Superset arm workout – The comeback

Gabe’s 5-months post open heart surgery and giving us a monster superset arm workout!

Body Spartan Founder, Gabe Tuft, is doing what he does best – working harder than anyone else in the room. He’s just barely 5 months out of open heart surgery, and up 22-lbs! He’s still got a long ways to go to get back to where he was, but that doesn’t stop him from crushing this arm workout.

Every exercise is a superset with triceps and biceps. So grab your Kratos GOW Pre-workout, and hang on for the ride!

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Tips from Gabe Tuft before you start

In the video, you’ll see Gabe using fairly strict for throughout with a combination of heavy and light weight. Gabe is a proponent of getting a solid warm-up in prior to going heavy.

“Do as many sets and reps as you need to get a small pump going and then slowly kick up the weight, one set at a time. If you jump in with the heavy weight right away, you’re going to eventually injure yourself”

This is one of the reasons he starts with the cable triceps pushdowns and cable curls for this workout. It allows for light weight to be used in the beginning with constant tension throughout the entire range of motion. If you focus the mind-muscle connection and really concentrate on the squeeze and using just the triceps and biceps, you’re going to force a good amount of blood into the target muscle group and help lubricate the tendons and joints, helping to prevent injury.

Also, make sure you have a meal about 20-30 minutes before you lift. If you’re doing one of our keto programs, then make sure you stick to it. If you’re on one of our programs that allows you to have carbs, now is a great time to pack those in.

As always, bring a post workout shake with you and be sure it’s loaded with high quality protein, BCAA’s and at least 5g of creatine. You’ll want to down this the moment you’re done with your workout to take advantage of the anabolic window.

We highly recommend our Oracle whey protein. It has a 96% bioavailability, is grass fed whey, and has no additives or artificial sweeteners. It’s as pure as it gets, and in this game the purer the whey, the better the gains.

Gabe’s superset arm workout exercise 1: Triceps pushdowns superset with cable curls

Gabe is using an EZ style bar and is also using a wider grip on the triceps pushdowns and a medium grip for the cable curls. By using a wider grip on triceps pushdowns for this arm workout, we’re targeting a part of the triceps that is typically overlooked with doing cable pushdowns, the long head. This is also accomplished by slightly leaning forward, however, we address this in our next exercise.

With supersets, you will do the first exercise AND the second exercise in the set without rest. So in this case, you will do the reps for set 1 for triceps and also for biceps without rest, other than switching the cable location from high to low. When you’re done with BOTH exercises, then take your rest before starting the next set.

Exercise	Set	DS	SS	Reps	Rest time (min)	Notes
Triceps pushdowns superset with cable curls	1	—	Yes	20/20	1-3	Warm-up set
	2	—	Yes	20/20	1-3
	3	—	Yes	18/16	1-3
	4	—	Yes	14/ 12	1-3
	5	—	Yes	12/8-10	1-3

Gabe’s superset arm workout exercise 2: Overhead dumbbell extensions superset with dumbbell hammer curls

Triceps overhead dumbbell extensions:

Dumbbell hammer curls:

Just like the previous superset exercises, we’re going to be increasing the weight with each set. So pick a weight that you can get 20 reps to start on both exercises. You may use different weight for each exercise as well, just like Gabe does here. He starts with the 80-lbs dumbbells for overhead dumbbell extensions and works his way up to the 110-lbs dumbbells.

For the triceps overhead extensions, make sure we are using constant tension and NOT locking out on each rep at the top. If you do lock out, you’re transferring the tension from the triceps to the shoulders via the joints and bones and removing the tension from the triceps. Same with the hammer curls, make sure you don’t lock out at the bottom, but rather stop just short of straightening your arm completely. Doing this will ensure that your muscles don’t get a chance to rest during the set, which is the goal.

One note on the triceps overhead extensions for this arm workout – if you arch your back slightly and move your arms back just a little bit, you’ll engage the long head of the triceps even more. You should feel a definitive tension through the long head if you do this correctly.

Exercise	Set	DS	SS	Reps	Rest time (min)	Notes
Overhead dumbbell triceps extensions super set with dumbbell hammer curls	1	—	Yes	20/20	1-3
	2	—	Yes	18/16	1-3
	3	—	Yes	14/ 12	1-3
	4	—	Yes	12/8-12	1-3

Gabe’s superset arm workout exercise 3: Smith machine drag curls superset with reverse grip barbell overhead extensions

Drag curls on Smith machine:

 

Hand placement for drag curls is a wide grip. Notice how Gabe is centered on the index lines of the bar:

Reverse grip overhead triceps extensions:

Gabe is sitting in a preacher curl bench, facing backwards for the triceps extensions and he’s also using a medium grip.

Drag curls typically take a little getting used to. The most important tips we can give for these are that you aren’t actually doing a curl, per-se. Rather, you’re pulling the bar upwards and allowing your elbows to move backwards as you do. It’s critical that you keep your shoulders from moving up and down too. Keep your shoulders and your traps from pulling upwards and keep them in the SAME position when the bar is lowered, and also in the same position when you raise it. If you have trouble with this, have a fried watch and remind you to keep them down.

Also, you may find leaning very slightly forward helps to put the tension in the biceps – but not too far though. This isn’t a back row, it’s a curl variation.

Exercise	Set	DS	SS	Reps	Rest time (min)	Notes
Drag curls superset with reverse grip overhead extensions	1	—	Yes	20/20	1-3
	2	—	Yes	18/16	1-3
	3	—	Yes	14/ 12	1-3
	4	—	Yes	12/8-12	1-3

Gabe’s superset arm workout exercise 4: Rope overhead triceps extensions superset with single arm triceps pulldowns

Rope overhead triceps extensions:

Single arm triceps pulldowns (or pushdowns):

 :

Gabe has a cool trick for the rope overhead extensions. Most people bring the cable all the way to the bottom, just off the ground and then struggle to get the rope over their head once the weight is added. What Gabe does, is bring the cable just above where his waist is, which makes the start and the end of this exercise much easier and a lot less prone to back and abdominal strains.

For the rope extensions, separate the rope at the top by pulling it apart and flexing the triceps at the top of the range of motion. Do this for as many reps as possible and then, as you start to fatigue, bring your hands together to finish the set.

When you’re done, immediately change the cable position to the highest one and grab a rope for single arm pulldowns. If you don’t have a single arm rope, tie a loose knot in the standard rope so you have half the width. Then, with either arm to start, tuck your arm kind of under and alongside your pec muscle as a brace. Keep your shoulders parallel with the floor and avoid “dipping” to the side you’re working on. With your back straight against the cable post, pull the rope down and slightly away from your body in a natural motion. Play with this until you find the motion that provides the most tension and best contraction for your triceps.

Exercise	Set	DS	SS	Reps	Rest time (min)	Notes
Rope overhead triceps extension superset with single arm rope pulldowns	1	—	Yes	20/20 each arm	1-3
	2	—	Yes	16/16 each arm	1-3
	3	—	Yes	14/14 each arm	1-3
	4	—	Yes	12/12 each arm	1-3

Gabe’s superset arm workout exercise 5: Standing alternating dumbbell curls superset with incline dumbbell curls

Standing alternating dumbbell curls:

Incline dumbbell curls:

There’s no big secrets for the alternating dumbbell curls, except to ensure you don’t lean way back and throw the weight out in front of you to get the reps done. Pick a weight that you can get all the reps with, but are starting to hit failure towards the end. Use strict form and avoid letting your legs bounce to add momentum. We want to focus the mind on contracting the biceps throughout this entire arm workout, and this exercise is no exception.

For the incline dumbbell curls, Gabe uses a 45 degree incline and also allows his arms to flare outward to simulate a wide-grip barbell curl. Additionally, he is keeping his upper arm back slightly, and locked in place. His upper arm never rotates forward to create momentum and “cheat” the rep. This is one of the reasons he’s using lighter weight here. Your arms are going to be fried by this point so it’s best to use lighter weight and focus on the contraction.

Exercise	Set	DS	SS	Reps	Rest time (min)	Notes
Standing alternating dumbbell curls superset with incline dumbbell curls	1	—	Yes	12 each arm/20	1
	2	—	Yes	10 each arm/16	1
	3	—	Yes	8 each arm/12	1
	4	—	Yes	6 each arm/   10-12	1

Final notes for this arm workout

We mentioned earlier about this being an intense workout, so you’re going to want to make sure you have a good amount of energy via a good night’s sleep, and even a solid pre-workout mix if you need an extra kick.

Our Kratos GOW pre-workout is perfect for this workout. It’s all natural and packs a serious punch. Gabe took just 2/3 of a scoop before this arm workout and said he had the pre-workout tingles starting before he even got to the gym. You can grab a bottle right here: