I have seen many competitions where bodybuilders with big arms, but no calves or legs take the top honors. However, it is rare to see a competitor with a fantastic lower body, but stick sized arms being awarded the winners position. Of course, the number one priority should be to have great symmetry and proportions with no body parts over shadowing another. Due to this it prompted me to experiment with a shock technique, attempting to boost my arm size. Welcome to the 'One Day Arm Attack'.
I had read about this in the past, MuscleMag wrote an article on it and also Stuart McRobert had talked about his experiment with it in his book 'Brawn'. There had been reports of bodybuilders adding one inch of new size to their arms with this method. This got me thinking back to what Arnold used to do in the 70's, he said he would frequently train one muscle for hours in order to shock it into new growth, and in his words "recommended going slightly crazy with your training sometimes". I had never tried any type of excessive shock technique in the past, so I thought I'd give it a try and record the results.
The Procedure
What was recommended for this arm attack was to train your biceps and triceps with three sets each, and do this every half hour for 20 sessions. The sets are not to be taken to complete failure, just slightly below. For example, doing 10 reps with a weight you could do 12. These mini-sessions last no more than five minutes per go, and are designed to be worked in superset fashion, doing bicep and triceps exercises without rest in between.
You can take a 30 second rest in-between each superset. This might not sound like much but remember you are repeating these little session twenty times in one day! The exercises you chose for your arms is up to you. However, you are best advised to do exercises where you isolate your arms more, such as: Incline Dumbbell Curls, Tricep Pushdowns, Strict Barbell or Cable Curls and Tricep Extensions with Rope, Dumbbell or EZ bar.
To get the best out of this shock technique you are advised to take about 3 - 4 days of rest prior to the arm day, so that you can store up your energy levels and be fully charged come the big day. Also, after you have finally finished training your arms you need to take at least 4 days to fully recover and let them grow, and also to let yourself get over the soreness that will be in your arms.
Nutrition is a key factor in this experiment. You need to take in at least 2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight, plenty of complex carbs and regular doses of healthy fats to keep you calories high and give your body the material to recover and grow. If you have weights at home then this will be easier for you, otherwise it means spending all day inside you gym. I'm lucky enough that I work for two different gyms and on this day I was scheduled to be working at both of them, so I was inside a gym all day anyway.
I made a point to record everything I did on the Arm Attack day, so that I could later review it when I come to assess the results. This detailed journal recorded the exact arm routines I did, my diet throughout the day, how my arms were feeling and how I was feeling. I also kept a log of the following days after the experiment, noting down how my arms felt, recording my diet and any improvements in my arms. Below is exactly how my arm attack day went.
Measurements taken the night before, Arms 15.4 inches. Weight 201 pounds.
Arm Attack Day Journal
6:45 - Slept for 7 hours. Drank a 30 grams EAS Protein Shake and 25grams Carbs (Endurox R4).
7 - 7:30 - Cycled to gym = 30 minutes.
Workout 1:
7:35 - Incline Dumbbell Curls 10reps/30pd 10/25pd 10/25pd
Tricep Pushdown 12/ 7 plates 12/ 9 plates 12/ 9 plates
Workout 2:
8:00 - EZ Barbell Curls 10/ 60pd 10/ 60pd 10/ 60pd
Lying Incline Dumbbell Ext. 10 / 70pd 10/ 70pd 10/ 70pd
8:15 - 25gram Carb drink with 5 grams creatine and 5 grams Glutamine.
Workout 3:
8:30 - Incline Dumbbell Curls 10reps/25pd 10/25pd 10/25pd
Tricep Pushdown 12/ 9 plates 12/ 9 plates 12/ 9 plates
8:35 - 30 gram EAS Protein Drink
Workout 4:
9:00 - EZ Barbell Curls 10/ 60pd 10/ 60pd 8/ 60pd
Cable Incline Tricep Ext. 12/ 9 plates 10/ 10 plates 10/ 10 plates
9:15 - 1 banana
Workout 5:
9:30 - Incline Dumbbell Curls 10reps/27.5pd 8/27.5pd 8/27.5pd
Tricep Pushdown 12/ 9 plates 10/ 9 plates 10/ 9 plates
9:40 - 25 grams Carb Drink
Workout 6:
10:00 - EZ Barbell Curls 8/ 70pd 8/ 70pd 8/ 70pd
Cable Incline Tricep Ext. 12/ 10plates 12/ 10 plates 12/ 10 plates
10:10 - 30 grams Protein Drink
Workout 7:
10:30 - Incline Dumbbell Curls 10reps/25pd 8/25pd 8/25pd
Tricep Pushdown 10/ 9 plates 10/ 9 plates 10/ 9 plates
10:45 - 40grams of Oats mixed in water.
Workout 8:
11:00 - EZ Barbell Curls 8/ 60pd 8/ 60pd 8/ 60pd
Cable Incline Tricep Ext. 10/ 9 plates 10/ 9 plates 10/ 9 plates
Workout 9:
11:30 - Incline Dumbbell Curls 10reps/25pd 8/25pd 7/25pd
Tricep Pushdown 10/ 9 plates 10/ 8 plates 10/ 8 plates
11:45 - I left the first gym I was working at to go and open up the second gym. This is a 5 minute cycle ride away.
Workout 10:
12:00 - Cable Curls 8/ 8 plates 8/ 8 plates 8/ 8 plates
Cable Incline Tricep Ext. 10/ 9 plates 8/ 9 plates 8/ 9 plates
12:15 - 30 gram Protein Drink and 25 grams Carb Drink with 5 grams Creatine & Glutamine.
Workout 11:
12:30 - Incline Dumbbell Curls 10reps/25pd 8/25pd 8/25pd
Tricep Pushdown 12/ 8 plates 10/ 9 plates 10/ 9 plates
12:50 - 1 banana
Workout 12:
1:00 - Cable Curls 8/ 8 plates 8/ 8 plates 8/ 8 plates
Cable Incline Tricep Ext. 8/ 9 plates 8/ 9 plates 8/ 9 plates
1:15 - 25 gram Carb Drink
Workout 13:
1:30 - Incline Dumbbell Curls 8reps/25pd 8/25pd 8/25pd
Tricep Pushdown 8/ 8 plates 8/ 8 plates 8/ 8 plates
Workout 14:
2:00 - Barbell Curls 8/ 50pd 8/ 50pd 8/ 50pd
Cybex Tricep Extension 8/ 75 8/ 75 8/ 75
2:15 - 1 bagel with 2oz of chicken
Workout 15:
2:30 - Incline Dumbbell Curls 8reps/25pd 8/25pd 8/25pd
Cable Incline Tricep Ext. 10/ 9 plates 8/ 9 plates 8/ 9 plates
2:45 - 25gram Carb Drink with 5grams Creatine and Glutamine
Workout 16:
3:00 - Barbell Curls 8/ 50pd 8/ 50pd 8/ 50pd
Cybex Tricep Extension 10/ 75 8/ 75 8/ 75
3:15 - 30 grams Protein Drink
Workout 17:
3:30 - Incline Dumbbell Curls 8reps/25pd 8/25pd 8/25pd
Cable Incline Tricep Ext. 10/ 9 plates 10/ 9 plates 10/ 9 plates
Workout 18:
4:00 - Barbell Curls 8/ 50pd 8/ 50pd 8/ 50pd
Cybex Tricep Extension 8/ 75 8/ 75 8/ 75
4:15 - 25 grams Carb Drink
Workout 19:
4:30 - Incline Dumbbell Curls 8reps/25pd 8/25pd 8/25pd
Cable Incline Tricep Ext. 10/ 9 plates 10/ 9 plates 10/ 9 plates
4:35 - 20 grams Protein Drink
Workout 20:
5:00 - Barbell Curls 8/ 50pd 8/ 50pd 8/ 50pd
Cybex Tricep Extension 8/ 75 8/ 75 8/ 75
5:15 - 50 gram Carb Drink & 20 gram Protein Drink with 5grams Creatine & Glutamine.
| Calories: | 2415 |
| Protein: | 215 |
| Carbs: | 337 |
| Fat: | 23 |
For the rest of the day I drank a few more protein shakes, had some natural peanut butter and chicken with loaded baked potato for dinner. I made sure I took a lot of Vitamin C & E throughout the day.
The Results
Recovery Day 1: My arms were both really sore, which was to be expected. I rested up all day and took in a lot of calories and protein. I measured them and they have increased by 1/8 of an inch.
Recovery Day 2: Arms still real sore. They have increased another 1/8 of an inch, which I'm happy about.
Recovery Days 3 - 7: My arms didn't grow any further, but the gain of 1/4 inch from the arm attack day remained. My triceps recovered faster than my biceps which were sore for 5 days. A positive result was that my arms look much more fuller now, giving them a better look.
Overall, the small gain to my arms was worth going through the long day attacking my arms, as up until that point they hadn't grown in weeks. I know that 1/4 inch gain is not the 1 inch gain that others have reported, but I'm pleased to get my arm size up. Furthermore, I hope this shock technique will help me break my arm size plateau as I continue my search for more size. I would recommend giving this arm attack a try as you might experience even better results than I did, and gain some new size in just one day!
All the best,