This post is your step-by-step instruction manual on how to build big arms.
I’ll start by saying that most natural lifters can grow a pair of 16” biceps with the right approach. Some guys may even be able to get 17” or 18” biceps if they have the right stature, genetics and work their ass off for a while.
It’s very likely that most guys in your gym don’t have 16” inch arms. If they do, you can bet they look pretty damn impressive (as long as they’re lean of coarse).
I’ve found that the best way to build arms is to slap on as much mass as you can, then carve in the finer details with special techniques.
Today you will learn how to build arms and join the Big Guns Club.
How to Build Big Arms
First and foremost, your arms will naturally get larger with a well rounded total body workout routine. However, you need to train arms directly if you want a pair of sculpted guns.
I train arms as a unit. Biceps, triceps, forearms and shoulders all get the treatment on the same day. It’s just easier for me to train them all at once because I can set up shop in the gym and crank out lots and lots of volume quickly. I grab my barbells and dumbbells and set them by the bench I’m using, then I go to town and grind, grind, grind for an hour straight.
For that reason I hit all arm muscles in the same workout.
All four parts of the arm must be developed properly in order to look great overall.
Meaning don’t just train biceps and forget about triceps. That’s silly, and will undermine your efforts.
The Anatomy of Great Arms
Aesthetic arms have the following attributes
- Large, flaring forearms
- Bulging biceps
- Sharp, round deltoids
- Thick triceps
- Proportioned muscles
- Contrasting muscle groups
- Definition and muscle separation
These things are all achievable with a lot of work. Once you got it, though, your arms will look mighty impressive.
The Best Arm Exercises for Mass and Definition
These exercise will help your arms look fantastic from all angles. Not to mention your arms and grip will get significantly stronger.
In addition to these exercises mentioned below, there are literally 1000’s of exercises variations. All of which are at your disposal to constructive massive pythons.
We’ll talk about these later though, for now let’s focus on arguable the best exercises for each arm muscle.
The Best Bicep Exercises
Biceps are the front part of your upper arm. The best exercises to build bigger biceps are:
- Barbell and dumbbell curls
- Reverse barbell curls
- Spider curls
- Preacher curls
- Concentration curls
- Hammer Curls
- Pull ups
The best bicep exercises are curls performed with dumbbells and barbells.
The Best Tricep Exercises
- Overhead Dumbbell Press
- Overhead Tricep Extension
- French Press
- Rope Pull Downs
- Close grip bench press
- Skullcrushers
- J.M. Press
- Dips
Triceps respond best to tricep extensions and dips. Forearms blow up with wrist curls and reverse curls. And shoulders respond best to overhead press and lateral raises.
The Best Forearm Exercises
My favorite forearm exercises are Reverse Barbell Curls, Wrist Curls, Reverse Wrist Curls.
Hammer curls also do a number on my forearms and will do the same for you.
The Best Shoulder Exercises
Two words: Lateral Raises.
Do front, side and rear dent raises like your life depends on it. Side felt raises will make you look wider and rear felt raises have a magic enhancing effect that makes you look superb.
I typically start shoulders with standing shoulder press with a barbell or seated dumbbell shoulder press. Then move on to lateral raises. Lots and lots of lateral raises.
How to Lift for Arm Growth
How you perform each exercises is just as important, maybe even more important, that the type of exercise you do.
Nice, clean, slow reps sculpt the muscles. Perfect technique is of paramount importance. Always ensure the muscle is doing the work and you’re not cheating the reps with momentum.
Let me tell you a story about the Monkey Man. I saw this guy came into the gym almost every day for two years straight. Every time Monkey Man would grab a pair of 30-pound dumbbells and swing them up to his chest one at a time, in alternate fashion. His whole body rocked back and forth, side to side, while he swung his arms around loosely. It looked like a monkey trying to mimic a man lifting.
As you could imagine, this gentleman made no progress whatsoever in two years. That being said, never be afraid to make a mistake, but also don’t waste your time by making the same mistake for two years straight. If something isn’t visible showing progress in a month or two, it’s time to re-evaluate.
The rep range for each exercise is typically 6-12. Sometimes up to 15 or 20 for shoulders and forearms, depending on the exercise. Take 2 seconds to raise the weight, and another 2 or 3 seconds to lower the weight. Flex to engage the muscle and use that to initiate each rep.
4-5 sets per exercise seems to be the sweet spot for me.
Be sure to SQUEEZE the muscle at the top of each rep to create definition.
Big Arms Workout Routine
I train arms biceps and triceps, Forearms (and sometimes shoulders) the same day.
Working biceps, triceps and forearms at the same time has a synergistic affect. Biceps get a little work for tricep exercises and biceps get a little work from tricep exercises, and forearms and vice versa.
I find arms respond best to a lot of volume.
Training arms twice a week is good to build mass quickly.
Perform workout A, then perform workout B four days later.
Arm Workout A
- Concentration Curls / French Press 4x 12, 10, 8, 6
- Barbell Curls / Overhead Dumbell Press 4x 12, 10, 8, 6
- Reverse Barbell Curls / Tricep Pull Down with Rope 4x 12, 10, 8, 6
- Dumbbell Curls / Overhead Tricep Extension 4x 12, 10, 10, 8
- Wrist Curls / Reverse Wrist Curls 4x 20, 20, 15, 15
All exercises are performed as superset pairs.
Arm Workout B
- Overhead Dumbell Press / Spider Curls 4x 12, 10, 10, 8
- Skull Crushers / Barbell Curls 4x 12, 10, 10, 8
- Tricep Pull Down with Rope / Reverse Drag Curls 4x 12, 10, 10, 8
- French Press / Hammer Curls 4x 12, 10, 10, 8
- Wrist Curls / Reverse Wrist Curls 4x 20, 20, 15, 15
All exercises are performed as superset pairs.
Do two warm up sets of 20 reps to break a little sweat and wake up your muscles.
Continue this arm workout for 6 weeks. Measure your arms before and after and I guarantee your arms will be bigger on week 7!
Video Examples of Selected Arm Exercises
How Much Weight should You Use?
Use a weight that allows you to only do the amount of reps shown and no more!
You have to make your arms grow! If they had it their way they would look like spaghetti forever.
This may be too much for a beginner, so try it an evaluate. If you are a beginner, this workout will make yo very sore for several weeks if you keep at it. Eventually your body will adapt and become less sore. (That’s when you move to Phase II 馃槈 )
If soreness is too intense the next few days or if you are still sore on day 4, reduce the sets from 4 to 3 for each exercise.
Make sure you eat a lot of quality food like meat and veggies to build muscles. If you don’t eat, you won’t grow.
Arm Workout Tips
Crush the Grip
Squeeze the bar as hard as you possibly can. Seriously, get pissed and crush that motherfucker. This activates muscle fibers throughout your entire arm. And it will help you grind out those last few extra reps.
Flex Hard!
Flex as hard as you possibly can each rep. Flex harder than you’ve ever flexed before. DO this every singe rep. Your muscles should burn and feel like cramping if you do it right. This can be downright painful at time but you need to realize that the burn is actually the fire of creation and you’re going to love the results.
Use Fat Gripz
Fat Gripz turn ordinary barbells and dumbbells into thick bars. Thick bars are the best for gaining raw strength and muscle mass because they activate more muscle fibers. They work by strengthening your arms in a position where your grip is weak. This forces growth by strengthening your weak point.
Eat Enough Protein
Eating too little is a great way to waste a workout.
Get enough protein to build muscle and eat enough calories to stay energized.
Train with Super Sets!
Supersets are an open secret of the bodybuilding community. Supersets allow you to get more volume within a shorter time, thus increasing workout intensity. Intensity makes muscles grow.
Supersets are my favorite way to train arms.
To perform a superset, you pick two exercises and execute them back to back with no rest in between.
My arms respond best to high volume training and supersets concedes a lot of volume into a one hour workout.
Here’s a video showing how to perform a superset:
Don’t Forget to Train Your Legs!
Big arms are great but just make sure your massive arms don’t dwarf your legs! I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you to TRAIN YOUR DAMN LEGS!
Be sure to train your calves as hard and as often as you train your arms! Don’t walk around looking like a damn chicken.
(HERE’S the perfect calve workout) Your calves should be as big around as your arms – if they’re not, you have chicken legs!
I find my arms respond best when I train all four muscles in the same session. It thoroughly taxes them.
My best results come when I train in superset or tri-set fashion. That means one set followed immediately by another set of a different exercises. (and sometimes followed again by a third exercise.)
There are unlimited exercises variations you can try.
How you train matters as much, if not more, that what exercises you do to train.
Big, round shoulders look like pauldrons on knight’s armor. Nice round, full delta that come to a sharp point at the upper arm. That’s the look we’re going for. Slap on some mass with heavy presses and etch in the finer details with lateral raises.
Leave a Reply