MISTAKE 1 Thinking just about any exercise works well as the first movement in your workout
Not sure where to start your arm-day workout? Anyone leading off with concentration curls or triceps press-downs as their preferred mass-building move makes a big mistake.The Fix
Choose mass-building exercises early in your workout when your energy levels are highest. What are the best mass-building moves? Good question. They're typically the ones in which you can push the most weight. Multi-joint exercises which recruit secondary muscle groups fall into this category (one reason you start your chest workouts with presses and thigh workouts with squats). For triceps, there are a number of multi-joint moves to choose from, but not so for biceps. Basic standing curls allow the biceps to move the most weight.MISTAKE 2 Not working the target muscle from various angles
When training arms, "angles" refers to your arm position relative to your torso as well as your grip. If you always do your curls or triceps extensions with your arms locked by your sides, you limit your gains.The Fix
For biceps, with your arms in front of your torso (think preacher curls), you target more on the biceps' short head; when your arms are behind your torso (think incline bench dumbbell curls), you better focus on the long head. Likewise, using a neutral grip (hammer curls) and taking a closer or wider grip on the barbell during standing curls each recruits the arm flexors in slightly different ways.For triceps, when your arms are overhead you better target the long head, while going from an overhand to an underhand grip (as when doing press-downs) shifts the emphasis from the lateral to medial head.
In sum, using a variety of grips and arm positions better emphasizes the various heads of your bis and tris for more complete development.
