Gun’s out, sun’s out! Arm day is a classic bodybuilding training session where your only priority is hitting your arms. It can be a great addition to your program if you are wanting to focus on building your arms size – however, it needs to be done right. Many people who train arms do so in a manner which may not be as efficient as it could be.
How To Build Big Arms
Building big arms is relatively straightforward – they respond to training just like any other muscle. The problem is that many people train arms using the same type of exercises and methods that may not be ideal.
Common Issues With Arm Training (And How To FIx It)
Some common practices that we believe to be inefficient include:
1. Training Arms Too Often - Many people falsely believe that since the arm muscles are small, you can train them often. While research shows you can likely train them more than larger muscles, you still need to give them time to recover.
2. Only Use Isolations - When it comes to exercise selection on arm day, people tend to think that isolation exercises are the only choice. Not true.
3. Using The Same Rep Scheme - Generally when people train arms, they stick to using high reps (10+). This rep range is great for building volume, but using some heavier loads is still a good idea. While you shouldn’t be maxing out, using the 6-rep range with isolations is a good idea.
4. Don’t Use Progressive Overload - As mentioned, the arms are like any other muscle and respond to the same stimuli. However, when most people train, they believe that simply training to failure or “feeling the burn” is enough.
Of course these factors play a major role but if you neve increase the load, you can only do a rep so slow. Therefore, aim to increase the load overtime. The jumps don’t need to be as big or consistent.¹
5. Have No Real Structure - Lastly, many people don’t put much thought into their arm training. Admittingly, neither do we sometimes! Often, it’s a couple sets of exercises to failure at the end of a session.
To some extent, this does work as you’re placing stress on the arms with all other compound movements. However, having some structure and plan can actually be the key to noticeable gains.
Be Consistent With Arm Training
If you want your arms to grow, you need to be sure to be consistent with your training.
While you don’t need to include an entire arm day in your workout program, if you want your arms to grow, you should definitely be including some arm specific exercises on a consistent basis.
Best Arm Exercises
There are a ton of awesome arm exercises out there that you can do. This makes it hard to pick “the best” out of the large pool.
However, we do have a pretty good idea.
Here are some of the best arm exercises you can do that include both compound and isolation exercises.
Triceps Dips
Dips are another compound exercise and are the second arm exercise but are going to target the triceps.² Similar to triceps, they too are one of the best exercises to train this arm muscle.
The same general concepts apply to dips training the triceps as curls do to training the biceps.
Chin-Ups
Your first arm exercise is actually going to be the chin-up. Even though this is a compound movement, it’s actually one of the best bicep exercises there is – many top coaches even claim it’s the best.
While it’s a back exercise, you still have to pull your body up by flexing the elbow.
Further, because you are hanging, your elbow is set in place due to gravity pulling your body down. This stabilizes the elbow and puts the work on your arms.
Close Grip Bench Press
The close grip bench press is another compound exercise but is a brutal exercise that works the triceps.
It’s performed in the same manner as the bench press but you use a grip that’s about shoulder width apart. You let the weight come down but keep your elbow tucked into your body. This does several things;
- Increase the range of motion
- Greater flexion of the elbow
- Less involvement with the pecs
This makes it an awesome exercise to load the triceps with a heavy load.
Rope Hammer Curl
The rope hammer curl is a classic arm exercise that offers unique benefits – this is why it’s on this list. It uses a neutral grip to target your brachialis and brachioradialis which will add to the total size of your arm.
Rope Overhead Extension
The rope overhead triceps extension is a great arm exercise that targets the triceps.
It takes advantage of the position this movement puts the triceps in. As the arm is stretched overhead, it puts the muscle in its lengthened state.
Research shows that this can possibly lead to greater muscle growth due to the stimuli put on the muscle.³
Bayesian Curl
The Bayesian curl isn’t one the better known bicep exercises but it has gained attention later – and it should.
It’s a tad unique as it must be performed on a cable pulley with a single handle attachment. This is due to the mechanics of the exercise.
Similar to the overhead triceps extension, the Bayesian curl utilizes the lengthened portion of the contraction.
Triceps Pushdown
Triceps pushdown are a classic arm exercise to build the triceps. We like to use a wide range with this movement; everywhere from 5 reps to burnout sets.
Other Arm Exercises
Unfortunately, we’re not Rich Piana and can’t have an 8-hour arm session, using every exercise you can think of. This means you can only use so many exercises you can do. Here are some of our favorites.
Biceps
- Drag Curl
- Preacher Curl
- Zottman Curl
Triceps
- Skull Crusher
- Rolling Triceps Extension
- Triceps Pushdown
Arm Day Workout
Here’s your arm day workout.
- Triceps Dips - 4x6-8
- Chin-Ups - 4x6-8
- Close-Grip Bench Press - 3x8-10
- Rope Hammer Curl - 3x8-10
- Overhead Extension - 2x10-12
- Bayesian Curl - 2x10-12
- Triceps Pushdown - 2xFailure
Progressing On An Arm Day
Progressing on an arm day follows the same concepts as progression with any exercise. However, it looks a little different.
While your goal is to gradually increase the load placed on your arms, it will likely be a longer process, especially for the isolations.
Anatomy Of The Arm
As you know, “the arm” is made up of several muscles. Here’s a quick overview.
1) Biceps Brachii - More commonly known as the biceps. This double-headed muscle is located on the front of the upper arm. The biceps flex the elbow, assist in lifting the forearm, and play a crucial role in supinating the forearm—turning the palm upward.
2) Brachialis - Is a thick, strong muscle that is actually the strongest and primary arm flexor. Unlike the biceps, the brachialis doesn’t help with supination and it’s only job is to flex the elbow. Developing this muscle adds depth and density to the upper arm, pushing the biceps out for a more three-dimensional look.
3) Brachioradialis - Runs along the outer portion of the forearm and crosses the elbow. While not technically an upper-arm muscle, it contributes to overall arm size and is important for elbow flexion when the palm faces inward. It becomes especially active during neutral grip (hammer) movements
4) Triceps Brachii - This massive upper arm muscle makes up about two-thirds of its total mass. It’s a three-headed muscle which works together to be the arms extensor and plays a supporting role in pressing movements.
Should You Use An Arm Day?
One of the questions many people have is if they even need to use an arm day. The answer is “not really” but depends on your overall goals.
Some of the people who could benefit are trainees that;
- Have a high training frequency
- Bodybuilders who need specific arm work
- Anyone who wants feels their arms are lagging
On the other hand, if you’re just a general lifter or training for fitness, you can probably stick to other training splits.
References
- Plotkin D, Coleman M, Van Every D, et al. Progressive overload without progressing load? The effects of load or repetition progression on muscular adaptations. PeerJ. 2022;10:e14142. Published 2022 Sep 30. doi:10.7717/peerj.14142 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36199287/
- Signorile JF, Zink AJ, Szwed SP. A comparative electromyographical investigation of muscle utilization patterns using various hand positions during the lat pull-down. J Strength Cond Res. 2002;16(4):539-546. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12423182/
- Ottinger, Charlie R.; Sharp, Matthew H.; Stefan, Matthew W.; Gheith, Raad H.; de la Espriella, Fernando; Wilson, Jacob M.. Muscle Hypertrophy Response to Range of Motion in Strength Training: A Novel Approach to Understanding the Findings. Strength and Conditioning Journal 45(2):p 162-176, April 2023. | DOI: 10.1519/SSC.0000000000000737 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12423182/
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