The “Sun’s Out, Guns Out” Arm Specialization Program: A 4-Week Plan for Bigger Biceps & Triceps

Summer’s coming, and that means one thing—it’s time to shed those winter layers and reveal all the hard work you’ve been doing in the gym. Hoodies and parkas are out, and T-shirts and tank tops are back!

What’s that you say—you aren’t beach ready yet? That’s okay, I’m here to help.

While building and sculpting muscle is usually a long-term process, you can still achieve great things if you dial in your training and diet and get really focused. This is especially true for the arms, which, in my extensive experience, are very responsive to short, intense periods of specialization.

I’m a veteran personal trainer and it’s my job to help my clients get and stay in the best shape of their life. During my career, I’ve discovered all the best methods for getting fantastic results—including building great-looking arms.

In this article, I share a tried-and-tested four-week arm training program designed to deliver maximum gains in minimal time. Building better arms in a month won’t be easy, but it can be done—with the right plan and some hard work.

4-Week “Sun’s Out, Guns Out” Arm Specialization Plan—Overview

Studies suggest that you need to train a muscle group 2-3 times per week to maximize hypertrophy (1). However, most lifters only hit each body part 1-2 times per week, which may not be optimal.

For this specialization plan, you’ll be doing three dedicated arm workouts per week. This means you’ll need to put your other muscle groups on the back burner for a month, otherwise you risk overtraining. But don’t worry—you won’t lose chest, back, leg, or shoulder size—they just aren’t going to be your main focus.

This is your training split for the next month:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Arms 1	Legs and Abs	Arms 2	Chest, Back, and Shoulders	Arms 3	Rest	Rest

While somewhat unconventional, this division of body parts will ensure that you have plenty of energy for your arm workouts while maintaining strength and size in the rest of your body.

As for the arm workouts themselves, each one is designed to stimulate your biceps and triceps in a whole new way. From underused angles to novel exercises to unconventional rep ranges—we’re going to shock and bully your arms into growing.

Of course, before every workout, you must prepare your joints and muscles for what’s to follow. Warming up will enhance workout performance while reducing your risk of injury. So, begin each session with 5-10 minutes of light cardio, e.g., rowing, elliptical, fan bike, etc., followed by dynamic mobility and flexibility for the joints and muscles you’re about to train.

Related: How to Warm Up for Strength Training

Alright, enough talk—it’s time to train! Let’s break down your “Sun’s Out, Guns Out” arm specialization workouts.

Arm Specialization Workout 1

Let’s get your week of arm training off to a strong start! For this workout, you’ll be combining heavy weights and low to moderate reps with some exercises designed to deliver a skin-splitting pump.

	Exercise	Sets	Reps	Recovery
1	Barbell Cheat Curl	4	5-8	2 minutes
2	Close Grip Bench Press	4	5-8	2 minutes
3	Iso-Dynamic Dumbbell Curl	3	10-12	60 seconds
4	Reverse Grip Pushdown	3	10-12	60 seconds
5	Barbell Wrist Curl	3	10-12	60 seconds

Exercise Instructions

Get the most from each exercise by using perfect form. If you can’t feel the target muscles working, you are either performing the exercise incorrectly or using too much weight. Follow these step-by-step instructions for each movement to maximize your results.

1. Barbell Cheat Curl

1. Hold a heavily loaded barbell with an underhand, shoulder-width grip.
2. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. Brace your core and pull your shoulders down and back.
3. Hinging from the hips, lean forward and lower the bar to around mid-thigh level. Do not round your lower back.
4. Stand up and use the momentum to help you curl the weight to your shoulders.
5. Lower the barbell smoothly and under control, reset, and repeat.

2. Close Grip Bench Press

1. Lie on your bench and hold the barbell with a slightly narrower than shoulder-width grip.
2. Unrack the bar and hold it over your chest.
3. Keeping your elbows tucked in, bend your arms and lower the bar smoothly to your sternum.
4. Drive the bar back up, reset, and repeat.

3. Iso-Dynamic Dumbbell Curl

1. With a dumbbell in each hand, bend your arms and raise the weights to just below shoulder height.
2. Keeping one dumbbell stationary, lower and then curl the weight back to the starting position.
3. Switch sides and perform the same motion with your other arm.
4. Continue alternating arms for the specified number of reps.

4. Reverse Grip Pushdown

1. Attach a straight bar to an overhead pulley machine.
2. Hold the bar with an underhand, palms-up grip.
3. Pull your elbows down and into your sides.
4. Extend your arms and push the bar down to your hips.
5. Pause for 1-2 seconds with your triceps fully contracted.
6. Return to the starting position and repeat.

5. Barbell Wrist Curl 

1. Sit on an exercise bench and place your forearms against the backrest so your wrists are free to move. Hold a barbell using a narrow, underhand grip.
2. Extend your wrists and lower the weights below the level of the bench.
3. Curl your wrists back up and repeat.

Arm Specialization Workout 2

Workout two is all about unusual angles and lesser-known exercises. Some of these movements will raise eyebrows at the gym, but when your fellow exercisers see your gains, they’ll all start copying you!

	Exercise	Sets	Reps	Recovery
1	Barbell Jettison Curl	4	8-10	90 seconds
2	EZ Bar Skull Crusher-Pullover	4	8-10	90 seconds
3	Cable Bayesian Curl	3	12-15	60 seconds
4	Single-Arm Cable Overhead Triceps Extension	3	12-15	60 seconds
5	Barbell Reverse Curl	3	10-12	90 seconds

Exercise Instructions

1. Barbell Jettison Curl 

1. Set up for EZ bar biceps curls as normal but also hold a resistance band so it’s looped under your feet.
2. Do biceps curls as normal until you reach failure.
3. Release (jettison) the band and then pump out more reps, again to failure.
4. That’s one set—rest as prescribed and repeat.

2. EZ Bar Skull Crusher-Pullover

1. Lie on a flat exercise bench and hold your bar over your chest with an overhand, shoulder-width grip.
2. Bend your elbows and lower the bar toward the top of your head.
3. Extend your shoulders so the bar can travel behind your head and down to the bench.
4. Extend your shoulders and arms simultaneously to return to the starting position.

3. Cable Bayesian Curl

1. Attach a D-shaped handle to a low cable machine.
2. Hold the handle in one hand and, with your back to the weight stack, take one step forward.
3. Starting with your arm stretched behind you, bend your elbow and curl the handle forward and up to your shoulder.
4. Extend your arm and repeat.
5. Do the same number of reps with your other arm.

4. Single-Arm Cable Overhead Triceps Extension

1. Stand with your back to a low cable machine.
2. Grip the handle or the end of the cable and raise your arm above your head so your biceps are next to your ear.
3. Bend your elbow and lower your hand behind your head—get a good stretch in your triceps.
4. Extend your arm and repeat.
5. Do the same number of reps with your other arm.

5. Barbell Reverse Curl 

1. Hold a barbell or EZ bar with an overhand, palms-down, shoulder-width grip.
2. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. Brace your core and pull your shoulders down and back.
3. Keeping your upper arms close to your sides, bend your elbows and curl the weight up to shoulder height.
4. Lower the bar, extend your elbows, and repeat.

Arm Specialization Workout 3

Your final “Sun’s Out Guns Out” arm workout includes several very unusual exercises, most notably the super-slow chin-up and dip. But don’t let these novel exercises fool you—they are very challenging and all but guaranteed to add size and strength to your arms.

	Exercise	Sets	Reps	Recovery
1a	Super-Slow Chin-up	1	1	N/A
1b	Cable Biceps Curl	1	10-12
2a	Super-Slow Dip	1	1	N/A
2b	Triceps Rope Pushdowns	1	10-12
3	Incline Dumbbell Curls	3	8-12	90 seconds
4	Decline Dumbbell Skull Crushers	3	8-12	90 seconds
5	Dumbbell Hammer Curls	3	8-12	90 seconds

Exercises 1a and 1b, and 2a and 2b are supersets. Do the first exercise, designated a), followed immediately by the second exercise, designated b). Rest and then repeat for the second superset pairing.

Read more about supersets in this in-depth guide.

Exercise Instructions

1a. Super-Slow Chin-up  

1. Hang from a pull-up bar using an underhand, slightly narrower than shoulder-width grip.
2. Bend your arms and slowly pull your chin up to the bar. Take 20-30 seconds to complete your ascent.
3. Without pausing, take roughly the same time to descend.
4. Move directly to the next exercise.

1b. Cable Biceps Curl

1. Attach a straight bar to a low pulley machine.
2. Hold the bar with an underhand shoulder-width grip and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, upper arms close to your sides.
3. Bend your elbows and curl the handle up to your shoulders.
4. Extend your arms and repeat. Continue until failure.
5. Reduce the weight by 10-15% and then pump out a few more reps.
6. Reduce the weight by another 10-15% and do one more set to failure.

Learn more about drop sets in this detailed guide.

2a. Super-Slow Dip 

1. Grab your dip bars, jump up, and support your weight on straight arms.
2. Next, bend your elbows and slowly descend until your shoulders are almost touching your hands. This should take 20-30 seconds.
3. Without pausing, take roughly the same time to push yourself back up.
4. Move directly to the next exercise.

2b. Triceps Rope Pushdowns

1. Attach a rope handle to a high cable machine.
2. Hold one end of the handle in each hand, elbows tucked into your sides.
3. Extend your arms and push your hands down and out to your hips.
4. Bend your arms and repeat, continuing until failure.
5. Reduce the weight by 10-15% and then pump out a few more reps.
6. Reduce the weight by another 10-15% and do one more set to failure.

3. Incline Dumbbell Curls

1. Set your bench to around 45 degrees.
2. Lie on the bench with a dumbbell in each hand. Let your arms hang down and back to stretch your biceps.
3. Bend your arms and curl the weights up to your shoulders.
4. Extend your arms and repeat.

4. Decline Dumbbell Skull Crushers

1. Set your bench to a 10 to 15-degree decline.
2. Lie on the bench and hold your dumbbells using a neutral grip.
3. Bend your arms and lower the weights to the side of your head.
4. Extend your arms and repeat.

5. Dumbbell Hammer Curls

1. Seated or standing, hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms by your sides and palms facing inward.
2. Keeping your thumbs uppermost, bend your elbows and curl the weights up to shoulder height.
3. Extend your arms and repeat.
4. You can also do this exercise with an alternating arm action if you prefer.

Closing Thoughts

You don’t need months of training for serious arm growth—just four focused weeks, a solid plan, and some grit. This “Sun’s Out, Guns Out” routine hits your biceps and triceps from all angles, with just enough novelty to maximize your gains.

Stick with it, eat well, get your rest, and watch your T-shirts start fitting a little tighter around the sleeves.

Summer is coming, so stop scrolling and start training—your T-shirt-ready arms won’t build themselves.

References:

1 – Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Effects of Resistance Training Frequency on Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Med. 2016 Nov;46(11):1689-1697. doi: 10.1007/s40279-016-0543-8. PMID: 27102172.

---