The Guns of Justin Compton
Follow His Strategy for Optimum Arm Gains
A Thinking Man’s Bodybuilder
I deal with a lot of pro bodybuilders in my job. All of them have gifted genetics, and they all work hard to capitalize on those gifts. But I would be lying if I told you they all put an equal amount of thought into their training. Justin Compton falls into this category of thinkers. At 26, he’s wise and mature beyond his years and doesn’t rely on his genetics or other factors to coast on. Justin knows that in the ferociously competitive world of pro bodybuilding, that’s just not enough. A sensational winner of last year’s Europa Show of Champions, he bypassed the 2014 Olympia to concentrate on the Arnold Classic this coming March 7th. Judging by his recent pics he’ll cause major damage. Which proves he’s a planner who gets things right. He’s the type of bodybuilder who you can actually learn a thing or two from, because he’s on his own quest for knowledge.
Justin’s Favorite Arm Moves
We asked Justin to run us through a gauntlet of his favorite and most effective arm exercises, giving us tips and tricks he’s discovered to make each one work best. Take some cues from this young champion, and put at least some thought into everything you do in the gym. You may or may not ever have 22-inch guns like he does, but you can be sure you’ll be making the absolute most out of what you do have.
BICEPS
Seated Alternate Dumbbell Curls
“On these, I like to slow down the negative and really control it. On any type of curl, I focus on keeping my elbows back. Once they start to come forward, the delts begin taking over. It looks like my form is off here and I am leaning into the working arm, but that’s because I need to clear my quads. If your quads aren’t quite as big as mine, you shouldn’t need to do that. I will use 45s or 50s as my top weight on these.”
“I will stop the rep at the very top and flex my biceps, and again lower for a slow negative. I find that if you let the weight come down too fast, that lends itself to a fast rebound out of the bottom. Before you know it, you’re swinging the weight up and your biceps aren’t getting the work.”
“A lot of guys complain that curling with a straight bar kills their wrists. I was experiencing some wrist pain on it myself, until I tried using a wider grip on the bar. With an EZ-bar, my grip is always closer in and my hands are angled. If my hands are straight, they need to be further apart.”
Preacher Curls
“I love this exercise! Since I usually use an EZ-curl bar, my grip is pretty narrow. I don’t worry about using a lot of weight. With a lighter weight, I can lower the bar until my arms are almost completely straight and I get a full stretch. That would not be safe to do with a heavy weight.”
One-Arm Dumbbell Preacher Curls
“One-arm curls with the arm braced are excellent. I will either do it with a dumbbell, the machine version, or even bring the preacher bench over to a cable unit and use that to curl with. Whatever variation I choose, my hand is fully supinated the whole time. I angle my body away from the bench a little bit. That’s so I can get my arm in the proper position. I’m not the most flexible guy, so if I sat facing straight into the bench, my range of motion would be limited.”
“Hammer curls are something I do at least half the time. If I am using dumbbells, I curl up and across the body to target the brachialis better. If I am using a rope cable attachment, I prefer doing them as part of a superset rather than on their own. I find that going from some type of dumbbell curl to a rope hammer curl works perfectly.”
“I actually do this exercise three different ways, sometimes all in the same set. I will curl from dead center between the cables for about eight reps, and then take a step backward so it’s more like hitting the actual front double biceps pose for another eight reps. I feel the short head of the biceps activated more that way. Then, I will take a step forward of dead center, and it’s very similar to the rear double biceps pose. The long head of the biceps has to work harder in that position, which is the head you see in the back shots.”
Rope Pushdowns
“Every triceps workout starts with some type of cable pushdown before moving on to any type of free-weight movement. That’s a tip I got from John Meadows (outstanding NPC competitor), who told me it was just a smart tactic if I wanted to be able to train at his age – mid 40s -- without excruciating elbow pain. Warm up those elbows! Sometimes I use a rope, other times a V-bar, a straight bar or a cambered bar. The reps on the first couple of sets will be at least 12.”
“Very often I stay right there at the cable station and do a single-arm pushdown. On these, I like to squeeze my triceps for a full second at the end of each rep. Most times I do use a rope, which allows me to twist my hand and palm all the way away from my body for the most complete contraction possible.”
Overhead Rope Extensions
“I always do some type of overhead extension movement to hit the long head of the tri’s in the stretch position. Typically I will use a barbell or a dumbbell, but there are times I will do the same exercise with a cable, my back to the stack and leaning away.”
“I love the EZ-bar version of this, but I don’t do it most of the time since I train alone. It’s a lot of work to get the bar up into the start position to begin, then get it back down once you’re fatigued. And since I use 180-200 pounds, no way am I doing that on my own! Instead, I usually do the movement with one hand and a dumbbell. I use a 60 or a 70 at most. That’s not so heavy compared to IFBB Pro Robert Burneika. I saw him use a 110 once! I get a good stretch, but I’m careful not to let it stretch too far. If you do that, you’re straining both your elbow tendon and potentially your rotator cuffs too.”
“In my training, I prefer using a machine. The reason for that is that I get the best feeling in the tri’s when I pause and flex them for a second at the end of the rep and then control the negative for a three-count. That’s very difficult to do with standard bar dips or even a bench dip.”
Many bodybuilders, even those at the pro level, more or less make up their workouts as they go along every time. Not so with Justin, which didn’t surprise me to learn. He actually designs each workout ahead of time and types it up on his phone to refer to. “It just makes sense to me that being precise and having a solid plan to follow when training is really the most important aspect of bodybuilding along with nutrition,” he says. It’s this type of dedication and extra level of preparation that I feel is already setting Justin apart from many of his peers, and will continue to serve him well in the coming years. For how he does in this year’s Arnold Classic keep clicking on to musculardevelopment.com
Justin’s Offseason Training Split to Hit Arms Twice Weekly
Sunday: Chest and triceps
Monday: Back and biceps
Tuesday: Shoulders and hamstrings
Wednesday: Chest and triceps
Thursday: Back and biceps
Friday: Quads and hams
Saturday: OFF
Justin’s Arm Workout
Biceps
One-Arm Machine Preacher Curls 3 x 12, 12, 8-10 each arm*
Barbell Curls 3 x 12-15, 12-15, 8-10+
Incline Dumbbell Curl 3 x 12-15, 10-12, 8-10
superset with
Rope Hammer Curls 3 x 15-20, 12-15, 10-12
*One-second flex at top of each rep.
+Lift at regular speed, and lower each rep for three seconds.
Triceps
Cable Pushdowns 3 x 12-15, 12, 8-10*
One-Arm Rope Pushdowns 3 x 12-15, 12, 8-10*
Machine Dips 3 x 10-15+
Overhead Extensions, Dumbbell or EZ-Bar 3 x 12-15, 10-12, 8-10
superset (optional) with
Reverse-Grip Skull-Crushers 3 x 12-15, 10-12, 8-10
*One-second flex at completion of each rep.
+Lift at regular speed, and lower each rep for three seconds.
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