Bigger Arms!

If you lift weights to make your muscles grow, then you probably want nice, big arm muscles.  After all, when someone wants to show off their muscles, what do they do?  Flex their arms!  I see a lot of questions on the internet from folks who struggle to get their arms to grow, so I’d like to take this moment to share some of the advice I’ve picked up over the years.

Work Them More Often

The classic advice for lifters used to be to work each muscle group only once per week.  But quite a lot of recent research has shown that working a muscle group more often is the best possible way to get it to grow more, as long as you give it a day of rest before you work it again.  Try programming 28 to 32 sets PER WEEK for each muscle group that needs some extra stimulation, and spread those sets across two or three workouts.  Just remember to give each muscle group a day off before you work it again.

"Tri"-ing to Grow

Your upper arm is home to the triceps muscle--the one at the back of your arm that runs from your armpit to your elbow bone--and the biceps muscle--the one opposite your triceps that is probably the most famous bodybuilder muscle.  You absolutely want to grow your biceps muscle, but don't neglect the triceps!  It accounts for two-thirds of your arm's total volume, so if you want big arms, make sure you give both muscles a good workout.  I've even heard advice that you should do twice as many reps for your triceps as you do for your biceps each week.  I'm not sure you have to go that far, but if your triceps need some extra help, give them a few extra sets per week.

Don't Lift With Your Ego

Make sure you're using excellent form, especially on barbell bicep curls.  The most common example of "ego" lifting I've been seeing at my gym lately is guys (mostly guys) who pick a weight that's too heavy for them, then they use their whole body to kind of "throw" the weight upward.  If your legs are bending and straightening a lot or your upper body is tilting back and forth as you do your reps, that's a sign that you're not really stimulating your arm muscles the way you need to.  Instead, try to keep the rest of your body still.

When you do bicep curls, start each rep by straightening your arm and flexing your triceps--this will help ensure there's no momentum assisting you as you lift.  During the rep, only your forearms should move through 90% of the rep, then at the very top of the rep you can raise the angle of your upper arms slightly.  That's because your biceps are responsible for bending the elbow and, to a lesser extent, raising the angle of your upper arm.  If you do everything correctly, you may discover you need to use a lighter bar.

Finally, control the weight as it goes back down to its starting position.  If you are letting it flop down, that's also a sign that you're holding too much weight.

Feel That Pump

If you've ever heard lifters talk about "the pump" and didn't know what they meant, it's time to fill you in.  When you exercise a muscle, it needs extra fuel to do its job.  Your body feeds extra blood to the muscle, which literally causes it to "inflate" a little bit.  Ever seen some big, muscley guy flexing in front of the mirror at the end of his workout?  That's why--his muscles are actually bigger than when he started his workout!  Sadly, the pump won't last forever.  5 to 15 minutes after you finish using a muscle, the blood starts to flow back to the rest of your body and the pump fades.

Your muscles have these connective tissues called fascia surrounding them, and the fascia can physically limit how much your muscles can grow.  By getting a nice, big pump in your muscles, those fascia weaken their grip on your muscles, which makes it possible for your muscles to grow.  So although getting a big pump is lots of fun for flexing in the mirror, it's also important for long-term muscle growth.

When you do your arm exercises, try to feel that pump as much as possible.  At the top of each rep, pause for a second or two and squeeze the muscle as hard as you can.  Don't forget that the "top" of a rep may feel like the bottom, if the direction of movement is downward like with triceps pushdowns.  If you're having trouble getting a good pump, try doing at least one exercise with lots of reps (15 to 20 per set).

Feel That S-T-R-E-T-C-H

Stretching your muscles under tension can also help break down the fascia and get that pump going.  At the bottom of the rep, before you start lifting your next rep, try to feel a good stretch.  This stimulates your muscles for growth as well.  Some exercises lend themselves to this better than others.  For biceps, I like preacher curls with or without an e-z curl bar, and vertical preacher curls (where you face the "wrong" way on the bench) with dumbbells.  For triceps, I get a good stretch from overhead dumbbell triceps extensions and overhead cable rope "pushdowns".

Slow and Steady Wins the Arms Race

As you lower the weight in the "eccentric" or "negative" phase of each rep, do it s-l-o-w-l-y.  Like, count 5 to 10 seconds as you lower the weight.  You could do that on every arm exercise, but if you get too exhausted, choose one or a few exercises to use this technique on.

My Apologies to Your Arms

Your arms are gonna be tired!  But that's the way you make them grow!

Best wishes,
The Friendly Lifter