality and could compete with the current MR O crowd?. No way. He would not even qualify for Mr Olympia today. Take a look at Phil Heaths arms next to arnold. Than you will know what 22 plus inch arms look like (Spaghetti arms Arnold). Done forget most current mr olympia competitors today are around 5 9 etc not 6 2 like Arnold. Even though the current olympia guys are a lot shorter than Arnold they are still a lot heavier than him at his prime. Yes he had great arms at a good size for his hey day in the 70’s. But they where no where near 22 inches like Phil Heath etc. Im sure you have watched Pumping Iron. Remember what Lou Ferrigno and his father called Arnolds arms – Spaghetti arms when compared to Lou. A Bicep with a high peak that are well defined makes them look a lot bigger. One guy might have a well defined high peaked Bicep of 17 Inches in size. Another guy may have a 19 inch arm with no peak and less definition. Hence you will think that the 17 inch arm looks better or just as big as the 19 inch arm. Illusions buddy Illusions.
Arnold’s secrets are the same as Sergio’s Secrets: Great Genes and a little help from D-Bol.
Ben Gallagher
Matthew Duncan
Gear and genetics, cool story.
Fuck Arnold. Old hateful bastard! He has nothing good to say about today’s top bodybuilders. No one cares what happened in 1980 man! You’re just salty and pissed that they didn’t have the same drugs back then that these guys have today. If so you would have used them just like you used any and everything you could back in the day. But for you ass clowns on here claiming that “steroids” built his arms well you’re an even bigger dumb ass than Arnie himself!
Yea, a little D-bol never hurt either
A lot of hard training in the gym and eating a lot of food with protein.
Hard work and roids… Leroy most impressive all natural guy woukd have been a beast on the sauce
Talk about out of balance he needs to take a lesson from Frank Zane
ff lezen maat. Hierdoor zijn mn biceps groter dan die van jou!! Jeffrey van Duyn
Denk toch dat het tijd word voor een brilletje voor je Maat!!
Every day must be Arm day
.
Truly awesome!
Plus gear of course which is unavoidable
The secret is that there are no secret, only hard work!
Genetic
hard work and dedication beat genetics with great nutrition sleep and mindset everything is possible
Not even close. Lmao
Steroids helps
Not if you don’t already possess good thick muscle beds. Growing large muscles this specifically linked to hitting the genetic Lottery. If you don’t already possess the ability to grow large lean muscles taking steroids will not change that.
The common misconception with steroids is that they make you bigger. they do not do this at all they simply allow you to recover more effectively from workouts.
I don’t disagree, but in addition to that you need steroids.
I’ve never taken it, but I’ve always been under the impression it helped significantly with muscle building. This study seems to confirm my suspicion. Look at the “muscle size” section. http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199607043350101#t=articleTop
From personal experience I can tell you that it does not. What it does allow for is exponentially better recovery times in between workouts there by allowing the person using these hormones to work out harder more often.
Erik Ol can’t argue with that!
Simply put it helps eliminate your body’s need to digest its own protein/muscles to work. think of it in terms as comparing a fuel injected car to a carbureted style motor.
Oh good grief. Steroids absolutely allow you to get bigger by building holding more muscle than you would be able to without them.
Hard work, proper nutrition and good quality gear.
It was mostly deca and dbol that was popular back then.
Cody Ferguson it worked good for him lol.
perfect. I’m rebuilding myself today but I used to look like this picture Arnold #1
Common !! Hard work + Synthole+Protein and carbs with mix of juices. Sure why not. But I’ll stick to natural!!!
Synthol wasn’t around during his time
What a retard!!! All retards who can’t get big always cry juice, it’s a fact!
Did you really just say “synthol”?
Pure cunt of a comment
Obviously was all the Decca tho
It doesn’t work that way. Doesn’t matter what you take if you do not have long thick muscle beds for building muscle you will never get large muscles.
Funny I think every fitness page has been forwarding/sharing the same shit for years now
Hard work baby. That’s all, doesn’t matter what you take. It all comes down to hard work, dedicacion and discipline
Joseph Bartel
Ricky Elliott
David Villate
Levente Kugler
Steve Stokes
Good tips
I do all above… still no guns… dam genetics
Yeah genetics and roids prob play a tiny roll haha
Hahaha ??
Savage. Jose Ramos
Sarah Louise Lockley deca?
Geared up to the eye balls. No one can naturally get that kind of mass naturally
Terry Hildebrand I get my gains smoking meth and running from police
Great Article!
I’ve always been a fan of Arnold & been following his bicep routines from a long time, I highly appreciate the way it’s written & easier to read!
I follow his strategy that you need to put on more reps for the blood to flow pump & for hypertrophy!