Absolutely! You can train your arms either by training with isolated movements or secondary movements or a combination of the two per week. Rest is an essential part of bodybuilding and it’ll only affect your performance if you don’t observe it.
Targeted arm workouts are an absolute must if your objective is to achieve maximal growth in your biceps or to significantly increase the amount of muscle mass in your upper body. However, the problem stems from how much training you need. Too little would probably not yield any result and too much will definitely be overachieving and consequently become detrimental for your arm muscles.
It takes a delicate balance to train your arms to build mass while maintaining definition. So, before we jump right into your question, “should I train my arms three times a week?” There are things you must understand first about training your arms which wouldn’t only make you realize how much healthy training you need, but how best to incorporate these arm workouts into your routine. Let’s forge on!
What To Know About Arm Workouts
Arm exercises can either be focused isolation movements or secondary movers within a compound exercise. Consider the difference between something like a concentration curl and a bench press.
When performing a bench press, your back muscles or chest muscles, depending on how the exercise is set up, will be the major movers, with your triceps playing a secondary function as a support mechanism. When you perform a concentration curl, you are focusing your attention on the biceps as the major movers in the movement.
You may now wonder how exactly this factor may affect the routine of your arm workouts. Of course, it does! Because of the level of strain in your muscles.
You need to incorporate many arm workouts per week by combining focused and compound exercises, but this will depend on the goals you have set for yourself. On the other hand, to avoid exhaustion and strains, you might need to cut back on your arm workout sessions.
How Many Days A Week Should I Train My Arms?
When you are putting out a routine for working out your arms, the most important things to keep in mind are your objectives, your recovery, and your timetable.
You can focus on your triceps, biceps, and forearms on a specific day of the week if you are a bodybuilder who divides your workout routine into sessions based on the overall muscle groups you want to develop.
If you are a powerlifter who divides your training into sessions based on the big lifts, you could combine arm day with bench press day to assist increase muscle definition, or you could have a day dedicated to specialized accessory work. How you divide up your workouts determines the number of times you should exercise your arms.
If you want to pump up your guns, research suggests that you should train your arms directly at least twice per week at the very least. You should also try to stick to something that you can be consistent with, as this is another important takeaway. It should not be difficult for you to give your arms two workouts a week if you plan your routine in such a way as to maximise efficiency.
Can You Train Your Arms every day?
It’s fine to exercise your arms every other day if your primary objective is to increase the amount of lean muscle mass on your arms.
When you use this approach, you will have more than 24 hours to devote to rest and muscle repair. Altering the movements you use to isolate your biceps, triceps, and forearms can also help you target the various heads of these muscle groups.
Because of the taxing nature of compound exercises, this is a logical balance for bodybuilders, but it cannot possibly work for powerlifters. Furthermore, you will need to pay focus on your body and reduce your workload if you experience localized pain, poor form, or any other payouts.
Is It Bad To Train Your Hands every day?
There are several reasons why it’s not a good idea to perform arm exercises daily. If you exercise too hard and do not give your muscles enough time to recover in between sessions, you will run into the “Law of Diminishing,” which describes the point at which additional effort results in a lower level of benefit.
If you do not give your arms time to recover in between workouts, you are increasing the likelihood that you may suffer an injury as a result. Damage to the tendons, injuries to the rotator cuff, strains, and rips are among potential ailments that can result from overtraining the arms.
Because of this, you run the risk of developing asymmetrical biceps or being unable to train for several weeks, which is a much more serious consequence than having to take a couple of days off from working out.
Inadequate rest can also result in compensations being made while a movement is being performed. For instance, you may perform a hammer curl with a swinging action or by shifting the emphasis of the movement to your trapezius muscles.
When your body makes adjustments, you are not able to target the specific place that you want to work on as efficiently, which means that you have to put in more effort for a lower return.
How Often Should I Train My Biceps?
Although you should not train your arms daily, it is okay to perform targeted arm workouts twice or thrice a week. When planning arm workouts, make sure to keep your overall goals in mind and include plenty of time for rest and recovery.
You can develop enormous and powerful biceps, triceps, forearms, and shoulders by performing arm workouts numerous times each week, including both isolation and compound movements for the arms. But this isn’t recommended as it’ll catapult negatively in the long run.
