8 Week Muscle Building Trainer Main Image

Day 25:Arms & Calves

The soreness you’re feeling in your legs is called delayed onset muscle soreness or DOMS. Your job is to detox that area by rehydrating and going into a sauna—sweating will help your muscle fibers recover and grow. You should also make sure to get in plenty of protein and fermented Glutamine to provide the building blocks to repair muscle tissue you damaged during today’s workout.

When you’re over the age of 30 or if you have lower levels of testosterone, make sure you get in your Ferodrox first thing in the morning and midday, or just before your workout. Intense training programs sometimes have the effect of reducing testosterone levels, so this is another tool in your recovery arsenal to help keep strength optimized.

Today you’ll train arms and calves. First up is dumbbell concentration curls for biceps. Make sure to wedge the back of your working arm on the inside of the same-side leg. This is a great first biceps move to pump synovial fluid into your joints. Knock out your partials for that side before you move on to the other.

Follow this with two-hand dumbbell hammer curls to hit the brachialis. Then finish up biceps with machine preacher curls. Note that I don’t go to full extension on this move for regular reps because that puts a lot of strain on your biceps tendons.

Next, you’ll work triceps, the opposing (antagonist) muscle group. Begin with triceps cable pushdowns. This is another great first move to drive synovial fluid into the joints you’re using to work triceps, your target muscles. Keep your elbows tucked close to your sides and emphasize feeling the stretch and contraction in your triceps. Perform the partials at the bottom of this move.

Lying dumbbell triceps extensions are next. Then you can transition to dumbbell triceps presses for your partials. Note how I shift the dumbbell in the video. My final triceps move is weighted bench dips. Ask a partner or spotter to remove the weights to get in your partials after you reach failure.

Finish up your weights workout with straight-legged calf presses performed on a hack squat or any machine that allows you to keep your legs straight to hit the gastrocnemius. Place your feet about fist-distance apart. Make sure to contract at the top and push through the balls of your feet, and then stretch as you dip your heels below the fronts of your feet. Calves recover quickly, so keep rest between sets short.

Dumbbell concentration curl

Sets:
3
Reps:
10 + 5 partial reps
Strategy:
Regular + partial reps

Two-hand dumbbell hammer curl

Sets:
3
Reps:
10 + 5 partial reps
Strategy:
Regular + partial reps

Machine preacher curl

Sets:
3
Reps:
10 + 5 partial reps
Strategy:
Regular + partial reps

Triceps cable pushdown

Sets:
3
Reps:
10 + 5 partial reps
Strategy:
Regular + partial reps

Lying dumbbell triceps extension

Sets:
3
Reps:
10 + 5 partial reps
Strategy:
Regular + partial reps

Weighted bench dip

Sets:
3
Reps:
10 + 5 partial reps
Strategy:
Regular + partial reps

Straight-legged calf press

Sets:
3
Reps:
10 + 5 partial reps
Strategy:
Regular + partial reps

HIIT

Sets:
1
Reps:
3
Strategy:
4 minutes easy/1 minute full
intensity for a total of 15 minutes

POST-WORKOUT CARDIO

Today we had 15 inches of snow, and so I decided to do my cardio outside. Train yourself to do that. If it’s cold, wrap up; if it’s wet, dress for the elements. Get out amongst the elements—challenge yourself to create that new habit of perseverance and consistency.

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