{"id":856843,"date":"2026-08-13T17:48:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T17:48:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/856843\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T17:48:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T17:48:19","slug":"this-jailhouse-arm-workout-blends-calisthenics-and-bodybuilding-for-bigger-biceps-and-triceps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/856843\/","title":{"rendered":"This \u2018Jailhouse\u2019 Arm Workout Blends Calisthenics and Bodybuilding for Bigger Biceps and Triceps"},"content":{"rendered":"

If your usual 3 sets of curls aren’t quite cutting it anymore, there are considerably more interesting ways to train your arms. Calisthenics<\/a> coach Nedim Sofic combines weighted bodyweight movements with old-school bodybuilding techniques inspired by the likes of Mike Mentzer<\/a> for a session that hits both biceps and triceps hard.<\/p>\n

His latest arm workout<\/a> starts with weighted dips and chin-ups before finishing with 110 reps of curls and skull crushers using a descending ladder known as the ‘Downs Method’.<\/p>\n

It’s part of Sofic’s current training approach, inspired by old-school jailhouse workouts. Here’s how to try it.<\/p>\n

The WorkoutWeighted Straight-Bar Dips x 3 Sets<\/p>\n

Sofic begins with weighted straight-bar dips, using a shoulder-width grip to place plenty of emphasis on the triceps.<\/p>\n

‘Weighted straight bar dips will give you that thickness in the triceps,’ says Sofic, who prefers them to conventional parallel-bar dips for targeting the backs of his arms.<\/p>\n

It’s a demanding movement, so don’t rush to add weight. If you can’t yet perform clean bodyweight reps, master those first before gradually introducing additional load.<\/p>\n

Close-Grip Chin-Ups x 3 Sets<\/p>\n

Next up are close-grip chin-ups. Sofic uses some assistance from his feet, allowing him to concentrate on driving through his biceps rather than simply grinding through each rep.<\/p>\n

The inspiration comes from Mike Mentzer<\/a>, who famously championed the close-grip, palms-up pulldown as a biceps exercise because it combines elbow flexion with a heavy compound pull.<\/p>\n

‘If Mike Mentzer called [close-grip pulldowns] the greatest bicep exercise in the world, then this is the perfect golden-era calisthenics modification,’ says Sofic.<\/p>\n

Towel Curl and Skull Crusher Superset<\/p>\n

10 supersets using the Downs Method, with minimal rest<\/p>\n

Sofic saves the highest-volume work for last.<\/p>\n

The Downs Method is a descending ladder that begins with 10 reps and works all the way down to one, keeping rest to a minimum throughout.<\/p>\n

Start with 10 towel curls immediately followed by 10 skull crushers. Then perform nine of each, followed by eight, seven and so on until you finish with a single rep of each exercise.<\/p>\n

By the end, you’ll have accumulated 55 reps of each movement \u2013 110 reps in total \u2013 on top of the weighted work you’ve already completed.<\/p>\n

‘Lots of reps, lots of tension, Armageddon,’ says Sofic.<\/p>\n

\"kori<\/a><\/p>\n

If there\u2019s one thing Kori Sampson knows, it\u2019s how to optimise your body composition for performance. To tap into his knowledge as an elite athlete and coach, we asked him to create a 4-week plan to help you move faster, recover quicker and keep pushing when the fatigue sets in \u2013 all while improving your muscle-to-fat ratio.<\/p>\n

Ready to build muscle, burn fat and come out the other side looking, feeling and performing better? Click here<\/a> to get 14 days of free access to the plan via the Men\u2019s Health app.
<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Kate is a fitness writer for Men\u2019s Health UK where she contributes regular workouts, training tips and nutrition guides. She has a post graduate diploma in Sports Performance Nutrition and before joining Men\u2019s Health she was a nutritionist, fitness writer and personal trainer with over 5k hours coaching on the gym floor. Kate has a keen interest in volunteering for animal shelters and when she isn\u2019t lifting weights in her garden, she can be found walking her rescue dog.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If your usual 3 sets of curls aren’t quite cutting it anymore, there are considerably more interesting ways…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":856844,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[49,48,223823,200249,4671,298022,784,407,84,237154,783,298021,273948],"class_list":["post-856843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-collection-workout-hub","tag-collection-biceps-triceps","tag-content-type-default","tag-contentid-08fe0e45-f6f0-47a3-a3e6-6d36bd121927","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-gb","tag-shorttitle-the-jailhouse-workout-for-biceps-and-triceps","tag-sponsored-false"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=856843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/856844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=856843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=856843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=856843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}