If your arms have not improved over the past year, whatever you're doing in the gym is obviously not working. So-and-so many sets of barbell curls, followed by some dumbbell curls and a couple of sets of skullcrushers and tricep pressdowns - sound familiar? Well, it's time to do something drastic or you'll be stuck forever. Here are 7 steps that will give you a kick in the pants so you get back into the growth zone!

7 Steps To Kick Start Growth

Step 1: Assessment.

Bring out your training log and step back, looking at it as if you were reading someone else's. What you're looking for is stuff like favorite, ineffective exercises (identified as showing up frequently but always having the same weight and reps), stupid combinations (why first do preacher curls with a barbell and then do the exact same thing with a plate-loaded preacher machine while skipping dumbbell hammer curls?) and lack of variation from workout to workout.

Heck, pretend it's some cocky schmuck you'd like to put in his place, so be cruelly honest - the more mistakes you can dig up, the better. Every mistake you find brings you one step closer to getting some productive workouts for a change.

Step 2: Out With The Old, In With The New.

When studying the training log you probably spotted a number of exercises that show up just a little too frequently. I bet these coincide with exercises where you're either naturally strong and can use a lot of weight, or have a neat machine that you like to use. Well, not anymore. Cut them entirely for a month and only use exercises that you normally avoid.

Habit is one of the biggest enemies of progress, right up with laziness and overtraining, so smash that comfortable routine of yours with a vengeance. Hate forearm rolls, cable hammer curls and dips? Tough luck, you're doing them now! After a month or so you can bring back your old favorites, rotating them through your workout like you would any other exercise.

Step 3: Getting The Balance Right.

It's a classic mistake to focus primarily on biceps for arm growth. Sure, they look impressive once you get a nice peak worked up, but they're literally the tip of the iceberg. To get the kind of biceps you want you must train the brachialis, which is located UNDER the biceps and pushes it up. In addition, triceps make up almost two-thirds of the total arm thickness, and let's not forget the importance of the forearms to avoid "reverse-Popeye"-syndrome (beefy upper arms and twig-like forearms).

Furthermore, biceps is a relatively small muscle that grows best with a hit-hard-and-brief approach, so avoid the 16 set bicep workouts and spread the time and efforts appropriately. For example, 6 sets for biceps (making sure 2 of them hit brachialis), 8 sets for triceps and 4 sets for forearms is a reasonable split. See the sample workout for how such a setup could work.

Step 4: Timing & Frequency.

Overtraining arms is easily done. You often involve biceps and forearms during back training, with triceps getting a beating on chest day. If you're on a split that has you train through the entire body twice per week you could be hitting the same muscles almost every day, directly or indirectly. If you've read my articles in the past you know that I advocate a less-is-more approach of training each muscle group once per week as soon as you're past the beginner-stage. That should decrease the risk of overtraining considerably.

As for timing, keep your workouts short and brief: 30-45 mins is ideal, anything over 60 mins is borderline counterproductive. Last but not least, don't forget to use periodization so that you cycle between low-rep/high-rep training. Click here to read more about periodization.

Step 5: Pump Up The Intensity.

With a 30-45 min window (not counting warmup and stretching) you have to move pretty fast between exercises. You shouldn't have to walk around with a stopwatch, but aim for about a minute of rest between sets. Compound exercises like squats and deadlifts require a few minutes to catch your breath, but small muscles like those found in the arms recover relatively quickly - hit'em hard, then hit'em again to keep the intensity up.

You may also want to include some specific intensity boosters, such as forced reps, negatives, drop-sets and controlled cheating, to trigger that extra growth.

Step 6: Checking Secondary Factors.

Looking beyond the gym, try to see if you're short-changing yourself elsewhere in your life. Do you consistently get 8 or more hours per sleep per night? If not, you're robbing yourself of natural growth hormones and additional recovery. Do you eat enough calories every day?

Most bodybuilders know to eat enough protein, but that's not enough - you need a surplus of calories for the muscles to grow. If you've stayed the same weight for a while, try adding 500 calories per day and adjust as necessary. Just keep an eye on the gut - measure it with a measuring tape first thing every Monday morning.

Step 7: Track & Reassess.

The measuring tape comes in handy for tracking the progress of your arms too. Flex and measure at its thickest - repeat once a month to make sure you're making gains. If you gain a quarter-inch one month, half an inch the next, and then nothing for 4 months you know it's time to go back to Step 1 and figure out what's going on. This kind of frequent reassessment makes helps you avoid slipping back into the comfort zone.

Remember: If you're not growing at all for 3 months straight, it's time to shake things up again. Good luck!

Sample Workout

Exercise	Sets	Reps*
Standing barbell curls	2	6-8
Reverse preacher curls	2	8-10
Seated dumbbell hammer curls	2	6-8
Dips	2	Unlim.
Standing tricep presses with barbell	2	6-8
Tricep pressdowns	2	6-8
Close-grip presses with EZ-bar	2	8-10
Barbell wrist curls	2	6-8
Behind-the-back wrist curls	2	6-8

Bench Dips

Exercise Data
Main Muscle Worked: Triceps
Other Muscles Worked: Chest
Equipment: BodyOnly
Mechanics Type: Compound

Video Guide: Windows Media

Tips: Place two flat benches parallel to each other, about three to four feet apart. Sit on one bench facing the other, with your hands grasping the side of the bench. Using your hands to support your weight, lift your feet to the top of the other bench so that the rest of your body is suspended between the two benches. Cross one foot over the other. Slowly lower your body toward the floor by bending your elbows until your upper arms and forearms form a right angle. Do not go below a 90-degree angle, as this can stress your shoulders. Slowly raise back up to the start position by straightening your arms. You can also place a weight plate on your upper legs for added resistance!

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Cable Incline Pushdown

Exercise Data
Main Muscle Worked: Triceps
Other Muscles Worked: None
Equipment: Cable
Mechanics Type: Isolation

Video Guide: Windows Media - MPEG - Video iPod

Tips:

Preparation:
Lie on incline an bench facing away from high pulley machine. Grasp cable attachment overhead with an overhand narrow grip. Position elbow to sides, slighty up.

Execution:
Extend arms with elbows stationary. Return until your forearm is close to your upper arm. Repeat.

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Cable Incline Triceps Extension

Exercise Data
Main Muscle Worked: Triceps
Other Muscles Worked: None
Equipment: Cable
Mechanics Type: Isolation

Video Guide: Windows Media - MPEG - Video iPod

Tips:

Preparation:
Grasp cable bar from behind with a narrow overhand grip. Position your elbows overhead.

Execution:
Extend your forearm overhead. Lower and repeat.

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Cable Lying Triceps Extension

Exercise Data
Main Muscle Worked: Triceps
Other Muscles Worked: None
Equipment: Cable
Mechanics Type: Isolation

Video Guide: Windows Media - MPEG - Video iPod

Tips: Lie on a bench and grasp a short bar with a narrow overhand grip. With your arms extended, position the bar over your forehead. Lower the bar by bending the elbow. Go down to your forehead. Do not move your elbows! They should stay in the same place at all times. Extend the arm back to the starting position. Repeat.

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Cable One Arm Tricep Extension

Exercise Data
Main Muscle Worked: Triceps
Other Muscles Worked: None
Equipment: Cable
Mechanics Type: Isolation

Video Guide: Windows Media - MPEG - Video iPod

Tips: With your right hand, grasp a stirrup handle attached to the high-cable pulley using an underhand grip. You should be standing directly in front of the weight stack. Pull the handle down so that your upper arm and elbow are locked in to the side of your body and your upper arm and forearm form a right angle. Feeling the contraction in your triceps, pull the stirrup handle down to your side until your arm is straight. Squeeze and then slowly return the handle to the starting position. Finish your desired number of reps, then switch arms.

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Cable Rope Overhead Tricep Extension

Exercise Data
Main Muscle Worked: Triceps
Other Muscles Worked: None
Equipment: Cable
Mechanics Type: Isolation

Video Guide: Windows Media - MPEG - Video iPod

Tips: Attach a rope to the bottom pulley. Grasping the rope in both hands, start with your hands directly above your head, knuckles aimed at the ceiling. Slowly lower the rope behind your head, pause when your triceps are fully stretched, and return to the starting position and repeat. Keep your upper arms and elbows firmly in place next to the sides of your head, with the only movement occurring at your elbow joint. Your elbows should be pointing straight up. You can also do this seated with a back support bench, or you can use a dumbbell instead of the rope.

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Close-Grip Bench Press

Exercise Data
Main Muscle Worked: Triceps
Other Muscles Worked: Chest
Equipment: Barbell
Mechanics Type: Compound

Video Guide: Windows Media - Video iPod

Tips: Lie on a flat bench. Hold a barbell with both hands with a close grip, about 8 - 12 inches apart. Keeping your arms close to your sides, lower the bar until it is touches your chest, approximately 1 inch below your nipples. Return to starting position, concentrating on using your triceps to push.

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Decline Close Grip Bench To Skull Crusher

Exercise Data
Main Muscle Worked: Triceps
Other Muscles Worked: None
Equipment: Barbell
Mechanics Type: Isolation

Video Guide: Windows Media - MPEG

Tips: The ULTIMATE triceps exercise. It combines the explosive power of the close grip bench press with the unmatched stretch and concentration when doing skull crushers. Form is extremely important, stress on the eccentric (lowering) portion of the movement and contract at the top of the movement. Start with a bench press from the lower chest, then as you lockout, contract and begin lowering for the eccentric portion of the skull crusher. Now raise the barbell again and do the eccentric portion of the bench.

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Decline Dumbbell Tricep Extension

Exercise Data
Main Muscle Worked: Triceps
Other Muscles Worked: None
Equipment: Dumbbell
Mechanics Type: Isolation

Video Guide: Windows Media - MPEG - Video iPod

Tips: Position yourself face up on an incline bench. With a dumbbell in each hand, extend your arms until they are perpendicular to your torso. From this position, relax your triceps until your biceps make contact with your forearms. Reverse this action to return to the starting position, keeping your elbows stabilized (motionless) throughout the exercise.

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Decline EZ Bar Tricep Extension

Exercise Data
Main Muscle Worked: Triceps
Other Muscles Worked: None
Equipment: Barbell
Mechanics Type: Isolation

Video Guide: Windows Media - MPEG - Video iPod

Tips: Position yourself face up on an incline bench. Using an EZ bar, extend your arms until they are perpendicular to your torso. From this position, relax your triceps until your biceps make contact with your forearms. Reverse this action to return to the starting position, keeping your elbows stabilized (motionless) throughout the exercise.

WARRIOR SHOULDERS

The Warrior awakens before the sun rises. To the Warrior, there's only one goal in life: To be stronger than the previous day. This means he must battle complacency and inner weakness. The Warrior must first win the struggle taking place within himself. The, he must overcome every external adversity that is presented before him. All of these adversities become battles within the larger war.

To win this war, the Warrior must reach deep down inside himself and find out what he's truly made of. A warrior does not say, "I will try." A warrior says, "I will do". No excuses. No regrets. No failures. If you live a life where you put limits upon yourself, you might as well be dead. Never accept mediocrity. To live, you must kill these self-imposed limits.

A warrior does not say, "I will try." A warrior says, "I will do".

A warrior always has a battle plan. You must learn to draw up a plan, implement your plan, overcome adversities, maintain discipline and control under great stress, and ultimately defeat your foes. To be a warrior, you must adopt this way of thinking. Now let's use this knowledge to improve your arsenal. It's time to build your shoulders.

The Battle Plan

The essence of the warrior's workout is to select those exercises that will elicit the greatest response. Therefore, you should always your workout with basic, heavy mass-building movements. These movements will recruit the greatest number of muscles from a particular area into the movement, therefore lending themselves to the heaviest weights.

Begin with the behind-the-neck military presses. This movement is one of the most riskiest due to the precarious position your shoulders are put in. The key is to be careful, start light and increase your poundages slowly over time. This exercise is the overall mass-builder for your shoulders. Your rep range should be in the neighborhood of 6 to 12, 12 for the warm-ups and down to 6 for the heaviest sets. You will do 4 working sets after your warm up.

You will do as many warm ups as needed to thoroughly warm up the shoulder area and get to your desired starting weight. Doing warm up sets is absolutely imperative for your first exercise.

Your next exercise will be seated dumbbell presses. The use of dumbbells for presses will help incorporate all of the stabilizer muscles in the shoulder region and make you stronger for all pressing movements. Do 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps. After doing these basic "mass" movements, head on to "isolation" movements.

Your shoulders should be thoroughly warmed up and fatigued. Now you need to isolate each individual muscle of the shoulder area. Begin by targeting the medial and front delts. To do this, superset standing side dumbbell laterals with front dumbbell raises. This combo will completely destroy the area. Go balls-to-the-wall here. Use the heaviest weight possible while keeping strict form. Finish 3 supersets of 10 to 12 reps for each exercise with absolutely no rest between them.

The key to both of these exercises is bringing the dumbbells as high as possible with your pinky slightly higher than your thumb (think of pouring a can of beer into a mug. The goal here is to completely exhaust the muscle and recruit every last muscle fiber. You'll know when you do it right. Your shoulders should be on fire and feel like they have been hit with napalm. You got to love the burn. You got to be able to take the heat.

There's one last area you need to hit. Rear delts. To be a true Warrior, you must never forget this area. Two exercises should crush this often neglected region. Begin with lying rear delt dumbbell lateral raises. This exercise is performed on an incline bench set at the lowest incline. Lie on the bench with your face facing into the bench and begin raising the dumbbells.

The rear delts are small in comparison to the rest of the shoulder complex. And since all the stress is placed onto the rear delts, they do not require a tremendous amount of weight. Even though you won't be using the large dumbbells, go as heavy as you can for 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps. After you finish this, they should be really pumped and screaming for you to stop. But you're not going to stop now. You're not finished yet. Go over and grab a low cable pulley and do 3 sets rear cable laterals. Again make sure that your pinky is higher than your thumb throughout the movement. Doing it this way places a greater amount of stress on the rear delt.

The Battle Assessment

At this point, you've had enough, haven't you. Your shoulders should be screaming. Your shoulders should be pumped. You should be utterly exhausted. No? Then you have not put forth your best effort. You have not defeated your inner weakness. So assess your battle plan. Did you go as heavy as possible on every exercise or were you trying to save something for later? Do you rest for a few precious seconds between the supersets? Did you head over to the bathroom to take a crap between exercises? Did you talk to that chick on the stepper?

Now you understand. These are all things that you can change when the sun rises next. It's all about bettering yourself. You think these things are minor? Let me tell you, all the little things add up and can determine success or failure. Remember, the Warrior training next to you may not be taking these shortcuts.

Now with this battle plan in your arsenal, you will not quit. The word quit does not exist in a Warrior's vocabulary. In the face of doom you must keep focus on the task at hand. When things get hard you must summon up that Warrior strength. Save nothing in reserve and go for broke in an effort to build the largest delts humanly possible. This will make you the ultimate Warrior. Yes, this will make you a true Animal.

The Battle Shoulder Workout

Behind-the-neck military presses - 12, 10, 8, 6 Reps
Seated dumbbell presses - 3 Sets of 8 to 10 Reps
Side dumbbell laterals - 3 supersets of 10 to 12 Reps
Superset with - Front dumbbell raises
Lying rear delt dumbbell raise - 3 sets of 8 to 10 Reps
Rear cable laterals - 3 sets of 8 to 10 Reps

LOOSE UNWANTED FAT!!

Everyone knows what to do to lose fat, right? Then how come so few reach their goals and achieve that lean look if it's so damn easy to get ripped?

I could tell you the very same things as everybody else does, but I definitely won't. It's not only about the perfect diet plan and the right amount of exercise, the best supplements and so on; the most important part of a fat-loss strategy is your mental approach to it.

That's what I'm going to tell you about. Basically, what you've got to do is stick to your plan. Period.

First, let's suppose you do the following things already:

• You do at least 6 cardio workouts of 40-60 minutes per week, preferably pre-breakfast.
  
  
• You eat 5-8 small meals per day, emphasizing proteins, healthy fats and vegetables.
  
  
• You don't skip on the carbs post-workout. (Take in 0.5 gram per pound of bodyweight - see the calculator below.)
  
  
• You get at least 6 hours of sleep almost every night.

Getting Through The Hardest Of Times

Some days are tougher than others, especially when it's about dieting. I'm talking about those annoying moments when you ask yourself over and over again why you're doing all the cardio and for what?!

You feel so sorry for yourself, thinking everyone else is better off, you're watching all 'normal' people eating ice cream every other hour, and you wish so much you were one of those lucky souls.

What you must do is to motivate yourself to stick to your plan with whatever means you can use. The photo at the right is what motivates me.

Most chicks would kill for a gorgeous, fit body like this, but they believe a walk in the park will do the trick. Even if you told them it's a bit harder, they wouldn't believe you, since they don't want to face the truth.

You Never Diet, You Follow A Perfect Diet Plan

When I need to drop a couple of pounds, I never say I'm dieting; the mere word 'dieting' gives me the worst cravings imaginable! I just want to run to the supermarket, buying chocolate, fish sticks and other fattening stuff.

I tell myself that I'm allowed to eat whatever I like, including ice cream and candy. And lots of it too. But, I must stand the consequences if I'm going to eat like a starving horse.

I know that by falling for the temptation will make me fat and puts me farther away from my dream body. Than I also take into account how satisfied I will be after eating the chocolate and fish sticks.

I know it won't be for long, maybe only for a couple of hours before I start to regret it. And then it's already too late; I have just annihilated ten hours of cardio for what; a bit of chocolate?

Show It Off

There's nothing as pleasant as watching your muscles pump up during a workout session, so don't always wear your whole wardrobe at the same time; let yourself see the pay off in the gym's mirrors and you'll feel so much stronger.

Click Image To Enlarge.
Pauline Nordin, Showing It Off!

Don't care about jealous people who blame you for just showing off. If they cannot stand perceiving a great physique, they probably have some major psychological problems to solve. You must get used to those pessimistic people who hate everybody who more resembles their ideal phsyique than they do themselves.

How To Get Through The Boring Cardio

Ok, there you go again...Sick and tired of the stairmaster already? Hey, you've only done it 40 times this month! Do a list on topics you can think about when working out. This is my list:

• First, I repeat to myself why I'm doing this boring chore. I mean, it's not always a lot of fun, mounting the step machine at 4:30 a.m., and I must not forget why it's of such great importance that I do it anyway.
  
  
• I tell myself this is the very last workout I have to do for my whole life. If I get this one done, I will always look good, always be fit and happy. (Yes, I know it's a lie, but my psyche is so easily duped!)
  
  
• I promise myself that I can eat a whole chocolate bar (the biggest one of course!) for breakfast if I only do the cardio. This is a big lie once again, but it doesn't matter since when I'm done, it would be so unnecessary eating something that makes my efforts meaningless.
  
  
• I visualize my ripped phsyique, every comments on my lines and how impressed people will be once I enter the stage.
  
  
• Listen to the very best cardio music; Irish folk music! I promise you will get totally energized!
  
  
• Visualize what the perfect feature of you in a major muscle mag like Flex or MuscleMag would be like. What questions would they ask you? What kind of pictures? What would the article lead to concerning sponsors, feedback, and model contracts?

Why Is It Critical To Visualize Your Success?

Well, as you're the one who's in charge of your goals and dreams, you cannot let yourself wonder about whether you've got what it takes or not. Who's to judge that? Well, you and you only.

Don't listen to those telling you it's impossible. They don't know, they just think they do. Of course, hear people out, but be careful about what they tell you, and what you tell yourself. Remember, you are what you believe you are! Period.

ALIEN BACK

A lot of people compliment me on my back development and the most frequent question I am asked is how I train it. There is no secret it comes down to consistency and with enough hard work and time you will have a superior back. Based on all the questions I receive, I decided to write and article about how I train it.

Basic Compound Movements

First of all I am a true believer in compound movements such as deadlifts, chin ups and variety of rows. Another aspect of my training I pay a close attention to is my form; everything is done in a very controlled manner with very slow negatives and somewhat explosive positives to stimulate maximum muscle fiber recruitment. Well let's get to the workout itself.

1^st Exercise - Deadlift From Knee's - View Exercise - (Regular Deadlift Shown)

My first exercise of choice is deadlift from the knees. You set up the safety pins in a squat rack at the knees or slightly below that will be your starting point for this exercise. The reason I feel this is a better variation of deadlift for back is because it allows lifting heavier weights then the regular deadlift. Also I feel it works the back muscles much more efficiently without excessive involvement from legs and lower back. Of course we can not totally eliminate leg and lower back involvement but we can greatly reduce it by completing this exercise in such fashion. Because it's a power movement you should strive to use heavy weights for 8-10 reps for a total of 3 sets. Remember to keep your back flat and pull your shoulder blades back at the top of the motion and squeeze tight.

2^nd Exercise - Behind Back Pull-Downs - View Exercise

Second exercise for me behind back pull-ups or pull downs. Once again keep the form tight using 3 second negative (lowering phase) and 1 to 2 second positive. You can vary your tempo from workout to workout to further stimulate muscle growth. I will complete a total of 2 sets aiming for 8-10 reps.

3^rd Exercise - One-Arm Rows - View Exercise

Third exercise I will do one-arm rows. I only do one set of 10 reps for this exercise. The only function for this exercise in my routine is to stretch out my back muscles. It is completed in a very slow motion with a full stretch at the bottom of the movement and then very explosive positive. By completing a very full stretch, you put a human body at a disadvantage point, where it assumes you are about to pull a muscle from the extreme stretch and the body will react with a very strong contraction and greater muscle fiber recruitment. It take a little bit of time to fully develop this technique and truly know how far to stretch and at what point the body will just contract the given muscle. Start with low weights and slowly increase the weight as you become more comfortable with this exercise done in this way.

4^th Exercise - Bent Over Side Laterals - View Exercise

Forth Exercise is Bent Arm (at the elbow) bent over side laterals. The way I complete this exercise is; I try to hold a contraction at the top of the movement for at least one second. I use light weight and concentrate on the contraction itself. I do 1 set of 10 reps.

5^th Exercise - Chin-Ups - View Exercise

Then I move on to chin ups which is my fifth exercise, I complete 2 sets of 8-10 reps. The form is very strict once again, with full stretch at the bottom and a quick squeeze and contraction at the top of the movement and slow negative. Most people will use their own body weigh however as you get stronger you might need to add some weights to your body weight to not exceed 10 reps.

6^th Exercise - Pullover - View Exercise

Sixth set is pullovers; once again the object of this exercise is to get a full stretch just like in the third one, which was one-arm rows. I complete 1 set of 10 reps for this exercise.

7^th Exercise - Reverse Grip Bent Over Rows - View Exercise

Seventh and last exercise is reverse grip bent over rows. You want to keep the form strict once again with a strong contraction at the top of the rep. I do 2 sets of 10 reps.

It might seem like a lot of exercises but the overall volume is still pretty low with a total of 12 working set. I am a believer in Quality over Quantity, so make your workout intense and keep the form strict and you will feel this workout the next morning, guarantee! Here is the workout itself.

EXERCISE	SET	REPS	*TEMPO	WEIGHT
I would also recommend a few light warm-ups with pull downs
Deadlifts from the knees	WARM UP	12-15	2-1-2
	WARM UP	10-12	2-1-2
	1 SET	8-10	1-1-2
	1 SET	8-10	1-1-2
	1 SET	8-10	1-1-2
Pull ups to the back	1 SET	8-10	2-1-3
or pull downs to the back	1 SET	8-10	2-1-3
One arm rows	1 SET	10	1-1-3
Bent Arm / Bent over Laterals	1 SET	10	1-2-2
Chin Ups	1 SET	8-10	2-1-3
	1 SET	8-10	2-1-3
Pull-Overs	1 SET	10	2-1-2
Reverse Grip Barbell Rows	1 SET	8-10	2-2-2
	1 SET	8-10	2-2-2

* First number represents positive (lifting), second is the contraction & third is the negative (lowering)

Click Here For A Printable Version Of The Back Attack!

Well, here you have it my back routine for all of you to try out and enjoy the results. Make sure to feed your body high quality protein and simple carbohydrates after your training to replenish nutrients and stimulate fast recover and muscle growth. You can't build muscle from thin air, right?

Thank you for your time & take care,