A New York City fitness trainer says people chasing sculpted "trophy arms" do not need to spend thousands of dollars to get them. Marfred Suazo, known as Fonz the Trainer, says a targeted at-home routine combined with proper nutrition can offer a far more affordable path, even as some women are reportedly spending up to $20,000 on the look.
Suazo said many of his clients want what he calls the "holy grail" of arms. He told Fox News Digital that the key is not size alone but balance. "A lot of people talk about tone and things like that, but I think the best thing — the epitome of an arm — is having it well-balanced and well-framed into the body, and having the right proportion from the shoulders to the triceps and biceps," he said. The goal, he emphasized, should be proportion to a person's frame rather than bulk.
Building trophy arms does not require daily workouts, according to Suazo, who runs a program called the Decade Strong Blueprint. Instead, he said exercise selection, controlled movements and nutrition matter most. "Most of us don't have so much available time to do it, so we want to do it as smartly and as effectively as possible," he said. A planned training approach, he added, is what gets people to the point where they begin to see their arms change shape.
Suazo recommends combining compound movements that work several muscle groups, such as pull-ups, rows and chest presses, with isolation exercises that target specific areas, including lateral raises and triceps extensions. "We're building muscle with these bigger movements, these compound movements, and then just fine-detailing everything else with lateral raises, triceps extensions and overhead triceps extensions," he said. He suggests training the arms two to three times a week, noting that chest and back workouts also engage those muscles. "Two to three times a week, I think, is more than enough."
The trainer's guidance aligns with general federal recommendations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises adults to do muscle-strengthening activities that work all major muscle groups at least two days a week. Such activities can include lifting weights, using resistance bands or performing body-weight exercises such as pushups. The National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases advises against working the same muscles on consecutive days, so recovery time is part of the plan.
Suazo also warned against common mistakes, including rushing through exercises and failing to use a full range of motion. He described full range of motion as a comfortable range performed with good technique, without forcing a painful movement. "Moving with intention is the biggest thing, where you're really fatiguing the muscles and you're getting growth and stimulus out of them," he advised. He added that lighter weights can still challenge muscles when the exercises are demanding enough.
Nutrition, Suazo said, is equally important. "You use the gym and all your training programs to really shape the arm as best as possible and build the areas that you want — to reveal these things, you can only do that with proper nutrition." The National Institutes of Health's Office of Dietary Supplements notes that protein helps the body build, maintain and repair muscle. Suazo recommends three to four meals a day with protein spread throughout the day. "This will help reveal all the hard labor that you're doing in the gym to develop a tremendous physique aesthetically," he said.