Arms are probably the most sought after muscle group after six-pack Abs. Having big arms is a sign of strength and power, and they are the first muscle group that people notice on your physique.
So, developing a sleeve-busting Arms is a must to give the illusion of a muscular physique.
But, before we dive into the best exercises for Arms growth, let’s take a look at the Arms anatomy so we know how we should train them for growth.
Arms Anatomy:
The arm has two main muscle groups: the Biceps and the Triceps.
The Biceps:
The Biceps or Biceps Brachii is a two-headed muscle that origin from under the deltoid and insert below the elbow.
The basic function of the Biceps is to lift and curl the arm. Also, another function of the Biceps is to pronate the wrist.
The Biceps has two main head, the short head, and the long head. Also, another muscle group of the Biceps is Brachialis or the outer head of the Biceps.
The Triceps:
The Triceps or Triceps Brachii is a three-headed muscle group that works in opposition to the biceps.
It is also originating from under the deltoid and inserting below the elbow.
The basic function of the triceps is to straighten the arms and supinate the wrist.
As it name apply, the triceps has 3 main heads: the long head, the lateral head, and the medial head.
Now, after this brief anatomy lesson, let’s move to the fun part, the keys to develop sleeve-busting Arms.
So, what are the best exercises to gain Arm size?
As we already established, in order to gain size in your Arms you will need to work both Biceps and Triceps. Here are the best exercises for both muscle groups
The Best Biceps Exercises:
1-Barbell Curl:
This is the most basic Biceps exercise. It will target all your Biceps heads evenly and it will allow for increasing poundages and implementing progressive overload.
2-Hammer Curls:
This will target the Biceps brachiialis. The Brachiialis is that small muscle shaped like a golf ball between the biceps and the triceps. Although it is trained in every elbow flexing movement, the brachiiali muscle can become a weak link and derail your progress if not targeted optimally. Focusing on the Brachiialis will give you that thick arm looks from the front.
3-Incline Dumbbell Curls:
Due to improper execution, the long head of the Biceps is often a weak link for most bodybuilders. This head is optimally targeted when your elbows are behind the torso.The best exercise to target the long head of the Biceps is Incline dumbbell curls. Including this will tremendously improve your Biceps.
4-Preacher Curls:
This will work the first part of the range and give you that thickness in the lower biceps. Also, preacher curls will minimize cheating so they will directly put more stress on the biceps. That equals more growth.
5-Concentration Curls:
If you want a mountain like Biceps, then you need to work on improving your Biceps peak. The best exercise for achieving that is concentration curls in my opinion. They were Arnold favorite Biceps peak exercise and we all can agree that he had one of the best Biceps in all bodybuilding history.
The Best Triceps Exercises:
1-Close Grip Bench Press:
This is the main muscle builder of the Triceps. forget about Pressdowns and all those machine exercises, if you are not doing Close-Grip Bench Press you will never develop big Triceps. this exercise will allow the use of heavy weights and progressive overload and it will place a lot of stress on those Triceps. The good kind of stress that will lead to muscle growth.
2-Overhead Triceps Extensions:
Those will work the long head of your Triceps, one of the most neglected muscles. developing a big long head will give you that thick Triceps look from the back and it will widen your Arms. On this exercise, focus on maximum stretch rather than just lifting heavy weights. I personally prefer the cable variation over the dumbbell variation on this exercise.
3-Skull Crushers:
even though that their name is scary, but when done right this exercise won’t crush your Skull. Instead, it will grow the lateral head of your Triceps like no other Exercise. the lateral head is the biggest head of all the 3 and when properly developed, it will give you that horseshow Triceps look. Again, stress form rather than weights. use a full range of motion and play a good attention to your elbow placement.
4-Dumbbell Kickback:
You may think that this exercise is for girls, but in reality, it is one of the best exercises when it comes to developing the medial head of the Triceps. Arnold himself was a big fan of this exercise and he included it in all his Arms workout routines. Again, the key with this exercise is to stress a full range of motion and to fully extend your arms in every single rep.
You don’t need to do all of those exercises in one day, but try to do the majority of them within one eek so you hit your Arms from all angles and get them to grow!
GOOD LUCK.
