Bodybuilder Arm Workout: Simeon Panda’s Six Moves

A bodybuilder arm workout can look straightforward on a phone: a few curls, dips and pushdowns, followed by a superset. The harder question is how much work that session adds to the training you already do.

Simeon Panda’s six-move routine makes a useful example because his original post lists the exercises, sets and repetitions. Below is that complete session, a smaller editorial variation and a worked way to count its place in a week.

The six-move bodybuilder arm workout

Panda’s original Instagram post lists four separate exercises followed by a two-movement cable superset. The table follows that caption rather than blending it with other routines attributed to him.

The final pairing means one set of each exercise in a round, repeated for three rounds. Three rounds therefore contribute six exercise sets, not three.

For a single-arm exercise, keep a record for each side: four sets on the left and four on the right are four sets per arm. Counting every left and right bout together would answer a different question from the workload received by each arm.

The caption does not provide a weekly schedule, rest intervals or a loading progression. It also does not identify every cable attachment or spell out the cable-curl grip, so those details should not be presented as verified parts of his prescription.

What the original post actually says

The original caption confirms the rep ranges above. A Muscle & Fitness report repeats that list but later summarizes all four opening exercises as 6 to 10 reps, which conflicts with its own list.

That report also describes a palms-down cable curl, while the original caption simply names a cable biceps curl. Treat the grip as unspecified in the written prescription rather than silently turning it into a reverse curl.

The caption does not instruct readers to shock their muscles or reach failure on every set. The muscle-guessing and failure advice appears in the report’s commentary; it should not be attributed to Panda’s caption.

His source post contains exercise clips, not a timed follow-along class. The written routine can be checked against the caption without pretending that a short demonstration reveals his entire training week.

How to approach the exercises

This session assumes you already know how to use dumbbells, dip bars and a cable station. Begin with lighter practice work, check the equipment setup and use loads you can control before attempting the listed work sets.

Concentration curl

Sit on a stable bench with the back of the working upper arm against the inner thigh. Curl the dumbbell toward the shoulder, then lower it under control while maintaining that support.

Do not turn the repetition into a torso swing to move a heavier dumbbell. ACE’s biceps exercise instructions describe this supported setup and the neutral-grip hammer curl below.

Bodyweight dip

Use stable parallel bars, support yourself with straight arms and lower by bending the elbows while controlling your shoulders and trunk. Press back to the supported position rather than bouncing out of the bottom.

The dip instructions by Shane McLean describe a controlled parallel-bar press involving the chest and shoulders as well as the triceps. Bodyweight is a substantial load, and the published ten-rep target is not a reason to force a movement you cannot control.

If you cannot perform dips confidently, get help selecting an appropriate assisted version or a different pressing exercise before using this routine. Stop a painful movement; persistent shoulder or elbow pain needs assessment, not an automatic exercise swap from an article.

Hammer curl

Hold the dumbbell with the palm facing inward and keep the upper arm near your side. Bend the elbow to lift, then control the return without throwing your hips forward.

Record whether you alternate arms or complete one side at a time so later sessions are comparable. Changing that method and the weight together makes a performance comparison less clear.

Triceps pushdowns

Use a high pulley, keep the upper arm close to the torso and straighten the elbow without leaning your whole body onto the handle. Control the return instead of letting the stack pull your hand upward.

The reverse-grip version uses a palm-up hand position with one arm working at a time. It remains elbow extension, rather than becoming a completely different triceps movement because the hand is turned over.

Catalyst Athletics’ single-arm pushdown guide illustrates the upper-arm and trunk-control principles with a neutral-grip rope variation. Its grip differs from the reverse-grip exercise in Panda’s list.

Cable curl and the finisher

For a conventional cable curl, use a low pulley and bend the elbows to bring the handle upward while keeping your stance stable. Lower under control and avoid using a backward body lean to finish the repetition.

That is a practical conventional-curl description, not a claim that the caption specified a particular handle or grip. A reverse curl is another variation and should be recorded by its actual name.

Alternate the pushdown and curl for the finisher, but allow a safe transition between exercises. The source gives no stopwatch requirement, and setting up properly matters more than racing between stations.

Count the workload before adding an arm day

The arithmetic is 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 3 + 3 = 22. The curl side totals 11 sets; the other 11 comprise seven isolation pushdown sets plus four compound dip sets.

Calling all 22 sets isolated biceps or triceps work would hide that distinction. Rows, pulldowns and presses elsewhere in the week also involve the arms, but they are not interchangeable with a curl or pushdown set.

A 2026 dose-response meta-regression analyzed 67 studies involving 2,058 participants and found that distinguishing direct from indirect sets improved its models. Higher volume was associated with greater gains with diminishing returns; the analysis did not establish one correct set count for every lifter.

The ledger below deliberately keeps exercise categories separate instead of assigning every press or row an identical arm-set value. These are arithmetic examples, not recommended weekly doses.

Both choices put the same named workout on the calendar, yet they produce different weeks. Write down what it replaces before deciding that an extra arm day is only a small change.

A smaller four-move example

One way to reduce the original session is to keep its first four exercises, use two sets of each and omit the cable finisher. This is a WorkoutHealthy editorial example, not Panda’s program or a clinically tested beginner prescription.

The example totals eight exercise sets: four curls, two pushdowns and two dips. It removes volume and one repeated pushdown pattern without claiming that eight sets are an optimum.

For context, the 2026 ACSM position stand recommends progressive resistance training for healthy adults and discusses at least two sets per exercise. Its evidence favors higher weekly volume for hypertrophy, but it does not validate this particular eight-set routine or make a high-volume arm day mandatory.

If your current program already contains suitable arm work, replacing some of that work is a different decision from adding this example on top. A beginner still needs a balanced program and instruction in unfamiliar movements, rather than simply being handed a smaller bodybuilder session.

Effort and progression without a failure rule

The same ACSM review found that training to momentary failure did not consistently improve outcomes. It proposes sufficiently challenging work, including a target of two to three repetitions in reserve, as an alternative.

Repetitions in reserve means your estimate of additional controlled repetitions you could perform. It is an estimate, not a test you must prove by failing a dip or grinding through painful repetitions.

Track the exercise, load or assistance, repetitions for each set, rest and estimated effort. For unilateral movements, record each side rather than letting your stronger arm’s result stand in for both.

Keep the setup consistent when comparing sessions. More weight with a shorter range, a stronger lean or much longer rest is not the same performance task.

When the planned work becomes reliably easier, choose a manageable progression within your program. Avoid automatically increasing the load, adding a finisher and adding another weekly session at once, because you will not know which change affected performance.

Rest enough to regain control for the next set rather than treating exhaustion as a separate goal. If performance deteriorates, pause and reassess the load, rest and total work instead of forcing the written number.

Does the workout need an overhead extension?

The original list uses pushdowns and dips without an overhead triceps isolation exercise. That makes an overhead extension a possible variation to discuss, not a missing movement everyone must add.

In a 21-adult, 12-week within-person trial, each participant trained one arm with overhead cable extensions and the other with the upper arm in a neutral position. MRI-measured whole-triceps muscle volume increased by 19.9% in the overhead condition and 13.9% in the neutral condition.

Both conditions produced growth, and that specific comparison did not test Panda’s entire workout. It does not show that adding an overhead movement on top of all 22 sets is necessary or that every lifter should tolerate the same shoulder position.

If an appropriate overhead exercise is chosen, count whether it replaces a pushdown slot or increases total work. Treat it as a deliberate program change, not a bonus that disappears from the ledger.

Common questions about this arm workout

Is this his permanent weekly routine?

The source establishes a published session, not his permanent schedule. Older third-party roundups describe different routines, so their exercises and weekly frequencies should not be combined into a supposedly definitive current program.

Are cables automatically better than dumbbells?

A cable stack offers adjustable resistance, while dumbbells offer a different setup and resistance direction. Neither tool name alone proves that a movement delivers constant muscular loading or better growth for you.

Should I repeat the whole session twice a week?

The caption gives no frequency instruction. Repeating it would double the listed exercise-set total before accounting for your other training, so it should not be presented as an automatic recommendation.

What should I take from a bodybuilder’s arm day?

Use a clearly documented session to understand exercise selection, elbow flexion and extension, and set accounting. Keep its source facts separate from your own program decisions, then judge progress using repeatable performance rather than the size of a temporary pump.

Sources and further reading

1. Simeon Panda. Original arm-session caption and exercise clips. Instagram, October 6, 2025.
2. Scott Felstead. Report of Panda’s six-move workout. Muscle & Fitness.
3. Stephanie Thielen. Build Your Biceps Workout. American Council on Exercise, 2015.
4. Catalyst Athletics. Single-Arm Rope Tricep Pushdown. Exercise technique guide.
5. Pelland and colleagues. Resistance-training volume and frequency dose-response meta-regressions. Sports Medicine, 2026.
6. Currier and colleagues. ACSM position stand on resistance-training prescription in healthy adults. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2026.
7. Maeo and colleagues. Overhead versus neutral-arm elbow-extension training. European Journal of Sport Science, 2023.