Build Great Arms with Sami Al Haddad's Formula
Build Great Arms with Sami Al Haddad's Formula
Sami Was Not Born With Big Guns
There have been several cases where bodybuilders known for their arms already had impressive biceps and triceps from the start. Five-time Masters Mr. Olympia Vince Taylor, for example, had guns that taped out at over 17 inches before he even touched his first weight. Photos of Mr. Olympia Phil Heath in his college basketball days show him setting up for three-point shots with arms that would be the envy of many who have been slaving away on curls and skull-crushers for years. Sami did respond quickly to weight training, but to look at him the day he first picked up the iron in the soccer team’s weight room, you would hardly have suspected he would ever resemble the muscular marvel we see today. “My arms looked just like all the other young guys I knew who I played soccer with,” he says. “The only thing different about mine was that I already had a bunch of veins popping out of my forearms— maybe that was an omen!” His early arm training was fairly basic, but yielded such substantial results that he has hardly deviated from it in over 20 years. Here are the exercises and routine that gave The Blacksmith his sensational guns.
BICEPS
Exercise 1:Barbell Curls
Biceps are done with triceps in the off-season, and paired with hamstrings as part of a double session pre-contest. Sami kicks things off with the most basic of bi movements, the barbell curl. He takes a fairly wide grip on the bar to target the short head of the muscle, known colloquially to many as the “inner biceps” as it’s closer to the torso with the arms straight down at your side. “I do these smoothly and with total control, flexing the biceps at the top and lowering nice and slow for a full stretch.”
Exercise 2: Preacher Curls
One aspect of Al Haddad’s biceps that was sorely lacking in his early years of competition was the peak, which we now know to be nothing more than the genetic luck of the draw in terms of muscle shape. “Still, you can create the illusion of a peak by focusing more on the long head of the biceps,” explains Sami. He’s found preacher curls, usually with an EZ-bar but occasionally with a dumbbell, to be a great way to target that “outer” head of the biceps that’s best viewed in the rear double biceps pose. Al Haddad takes a close grip on the bar to shift the emphasis even more toward that specific area. “I know it’s worked, because when I compare photos of myself in that pose from even three years ago to now, you see that a peaked shape is now evident where it was virtually flat before.”
Exercise 3: Concentration Curls
The other mainstay in Sami’s peaking program for biceps is the concentration curl, which he prefers to do standing and bent over in the “old-school” style you have probably seen ‘70s stars like Arnold and Robby Robinson doing. “The seated version with your arm up against your thigh is OK too,” he says, “but there is often a tendency to lean the body back a bit as you curl when the weight starts feeling heavier, even if you don’t realize you’re doing it. The way I do it is better suited to isolating the biceps with precision form.”
TRICEPS
Exercise 1: Cable or Rope Pushdowns
Sami is much more satisfied with his triceps than his biceps, and a quick glance at them should explain why. They are round and full, with killer shape and razor-sharp details when he’s in shape, which he always is. Staying free from injury is always part of Sami’s master plan, which is why he starts off any triceps workout at the cable station for 3-4 sets of 20-30 reps of pushdowns. “This serves a dual purpose, to thoroughly warm up the joints and connective tissues and also to pre-exhaust the triceps so I don’t go as heavy on the movements that follow— because I can’t.”
Exercise 2: Lying Triceps Extensions (Skull Crushers)
Sami uses a straight bar sometimes for his extensive warm-up of cable pushdowns, and at other times clips on a rope attachment. “The ropes allow you to spread them apart, and it just gives a different feel to the movement,” he says. Regardless of the attachment being used, the goal is to make sure his elbows are totally warmed up for his skull-crusher sets. “I see some guys in the gym that jump right into those first thing and hardly bother to even warm up on them,” he observes. We both agreed that if they don’t have elbow pain yet, they will sooner or later.
Exercise 3: Machine Dips
It certainly doesn’t look as hardcore as giant chains draped over your neck and shoulders, or even a heavy dumbbell hanging from a belt between your legs, but Sami prefers dip machines for this highly effective compound movement for triceps. “It’s easier to control the movement when all you have to focus on is pushing down and getting the right contraction,” he explains. Those who wish to argue that a dip machine can’t possibly be as effective as dipping on bars with extra resistance attached to your body should try arguing with the results Sami has achieved over the years: thick, meaty horseshoe triceps. Good luck with that!
Exercise 4: One-arm Overhead Cable Extensions
Sami’s final triceps movement is always done one arm at a time in order to fully concentrate on each individual triceps. He alternates between the overhead cable extension and dumbbell kickbacks. “If any MD readers are having a tough time with building their triceps, they really need to be doing some type of overhead extension in their routine to hit the long head of the muscle best,” he adds.
Sami’s Arm Routine
Biceps
Barbell Curls (wide grip) 4 x 10-12
EZ-bar Preacher Curls (close grip) 4 x 10-12
Alternate Dumbbell Curls* 3 x 10-12
Dumbbell Concentration Curls 3 x 12
Triceps
Cable Pushdowns 3-4 x 20-30
EZ-bar Skull-crushers 4 x 8-10
Machine Dips 4 x 10
One-arm Overhead Cable Extension 3 x 15
OR
Dumbbell Kickbacks
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