Josh Bergeron’s Tempo-Control Arm-Swole Workout

In Aesop’s fable "The Tortoise and the Hare" we’re reminded that the ability to go fast does not necessarily lead to victory. For decades bodybuilding theory has been inexorably linked to that fable. If you want to grow, grow slow. Slow and steady wins the race (or the competition, in this case). Those are sound statements offering prospective competitors as well as recreational lifters wise advice on how best to build a physique.

In many ways the classic methods are so-called because they adhere to the grow-slow principle. In today’s hyperfast society it’s hard to slow down for a classic arm movement like 21s, especially when there are so many so-called new and improved methods promising instant gains in a world built around instant gratification. The underlying problem with most of those methods is that, in most cases, they’re no better than the classics they replace. Quite often they’re worse. (Shake Weight anyone?)

“I see tons of people trying to lift maximum weight and breaking form, taking the force off of the targeted muscle. That’s pretty useless.”

What struck me most about Joshua Bergeron’s arm-training routine was the way it integrates the old with the new—a conglomeration of classical movements and some unique ones that you may have not seen before. Even the tortoise, for all of his persistence, needs a speed booster once in a while to overtake the rabbit while he’s sleeping on the job.

Josh Bergeron is an NPC national-level bodybuilder based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A heavyweight, he’s been training off and on since age 14. At 32 he feels that he’s starting to hit his stride thanks to a renewed seriousness for the discipline and the help of Mike Davies of the Fitness Factory, who’s been coaching his training and nutrition for the past five years.

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