Shirt stretching, eye-popping, jaw-dropping arms are one of the most sought after body parts for men.
People see you and it commands instant respect as you automatically look strong, tough and powerful.
Big arms have even been recognized as a proven aphrodisiac, as women have admitted to being more attracted to men with bigger arms, it makes them feel safer.
There’s something primal about it.
Having bigger arms makes you look more physically imposing and is one of the first things people notice when they meet you, so it’s no wonder men all over the world are looking for the secret to maximize their arm size.
In this article, I am going to tell you what you need to be doing if you want to grow your arms and inspire the type of admiration normally reserved for superheroes.
But let’s start with what you might be doing wrong.
Common Mistakes
Not training enough – Don’t make the mistake of thinking one session a week will cut it, it won’t. Arms need their own day, yes you read that correctly, if you’re truly serious about growing your arms, then they need their own day, ideally, you should be training arms, on their own, twice a week.
If you’re going to see real gains in your arm size then you need to be hitting the iron on a regular basis.
Not eating enough – You need to eat more food if you’re going to pack on size, wherever that is on the body. Eating at a calorie deficit will help you to lose weight and if you’re trying to get lean, that’s great. But it won’t help you to grow muscle. To get bigger, add size and grow muscle, you need to be in a calorie surplus, with sufficient amounts of protein to feed and fuel muscle repair and growth.
Neglecting exercises – There’s a school of thought that says you don’t need to dedicate time to arms and that they will get enough stimulation from other, compound exercises.
Deadlifts, Bench press, and Rows place a great amount of tension on the biceps and triceps and will help you to develop these muscles, but not to the standard you want.
These exercises should certainly be part of your training program, but if you’re truly trying to grow your arm size, you can’t rely on secondary stimulus as a result of doing something else.
You need to ensure you’re prioritizing bicep and tricep exercises which will help you grow AND including heavy compound lifts like the Deadlift, Bench Press or Row.
Curling too much – Don’t overdo it. There’s a whole range of arm exercises that should be included in your training program.
Experts differ in their opinion of which muscle is more important for arm size and growth.
The Tricep is a little lager and therefore has more capability to grow, but the biceps grab your attention, either way, you should prioritize both equally and ensure you’re completing a range of different exercises to really make the arms pop. Not just one or two moves, repeated over and over.
What You Should Actually Do
Eat more – I’ve already said that if you’re not eating enough, muscle growth won't take place. You need to eat more. Ideally, you are following a macros controlled diet in which you have a good awareness of your calorie consumption.
You need to ensure you’re in a calorie surplus and that you’re consuming the right amount of carbs and protein. If not, you just won't grow.
Train more often – Just like with everything, to see results you need to work at it and for that reason, you should train your arms for their own designated day. Research has shown that muscle protein synthesis occurs every 48 to 72 hours, so you should be training your arms two or three times a week for optimal growth, once a week simply isn’t enough.
Get the pump – Training arms should be an all-out assault. You should be overloading them periodically and working the muscle to failure. Each and every rep should be hard fought and the whole routine should be intense. Going through the motions with 3 sets of 10 won’t give you the results you need.
Your arms should feel incredible once your session is over.
Master the correct technique – Too many people swing and rotate their bodies when it comes to training arms or they struggle to complete a full rep.
Instead of focusing on proper form and technique, people go with ego, trying to lift the heaviest weight possible.
You should be able to lift and lower the weight in a slow and controlled manner and should feel in control the whole way through.
Ensure you’re in control and can feel the full benefit of the exercises and you will see your arms grow in no time.
Get enough rest – Muscles growth takes place as you rest and recover so make sure you have enough rest in between sessions and that you’re taking care of your body. Don’t try to train to failure, every single day, because you will simply over-train and injure yourself.
Exercises/Routine
Once you’ve got the Do’s and Don’ts out of the way it’s time to start training.
Both the bicep and triceps are made up of different heads, which can be targeted by different exercises, therefore it is important to add variety to your training program to ensure you’re hitting all possible heads of the muscle and are getting a stronger, more developed muscle overall.
These are the best exercises for a truly rounded arm blasting program.
Biceps
Triceps
Conclusion
Growing your arms doesn’t have to be as tedious as people would have you believe. With a focused program, focusing on progressive overload and intense periods of exercise, you can achieve great results with bicep and tricep growth, leading to strong, thick, well-developed arms.
However, just remember, when it comes to building muscle, what you do outside the gym is just as important as what you do inside the gym.
Eating enough and getting enough rest will play a vital role in your success and how fast you see results.
By sticking to the list above and utilizing the recommended exercises, you will see progress in no time at all.
