Arm Training – What’s a Beginner to do ?

Would you laugh if I said that if you are a beginning lifter you shouldn’t be arm training at all? That’s right sometimes a beginner should just forget about training his/her arms all together and focus on the bigger things. I know this is contrary to everything you hear in the gym and read in the bodybuilding magazines but when is the last time you saw a powerlifter with small arms? That’s right if you only concentrate on the main compound lifts like powerlifters and football players, guess what? Your body might just start to resemble them a little bit. Here are some benefits to cutting all your arm workouts from your routine.

You will be able to recover for your next workout faster. Your body can only recover from so much in the few days in between your workouts. By not doing any arm work your body can get you back in the gym sooner to work on the big lifts.

You will get more out of training your arms when you are bigger and stronger later on. In a few years when you have gained slabs of muscle all over your body that’s when you can really start to get the most out of specialized routines for growing your arms and other lagging body parts. There have been reports that have speculated that in order to increase your arm size you need to increase your overall body weight. So if you are a beginner doing set after set of curls you are probably just wasting your time.

You arms will get bigger anyways. That’s right the big compound movements will absolutely cause growth in your arms. If your bench goes up by 50 pounds your triceps will be much bigger, likewise for your biceps with pull ups and rows.

Your workouts will be a little shorter. Without arm exercises tiring you out at the endof your workouts that time can be spent resting and eating letting you be fully rested for your next workout.

I know you have always been taught that the way to make your guns grow is to pound them in the gym. But why not try to eliminate your arm training for a while and concentrate on the big lifts. I bet you that you will be happy with the results. At the very least your arms won’t get any smaller and they will probably grow as a result of increases in the main compound lifts and you will be closer to getting the big arms you want. These are the important lifts for beginners. They will stimulate muscle growth all over your entire body.