Looking to Crush Your Arms? Try Counting Up.

For some of the most momentous occasions in life, people count down. From rocket launches to New Year’s Eve celebrations, the descending scale adds an extra layer of anticipation to the proceedings. But when you’re working hard to get into killer shape, it makes more sense to count up—especially if you’re stacking tons of reps on top of one another.

Men’s Health Fitness Director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S. uses this tricep finisher to crush his arms with a high volume of work with a smart setup to make make the most of the routine.

“We’re using the decline skullcrusher position to maximize the squeeze we get on our triceps,” Samuel says. “The key is using that position correctly—if your upper arms stay perpendicular to your torso, that means they’re leaned back just slightly. And that means that straightening your arms doesn’t get to be a position of rest.”

To perform the finisher, you’ll need a set of dumbbells and an adjustable or decline bench. Set the bench to a decline, grab your dumbbells, and get ready to count up to maximum tricep gains.

Eric Rosati/Men’s Health

Lie back on the bench, then press the dumbbells straight out with your palms facing one another. Make sure to keep your upper arms perpendicular to your torso in this position, squeezing your triceps to keep your arms straight.
Bend your right elbow to lower the weight down to your head. Meanwhile, keep the opposite arm in position.
Squeeze your right tricep to lift the dumbbell back into the starting position. Repeat with the left arm.
For your next round, perform 2 reps with your right arm, then 2 reps with your left.
Add additional reps until your can’t do any more with a single arm. Then, perform as many reps with both arms as you finished on your last set of singles.

You might think this sounds easy, but the lack of rest will probably do you in fairly quickly. “The blend of reps and holds means each arm gets a ton of time-under-tension,” Samuel says. “You’re doing reps to technical failure here, but don’t expect them to be a lot; figure you’ll get 3 or 4 [rounds].”

To add the tricep count up finisher to your arm day, try 3 to 4 sets of the full cycle. For more tips and routines from Samuel, check out our full set of Eb and Swole workouts. If you want to try an even more dedicated routine, consider Eb’s New Rules of Muscle program.

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