Getting a decent arm pump at the end of your typical workout needn’t take hours. By training with intent, you can tick off your performance goals and aesthetic goals, all while getting in and out of the gym in 45 minutes.

This workout from our MH membership training plan does exactly that. Tag this finisher onto the end of your usual session to give your arms some extra attention without adding hours to your gym time.

Scale your bench press weight as necessary but choose a weight that you could press for around 20 reps at most. Each time you hit failure or your tempo slows, perform 15 seated dumbbell curls before getting directly back under the bar.

Choose dumbbells that allow you to perform all of the sets of curls mostly unbroken and rest only as necessary. Keep your form tight; once you can complete all 100 presses in five sets or less, it’s time to up the weight.

A1. Close-Grip Bench Press x 100 reps

A2. Seated Dumbbell Curls x 15 reps

1. Close-grip Bench Press

• Lay flat on a bench with your knees bent, pushing your feet hard into the floor.
• Hold the bar with a close grip, with your hands around 4-5 inches apart.
• Lower the bar slowly until it touches the bottom of your chest.
• Keep your elbows close to your sides, pause here, then press the bar back up explosively. Repeat.

2. Seated Dumbbell Curls

• Sit on a bench with your torso upright and a dumbbell in each hand at your sides, with your palms facing forward.
• Keeping your upper arms tight to your body, curl the dumbbells upwards, turning your wrists as you do so until your pinky fingers are near your shoulders.
• Squeeze at the top, then lower under control.

If there’s one thing Kori Sampson knows, it’s 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 – all while improving your muscle-to-fat ratio.

Ready to build muscle, burn fat and come out the other side looking, feeling and performing better? Click here to get 14 days of free access to the plan via the Men’s Health app.

Kate is a fitness writer for Men’s 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’s 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’t lifting weights in her garden, she can be found walking her rescue dog.