THE BEST BODY-WEIGHT ARM WORKOUT

What if you’ve got nothing—no barbells, no dumbbells, no bands, or a suspension system—but are still itching to pump up the guns? No problem! So long as you can find an overhead pipe or crossbar that will support your weight, and some level ground, you can work your arms. In fact, by following the workout below, you won’t just work your arms; you’ll make them grow. 

HOW IT WORKS

Upper-body training, in its simplest terms, is about pushing and pulling. Pair the two movement patterns up and you’v e got a complete arm blast, and that’s what we did here. You’ll finish with eccentric chinups, which are just normal chins done with an extra-slow negative. This causes more muscle damage in the biceps, leading to greater growth, and that’s alway s cool— even if there’s no one else around to notice.

DIRECTIONS

Perform the exercise pairs (marked “A ” and “B”) as alternating sets. You’ll do a set of A , rest, then a set of B, rest again, and continue for all the prescribed sets.

1A CLOSE-GRIP PUSHUP

SETS: 5 REPS: 12–15 REST: 60 SEC.

Place your hands inside shoulder width and lower your body until your chest is about an inch above the floor. To increase the difficulty, elevate your feet on a bench or box.

1B CHINUP

SETS: 5 REPS: 6–8 REST: 60 SEC.

Grasp the chinup bar at (or slightly inside) shoulder width, with palms facing you. Pull yourself up until your chin is over the bar  

2A TRICEPS EXTENSION

SETS: 4 REPS: 10 REST: 60 SEC.

Get into pushup position and rest your forearms on the floor, palms down. Keeping your core tight and your body in a straight line, extend your elbows so your arms are straight.  

2B ECCENTRIC CHINUP

SETS: 4 REPS: 3 REST: 60 SEC.

Grasp a chinup bar at shoulder width with palms facing you and jump into the top position of a chinup. Take five seconds to lower yourself down to the hang position. That’s one rep.