A No BS Guide to Bigger Arms
Posted on 26 October 2008
Bigger arms are something everyone wants to some extent, some of us are blessed with bigger arms and others have longer lankier limbs to deal with, either way its nice to have a bit more volume on the arms without making them look too big, and bulky as it looks stupid……
Over the years I have found a few things that work with arms and a few things that don’t; there is no need to spend a long time working your arms you just need to know what to do and what to avoid. So here are a few tips to get those arms up and running.
1 – Finish Workouts with BarBell Curls
I have found that the simple Barbell curl is hands down the best size builder for biceps. There is no need to dedicate a workout to arms or biceps but I like to finish each of my full body workouts with a few sets of barbell curls.
Start light pumping out 10-15 reps with just the bar, then increase the weight to do 5-8 reps with strict form taking 30-60 seconds in between sets. On your last set throw in a few negative reps in which you can swing (Watch your lower back) the weight up but lower it very slowly (10 + seconds)
With the arms cycle, is it an absolute to use the standing barbell curl – Ellington Darden
These are hands down the core of building lagging biceps, finish off the whole thing with another set of 10-15 reps with just the Barbell to get blood flowing.
2 - Symmetry
Good arms come from having a muscular body all round and this cannot be achieved without working your entire body evenly. If you get Strong in the core exercises like: Weighted Pull-ups, Squats, and Deadlifts good arms will come naturally so if your expecting huge arms from a few sets of curls a week its not going to happen. Your body will simply not grow huge arms if the rest of you is not up to scratch; Our bodies are designed and work very hard to keep some sort of symmetry, so work your larger muscles and the smaller one’s will follow….
3 – Triceps
I have always found triceps respond pretty well to exercise and are easy to trigger into growth. Don’t forget that all heavy pushing movements like Shoulder presses, and the bench press work your triceps deeply and put a load of stress on them therefore I like to keep my Tricep routine simple:
- Close Grip Dips are superb for building triceps, even better if you can do 5-8 reps with some weight added.
-Close Grip Pushups are another great exercise and they not only build your triceps they give your inner chest a nice squeeze.
Triceps respond very well to heavy weights so make sure you incorporate heavy standing shoulder presses and dips into your routine as both of these exercises allow you to safely put a large amount of weight on your triceps. They are also 2 of the best upper body compound movements you can do and will get your body primed for growth.
4 – 10 Minute Arm Blast
This is something I developed a while back to finish off my full body workouts, its not only a potent muscle builder but a great way to finish off your workout and get a sweat going. Its basically a 3 exercise circuit that is done with little or no rest.
Pull-ups—->Close Grip Pushups—–>Sit-ups
Do as many of each as you can in 30 seconds then have a 30-60 second rest and repeat you should be able to fit in 4 rounds of the circuit and its a great way to lock down a workout of heavy compounds. I suggest the pull ups as they are a great Arm builder but will also work your lats and keep your whole core activated. They also work very well with the pushups as they are working the exact opposing muscles and both activiate the entire body. The situps are thrown in to give yur arms a break whilst keeping the heart rate up.
Give the circuit a try I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
5 – No Magic Bullet
Its key to remember that good strong and vascular arms take years to build, there is no magic bullet to growing your arms they will come with hard work and dedication. Gaining strength is core movements is also a bonus that will trigger growth. Saying this there is no harm in throwing in some Biceps and Tricep work at the end of a workout and if you work hard enough good growth will emerge.
Just remember to keep stress at bay and check out some of my other articles on muscle growth…….
12 comments so far
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Comment by Keith Norris
27 October 2008
Chris,
My core choices for building big, powerful, functional AND symmetrical arms are weighted pullups (any variation) and weighted dips. The targeted arm exercises — while fantastic at building arm size — won’t, in my opinion and experience — contribute toward functionality. Of course, here is where one’s ultimate goals come into play. Is functionality a goal? The acquisition of size and size alone? The methods (and exercises) chosen ought to reflect one’s goals.
Cool picture, BTW. I think that would look good on my house
Comment by Tim Rosanelli
27 October 2008
Hey,
I love the picture.
Do you want a great ab training challenge?
Go to http://60situpschallenge.blogspot.com and join the 60 situps in a minute challenge for free!
Comment by DR
28 October 2008
To build reeeaaalllyyyy big arms, you need to increase strength throughout the body.
With respect to the dearly departed Ben Weider, I call this my “You Can’t Shoot a Cannon Out Of A Rowboat” Principle.
Without strong legs, back, core and torso, you will never have the strength required to build a set of huge guns.
Comment by Jeff
28 October 2008
Hey Chris,
Great post. I am with Keith that functional, compound should be the bulk of workouts, but it is fun to work some of this in on off days or at the end of a compound workout, as you mentioned. Thanks for the advice.
jeff
Comment by Chris
29 October 2008
@ Keith: Thanks for the comment, Weighted pullups are awesome and a few reps of negative weighted pullups done really slow (a la HIT Darden style) give your arms, lats and abs one heck of a burn. I agree on the functionality part but to e something feels right about spending 3 or so minutes doing some curls at the end of a workout (maybe its just a habit)
@ DR: 100% correct there. No one is going to have strong, big arms if they ave chicken legs….Gt those deadlift and squat numbers up and your arms will blow….
@ Jeff: Its great to throw in a small circuit after some compounds like I mentioned in No.4 it helps work a sweat and finishes the workout nicely give it a try after you do a few sets of compound movements….
Comment by Steven
30 October 2008
Burly! I tried for years to gain mass but my high metabolism and my unwillingness to eat and eat and eat leaves mass in the dark.
Function is for me. I’m working on the one-arm pull-up. It’s very gradual, as I assist gently right now with my other arm.
2 and 5 from this list work for my concept of how to get it.
Comment by Tom Parker - Free Fitness Tips
2 November 2008
Good list Chris. Although I’ve by no means got huge biceps, I have made some good strength gains in the last few weeks with the seated EZ bar preacher curls. I find I really get a good squeeze from my biceps when performing this exercise and have made consistent week on week improvements.
Comment by Chris
2 November 2008
@ Tom: Its funny you say that because I love EZ preacher curls I really think they are the best bicep builder going. A few sets to failure do wonders….Try and get someone to lift the weight for you when you can’t anymore and lower it slowly for 1-2 negatives. It will get those Bi’s burning!!
Comment by Andrew R
11 November 2008
Hey Chris,
I like the article and I really like the last comment you just said about adding in 1-2 negatives at the end of your preacher curls! That’s a great idea and I’m definitely gonna try it.
Thanks for the post!
All the Best,
Andrew R