Fitness Volt
  • Bodybuilding
  • Powerlifting
  • Strongman
  • Workouts
    • Training
    • Exercise Guides
    • Workout Plans
    • Celebrity Workouts
    • Training Programs
  • Nutrition
    • Supplements
    • Diet
    • Diet Plans
    • Nutrition Tips
    • Food Facts
  • Reviews
  • More
    • CrossFit
    • News
      • Mr. Olympia
      • Arnold Classic
      • Results
      • 2022 WSM
    • Fitness Calculator
    • Profiles
    • Motivation
    • Videos
    • MMA
No Result
View All Result
Fitness Volt
  • Bodybuilding
  • Powerlifting
  • Strongman
  • Workouts
    • Training
    • Exercise Guides
    • Workout Plans
    • Celebrity Workouts
    • Training Programs
  • Nutrition
    • Supplements
    • Diet
    • Diet Plans
    • Nutrition Tips
    • Food Facts
  • Reviews
  • More
    • CrossFit
    • News
      • Mr. Olympia
      • Arnold Classic
      • Results
      • 2022 WSM
    • Fitness Calculator
    • Profiles
    • Motivation
    • Videos
    • MMA
No Result
View All Result
Fitness Volt
No Result
View All Result
Arms

Amazing Supersets For Bigger, Stronger Biceps and Triceps

Get an awesome pump and build your best arms ever! 

Tom Miller, CSCS

Written by Tom Miller, CSCS

Last Updated onMarch 2, 2020

Superset Biceps And Triceps

Superset Biceps And Triceps

Almost everyone who lifts weights wants bigger arms. For many people, it’s what attracted them to working out with weights in the first place. Even kids understand the significance of big arms.

Ask any child to “show you a muscle,” and they’ll probably do a double biceps pose!

Big arms don’t just look good, they are important for the rest of your training too. For example, if you want a bigger back, strong biceps allows you to lift more weight when you do lat pulldowns and rows. In the same way, strong triceps means you’ll be able to bench press during your chest workout.

Bigger, stronger biceps and triceps are also useful in sports, especially things like football and wrestling, where you have to push or pull an opponent. 

One of the best ways to build your arms is by using supersets. Supersets produce incredible arm pumps and, as every bodybuilder knows, getting pumped is a crucial part of the muscle-building process.

Arnold Arms Pump
Arnold Arms Pump

Studies support the importance of the pump for muscle growth (1), and while there is more to building muscle than getting a pump, a good pump is always worth pursuing. One of the most effective ways to get a pump is supersets. 

What are supersets? 

 Supersets involve doing two exercises back-to-back, with little or no rest in between. Supersets increase the intensity of your workout while saving you time.

They are very popular with bodybuilders for one reason – they really work!  When you do supersets, blood is forced into the working muscles during your first exercise, and then into the opposing muscle group during the second exercise.

This causes a big increase in blood flow which drives oxygen and amino acids into your muscles, triggering short-term swelling followed by long-term muscle growth. To do a superset, set up your chosen exercises so you can move quickly from one to the next.

Do the first exercise as usual but then, instead of resting, immediately do the second one. Rest after completing the second exercise and then repeat the pairing.

 Here are three tried-and-tested supersets that will give you incredible arm pumps! 

1. Bodyweight Only Arm Blaster Superset 

 If you want to build muscle, you need to lift weights, right? Not necessarily. Check out the arms development of gymnasts, and you’ll see that bodyweight training can help you build bigger muscles too.

That’s good news if you want to work your arms and can’t make it to the gym, or just want an alternative to hitting the weights. As an added bonus, this superset is also great for your back and chest too.   

  Exercise Sets Reps Recovery
1A Underhand chin-ups  3 AMRAP 90 seconds 
1B Narrow grip dips 

 *AMRAP means as many reps as possible. Don’t worry about how many reps you do; just keep going until you reach failure. Expect to do a few less reps for each subsequent superset as fatigue sets in. 

Underhand Chin-ups 

Grip the bar with a shoulder-width, underhand grip. Hang down with your arms straight, feet clear of the floor. Bend your arms and pull your chin up to the bar.

Underhand Chin Ups
Underhand Chin Ups

Lower yourself under control and repeat. Do not swing your body or kick with your legs unless it’s to finish your final rep. Can’t do full chin-ups? Use an assisted chin/dip machine instead. 

Narrow Grip Dips

Grab the parallel handles with your hands about shoulder-width apart. Starting with your arms straight, bend your elbows until your biceps and forearms touch.

Push back up and repeat. If you can’t do parallel dips, do bench dips instead. 

2. EZ Bar Maximum Pump Superset

The EZ bar is specially designed for arm training. The bends in the bar take the stress off your wrists and put your arms in the ideal position for both biceps curls and triceps extensions. For this superset, you need one EZ bar and an adjustable exercise bench.

You should not need to change weight between exercises. No EZ bar? You can do this workout with a regular barbell or even dumbbells.  

  Exercise Sets Reps Recovery
1A EZ bar paused bicep curls   3 10-12  75 seconds 
1B EZ bar decline skull crushers 

EZ Bar Paused Bicep Curls

Load the bar with a weight you can curl about 15 times. Grab it with an underhand grip and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent.

Ez Bar Bicep Curls
Ez Bar Bicep Curls

Curl the weight up to your shoulders and pause for 2-3 seconds at the top. Squeeze your biceps as hard as you can! Lower the weight under control and repeat.   

EZ Bar Decline Skull Crushers

Set an adjustable bench to a 10 to 15-degree decline. This helps to put more tension on your triceps. Hold your EZ bar with an overhand grip.

EZ Bar Skull Crusher
EZ Bar Skull Crusher

Lie down on your bench and press the bar up over your chest. Keeping your upper arms vertical and stationary, bend your elbows and lower the bar down to your forehead. Extend your arms and repeat.

3. Arm Killer Cable Superset 

Cables are great for arm training. Unlike free weights, they allow you to keep the tension on your muscles throughout each rep. Use a cable machine with a pulley at the top and at the bottom so that you can move quickly from one exercise to the next.   

  Exercise Sets Reps Recovery
1A Biceps rope hammer curls    4 12-15  60 seconds 
1B Reverse grip triceps pushdowns 

Biceps Cable Hammer Curls

Attach a triceps rope handle to a low cable machine. Grip the handle so that your thumbs are nearest to the rubber end stoppers.

Dumbbell Hammer Curl
Dumbbell Hammer Curl

Stand up straight with your arms tucked close to your sides. Bend your elbows and curl your hands up to your shoulders. Keep your thumbs uppermost throughout. Extend your arms and repeat. 

Reverse Grip Triceps Pushdowns

Attach a straight bar to a high cable machine. Hold it with an underhand, palms-up grip. Stand up straight with your arms tucked in close to your sides.

Extend your elbows and push the bar down to the top of your thighs. Bend your arms and repeat. 

Pump Up The Power of Supersets

 While supersets are great for muscle growth, you can make them even more effective by combining them with blood flow restriction training, or BRF for short. With BFR, you tie a 1-2” wide resistance band above the muscle you are training.

This limits blood flow which makes your chosen exercise much more demanding. It also causes a back-up of blood. When you remove the band, that backed-up blood floods back into your muscles, creating an intense, vein-popping pump.

Blood flow restriction training might sound like it’s too good to be true, but it’s been studied and proven to work (2). To use this method, tie resistance bands around your upper arms, just above your biceps.

The band should not be uncomfortably tight. On a scale of one to ten, with ten being as tight as possible, your bands should be about six or seven.

Do your superset as usual and then remove the bands while you rest. Put the bands back on a few seconds before you start your next superset.

Don’t be surprised if, with BFR, you need to use slightly lighter weights; that’s entirely normal. Using a little less weight will be more than offset by the incredible pump you are about to get!  

If you want to build muscle fast, supersets are the way to go. They make your workouts more time-efficient and produce incredible pumps.

Combine supersets with blood flow restriction training for even better results. Want bigger arms fast? Supersets and BFR are the way to go! 

References: 

  1. Schoenfeld, Brad & Contreras, Bret. (2014). The Muscle Pump: Potential Mechanisms and Applications for Enhancing Hypertrophic Adaptations. Strength and Conditioning Journal. 36. 21-25. 10.1097/SSC.0000000000000021.
  2. Wilk M, Krzysztofik M, Gepfert M, Poprzecki S, Gołaś A, Maszczyk A. Technical and Training Related Aspects of Resistance Training Using Blood Flow Restriction in Competitive Sport – A Review. J Hum Kinet. 2018; 65:249–260. Published 2018 Dec 31. doi:10.2478/hukin-2018-0101
Add Fitness Volt to your Google News feed. Follow us on Google News
For the latest news and updates please follow us on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Facebook Twitter Reddit Flipboard LinkedIn
Categories: Arms Training Workouts
Previous Post

Paralympic Powerlifter Siamand Rahman Dies of Heart Attack at 31

Next Post

Jay Cutler Shares Best Back-Building Exercises In New Transformation Series

Tom Miller, CSCS

Tom Miller, CSCS

Tom is a professional content strategist who loves to write about health and fitness, he is a certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) additionally an expert crap shooter, qualified bro scientist, unmatched at being the best lifter in my local gym.

Related

Seth Feroce Arms Workout

Seth Feroce Annihilates An Intense Arms Workout In The Gym

Seth Feroce is killin’ it in the gym to maintain a prime form. Feroce is a popular professional bodybuilder from...

Jay Cutler Build Arms Tips

4x Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler Shares How to Build Insane Arms With A Few Simple Workouts

Bodybuilding legend Jay Cutler may have stopped competing, but he still trains diligently to stay in fantastic shape at 49....

Shaun Clarida Arms Workout 2022 Olympia

Shaun Clarida Annihilates A Sleeve-Ripping Arms Workout Ahead of The 2022 Olympia

After omitting the arm day from his training routine eighteen weeks out of the 2022 Olympia, Shaun Clarida got back...

Jay Cutler Shoulders Triceps Workout

4x Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler Smokes Shoulders and Triceps In Recent Workout for ‘Fit for 50’ Challenge

Bodybuilding legend Jay Cutler doesn't miss a training session in retirement. The four-time Mr. Olympia shared an extensive 11-exercise shoulder...

Keone Pearson Arms Workout

Keone Pearson Crushes A Sleeve-Ripping Arms Workout, Feels ‘Biggest And Leanest’ Ahead Of 2022 Olympia

Keone Pearson feels he is the ‘biggest and leanest’ than he has ever been in his career. His focus now...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest

Sergio Oliva Jr. On His Dad’s Rivalry With Manion Family: ‘Schwarzenegger Won 1971 Olympia Because My Dad Was Banned’

William Bonac ‘Taking Measures’ for Inflamed Kidneys, Stops Oral Steroids In Prep for 2023 Arnold Classic

Dennis James: If Big Ramy ‘Fills Out and Conditioning Is Right’ He ‘Should Win’ 2023 Arnold Classic

How to Lose Muscle

Frog Jumps Guide: Muscles Worked, How-To, Benefits, and Alternatives

Lou Ferrigno Workout and Diet Program

Reviews

Best Bone Broth Supplements

10 Best Bone Broth Supplements of 2023 (Reviewed & Ranked)

Body Fortress Whey Protein Review

Body Fortress Super Advanced Whey Protein Review

Best Coffee Creamer

10 Best Coffee Creamer For Intermittent Fasting of 2023 (Review & Ranked)

Fitness Volt

At FitnessVolt.com Our mission is to help our readers to achieve their fitness goals, regardless of where you’re at on your journey, we are on a mission to educate You with the latest from strength and fitness space. Read more.

Email: sm(at)fitnessvolt.com

Disclosure: FitnessVolt.com has an affiliate relationship with different brands and is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. However, our reviews are based on well research backed analysis.

Follow Us

Trending Topics

  • Mr. Olympia
  • Bodybuilding
  • Strongman
  • Powerlifting
  • CrossFit
  • At Home Workouts
  • Bodyweight Exercises
  • Best Pre-workout
  • Best Fat Burners
  • Bodybuilding Diet
  • Bicep Workouts
  • Triceps Workouts
  • Chest Exercises
  • Back Workouts
  • Leg Workouts
  • Front Squat Guide
  • Calf Workouts & Exercises
  • Forgotten Exercises
  • Jefferson Deadlift

Calculators

  • Calorie Burning Calculators
  • IF Calculator
  • TDEE Calculator
  • Calorie Calculator
  • Keto Calculator
  • RMR Calculator
  • Macronutrient Calculator
  • Creatine Calculator
  • Wilks Calculator
  • EER Calculator
  • FFMI Calculator
  • IBW Calculator
  • LBM Calculator
  • Fat Intake Calculator
  • Calories Burned Swimming
  • Calories Per Meal Calculator

  • Food Nutrition Analysis
  • Carb Cycling Calculator
  • Weight Gain Calculator
  • Weight Loss Calculator
  • Calories Burned Calculator
  • Strength Standards
  • One Rep Max Calculator
  • Body Fat Calculator
  • EER Calculator
  • Weight Loss Percentage
  • Treadmill Calorie Calculator
  • Body Surface Area Calculator
  • Running Pace Calculator
  • Bench Press Calculator
  • Protein Calculator
  • Water Intake Calculator
  • Body Type Quiz
  • Steps to Miles Calculator
  • Calorie Deficit Calculator
  • Home
  • About
  • Jobs
  • Accessibility
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Syndication
  • Sitemap
  • DMCA
  • Copyrights
  • Terms
  • Privacy

© Copyright 2010 - 2022 Fitness Volt IBC. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Bodybuilding
  • Powerlifting
  • Strongman
  • CrossFit
  • Workouts
  • Exercise Guides
    • Arms
    • Back
    • Chest
    • Core
    • Legs and Glutes
    • Shoulders
  • Training
  • Nutrition
  • Reviews
  • More
    • News
    • Mr. Olympia
    • 2022 WSM
    • Diet
    • Arnold Classic
    • Motivation
    • Videos
    • Food Facts
    • Fitness Calculator

© Copyright 2010 - 2022 Fitness Volt IBC. All Rights Reserved.