Former competitive bodybuilder and current muscle-building guru Seth Feroce took a break from posting his popular YouTube vlogs for a couple of months, but he stayed busy during that time. He says he’s gained around 16 pounds in the last six to seven weeks before this article’s publication by eating fewer salads, consuming more protein, and swapping bodyweight workouts for moves like 142-kilogram (315-pound) farmer carries.
I love lifting weight. I like eating big food.
The “All American Roughneck” is known for his no B.S. approach to the gym and brings the same intensity when training his arms. It’s no wonder why he has a reputation for having one of the best biceps pumps in the business. Fortunately, the 37-year-old shared the principles behind the arm pump with his more than 655,000 YouTube subscribers. Check out his advice for maximizing arm workouts and improving pumps below:
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The former IFBB pro begins by loading up his glycogen levels. Higher glycogen levels allow for an increase in intensity, thereby getting more reps per set. This higher volume training leads to fuller muscle pumps. Loading up glycogen levels can be done with supplements, but also foods like fruits, starchy vegetables, whole grains, and other sources of carbohydrates.
While training, cells collect water, lactic acid, and greater blood flow, temporarily increasing the size of the muscles. While the jury is out on whether the pump has any additional effect on building muscle when compared to strength training, most experts will likely agree that it serves as a great addition to an overall lifting regimen and could bring about greater protein synthesis thanks to increased blood circulation.
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Maximum Pump Arm Workout Tips
“In workouts, you always see me warm up forever,” says Feroce. “Doing some type of warm-up or having a solid warm-up in your routine is a good idea.” The bodybuilder says that this is a great way to get the blood flowing and help achieve the pump that he is looking for. Feroce likes to train arms by following every biceps exercise with a triceps move for a muscle-blasting superset and is obsessive about reducing the time he takes between each exercise.
Feroce pairs the moves by placing his machines suitably close together. This is an essential part of the floor design for Feroce’s own ‘Pump Town’ gym, but if you don’t have your own private gym, the big man says that you should go into any gym with a plan, and check out where each machine is, making your choices accordingly.
Examples of biceps/triceps pairings suggested by the “All American Roughneck” include:
- Hammer curls followed by triceps pushdowns
- Straight or cambered bar curls followed by French curls
- Hammer curls followed by the Hammer Strength dip machine
To maximize pump-style training, one should work in the 10-12 rep range, working with around 70 percent of one-rep max (1RM), with as short a rest period as possible. Feroce is a proponent of executing single-arm pushdowns on the Hammer Strength dip machine and raises his triceps back up until he feels the stretch in his lateral and long heads in the sides and backs of his arms. He says the stretching aspect of this move further allows the blood to flow.
If you don’t have access to a Hammer Strength dip machine, Feroce says that you could grip the footrest of an assisted dip or assisted pull-up machine. Feroce is no stranger to cables, explaining that cable-based pulls and pushdowns allow him to go heavier than he would with a free weight. The take-home message, Feroce says, is to train hard, smart, and plan ahead when selecting the weight so that you go heavy without overshooting your capacity.
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