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This is the fifth article in a series where I break down the best exercises for each muscle group.

These articles are to help beginners get the most out of their workouts. You’ll learn which exercises to do, how to structure them, and the correct form to use.

Today, we’re covering everyone’s favorite limbs to flex: arms.

The Benefits of Training Arms Include:

• Functional Strength - You’ll be able to lift, carry, push and pull more easily.
• Increased Athletic Performance - Strong arms will help lifts like bench press and deadlift. You’ll also be able to throw farther and punch harder.
• Increased Grip Strength - This is important, especially as we get older. You end up with healthier connective tissue in your hands and forearms.
• Joint Support - This will help reduce your risk of injury, lower muscle strain and improve balance.
• Better Aesthetics - Strong arms look better. They’re more attractive to women, and more intimidating to men.

How Do I Train Arms?

When it comes to training arms, there are three main muscle groups to target.

1. Triceps - The biggest muscle group in the arms. It is located on the back of your arm between the elbow and shoulder.
2. Biceps - The muscle you’re most likely to show off when flexing. This is the muscle at the front of your arm opposite the triceps.
3. Forearms - Popeye’s favorite muscle group. A lot of people skip this one. Training is not as straightforward as it is with biceps and triceps. When it comes to size, most of it is genetic. You’re able to grow the area towards the elbow, but tendons dominate the forearm as you get closer to your wrist.

People often spread out their arm workouts: biceps on one day, triceps another. Triceps exercises tend to be push exercises while training biceps involves pulling. Forearms are often an afterthought.

We’ll cover all three muscle groups, but the main focus of this article will be on biceps and triceps.

Some people at the gym seem to only train arms and chest, while neglecting everything else. Others skip arm workouts entirely.

They believe that their arms are being trained alongside other muscle groups with different exercises. There is some truth to that. Pullups, bench press, military press and several other exercises for chest, back, and shoulders also work your arms.

When I first started working out, I wanted big arms - not comically huge, but strong, thick, muscular arms that fill out the sleeves of my shirt or jacket. After several months in the gym, I got them.

Now, I see my arms as one of the strongest aspects of my physique. The way I got them was by having a dedicated shoulder and arm workout twice a week.

The goal in my workouts wasn’t to lift the most weight, but to feel the pump. Lifting heavy weights causes small tears in your muscles, and having a pump increases blood flow to that area, helping with recovery, and in turn increasing the size of those muscles.

I’ve had a couple people caution me to not train biceps and triceps in the same workout to avoid injury. However, I’ve been training biceps and triceps together for years and haven’t had any issues.

For myself, training them on different days would feel like an incomplete workout, but you don’t have to do it that way. Choose a schedule that feels right for you.

In previous articles, I based the routine around one or two key exercises, and would then add accessory lifts to target different parts of the muscle.

When it comes to arms, I find that one exercise is as good as the next,as long as it’s done correctly, so I tend to pick my favorite exercises and then switch them up with each workout.

A few tips and reminders about training arms:

• Form is more important than lifting heavy. It’s easy to overload the weight, and wind up straining your muscles and tendons, especially around the elbows. Start with lighter weights and work your way up.
• You can get big strong arms by training once per week. Training them twice will really accelerate their growth.
• Supersets are a great way to save time in your workout. A lot of people superset biceps and triceps. I like to superset two tricep exercises and then do another superset of biceps and forearms.
• Lift until failure, but pay attention to your form with each exercise. Once your muscles are fatigued, continuing to lift increases your chance of injury. Failure is when your form begins to suffer - not when your arms give out.

What Exercises Should I Do?

Triceps Exercises

Close Grip Bench Press - The bench press can target more than just your chest. By narrowing your grip, you can also target your triceps. You won’t be able to move as much weight, but you’ll definitely be feeling the burn afterwards.

Dips - You can use dips to target your chest or triceps. By keeping your torso more upright, instead of leaning forward, you target your tricep muscles.

Tricep Pushdowns - These are my favorite triceps exercises, because you can vary the attachment you put on the pulley to target different parts of the muscle. I’ll often superset tricep pushdowns using a rope pulley, and a straight bar with a reverse grip. You can also use the V attachment.

Skull Crushers - Try not to actually bash yourself in the head with the weights on this one.

Overhead Extensions - Another one of my favorite triceps exercises. It can be done seated or standing. You can hold a heavier dumbbell with both hands and work both arms together, or use a lighter weigh to work one at a time.

The motion is similar to using a back scratcher lowering the weight just behind your head before raising it back up.

I prefer one arm overhead extensions and find them a killer exercise. I’ve been doing these for years, and a 15 pound dumbbell is still more than enough to get the job done.

Tricep Kickbacks - These are a great way to hit the long head of the triceps. Remember to keep your elbows high.

Diamond Pushups - This is a great bodyweight exercise to target your triceps. I find it one of the hardest pushup variations.

Bicep Exercises

Barbell Curls - This is the backbone of my biceps workout. Simply pick up a barbell and start curling. I find the EZ curl bar feels better than a straight barbell. I perform this exercise while standing and try not to move my body too much as I curl the bar.

A variation on this exercise is cheat curls - where you sway your hips back and forth to help provide momentum at the lowest part of the lift.

Cheat curls can be effective. I’ve seen professional bodybuilders doing them. However, I’m not trying to curl the heaviest weight, so instead I aim for strict form.

Conversely, instead of a barbell, you can use dumbbells giving you a freer range of motion.

Concentration Curl - I see actors on TV doing this lift a lot. It allows you to focus on your biceps one arm at a time. It’s very effective if you use proper form.

Incline Dumbbell Curls - This is a great exercise if you want a more challenging lift. By leaning back slightly, it takes more effort to begin curling the dumbbell.

Hammer Curls - Perform curls while holding the dumbbell straight up and down like you would a hammer. This targets the brachialis and brachioradialis giving you thicker arms.

Chin Ups - Not to be confused with pull ups. Chin ups use an underhand grip roughly shoulder width apart. Great for when you only have a pull up bar.

Reverse Curls - By switching the grip when you curl with either barbells or dumbbells, you target both the biceps and forearms. Great for when you aren’t trying to do too many exercises.

Forearm Exercises

Wrist Curls - Be sure to do these both overhand and underhand to target both your inner and outer forearm.

Farmers Carries - One of the best exercises out there for forearms. It not only strengthens your forearms, but also grip strength, shoulder stability, core strength, and endurance. Feel free to go heavy on these.

Wrist Rollers - Using a device, which is basically a bar with a strap attached to a weight at the end, you hold it at arm’s length and start twisting the bar bringing the weight up to meet your hands. Then you unroll the bar to slowly lower the weight back to the ground. It’s a simple and brutally effective way of torching your forearms.

Exercises To Skip

1. Preacher Curls - These never felt right to me. When I saw a video of a guy tearing both of his bicep tendons on this exercise, I knew it was one to avoid. I have friends that speak highly of it, but the risk of injury is too much for me to ignore. Best to leave this one alone, and if you are going to do it, don’t go heavy.
   
2. Most Machines - As you know, I prefer free weights to machines. I’ve tested many over the years, and find them less effective and awkward to use - especially for arm workouts. They lock you into a fixed pattern of movement making it difficult for your muscles to adjust and adapt.
   
   I’ve used a couple that aren’t too bad, but for the most part I leave them alone unless the free weights are taken or if I want something different.

Sample Workouts

• Exercise: Number of Sets x Number of Reps
• Take 1 minute rest breaks between each set

Quick Workout

Tricep Pushdowns - 3 x 12
Barbell Curls - 3 x 12

Proper Workout

Tricep Pushdowns OR Skull Crushers - 4 x 15
Reverse Grip Tricep Pushdowns OR Overhead Extensions - 4 x 15
Barbell Bicep Curls - 5 x 8
Farmers Carries - 3 rounds 30 - 40 seconds

Hardcore Workout

Close Grip Bench Press - 5 x 8
Superset #1: Tricep Pushdowns OR Skull Crushers - 5 x 15
Superset #1: Reverse Grip Tricep Pushdowns OR Overhead Extensions - 5 x 15
Barbell Curls - 5 x 8 then 3 x 5
Superset #2: Concentration Curls - 5 x 6
Superset #2: Incline Dumbbell Curls - 5 x 6
Wrist Curls (superset overhand and underhand) - 3 x 12

Insane Workout

If you train your arms with good form, consistent effort, and intensity, they will grow. Arms are one of the most rewarding muscle groups to train because the results show quickly.

Keep the weights controlled and the reps honest. Don’t chase numbers - go for the pump.

Above all, stay consistent. Hit your arms once or twice a week, mix up the exercises that feel best for your body, and give it time.

Do that, and before long you won’t be wondering how to build big arms — you’ll be showing them off without even trying.

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Thanks for reading.

God Bless.