How to pump up big arms - the best exercises and training program

Biceps

Biceps brachii

Tendons connect the biceps muscles to the arm bones.
The biceps brachii muscle consists of two heads: long and short.
The long head is on the outside of the arm and makes up the majority of the biceps brachii muscle.
The short head is on the inside of the arm.
Forms the overall size of what is called the biceps. Most exercises are aimed at causing hypertrophy of this muscle.

Brachialis muscle

Located deeper than the biceps brachii muscle.
This muscle does not play a major role in functional movements, helping the biceps brachii muscle to flex the arm at the elbow joint.
Even though the brachialis muscle is not a significant part of the arm, it is still important in balancing muscle size. By adding exercises aimed at this muscle to your arm training program, you can further increase the volume of your arms, getting a more holistic and harmonious picture. Your arms will look as strong as those of professional bodybuilders.

Arm training without equipment (for intermediate level)

The intermediate workout includes functional bodyweight exercises that effectively work the upper body, especially the arms. Include them in your home workouts to effectively work all the muscle groups of your arms and strengthen your core. The workout is suitable for both men and women.

See also:

Arm and shoulder workout using planks: 10 exercises
Arms and shoulders workout for men with dumbbells: 8 exercises
Top 10 chest exercises for girls with dumbbells

Walking in a plank with shoulder touching

Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart. Lean forward to touch your hands to the floor. Now take small steps forward with your hands, transferring your body weight to them. “Walk” all the way while lying down. When you find yourself in the plank, lift your right hand off the floor and touch your left shoulder, and your left hand touch your right. Return to the starting position by walking your hands toward your feet and then straightening up completely. Functional exercise with an emphasis on the arms at home additionally strengthens the muscles of the core, back and abs.

How much to do: 10-12 passes.

Bench push-ups

Stand in a lying position with your support on a bench. At home, you can rest your hands on a sofa or a reliable chair. Make sure that the body is elongated in one line. Now bend your elbows and do push-ups while resting on a bench. When doing push-ups, your elbows should be pointed back to emphasize the triceps, the three-headed muscles on the upper back of your arms. Classic push-ups strengthen not only your arms, but also your chest, back, core, and rectus abdominis.

How much to perform: 10-12 repetitions.

Elbow plank with arms straightened

Get into a plank position on your forearms. The elbow joints are located under the shoulder joints, the body is elongated in one line. From this position, straighten your left arm and touch the floor in front of you. Then straighten your right one and touch the floor in the same way at arm's length. Make alternating touches with each hand, trying to keep the body motionless. A good exercise for training your arms at home, as it additionally strengthens not only the arm muscles, but also the abs, back, chest and core.

How much to do: 10-12 arm extensions on each side.

Reverse push-ups with arm raises

Sit on the floor, place your hands on the floor behind you and bend your knees. Now lift your pelvis up, slightly lifting it off the floor, while keeping your arms bent at the elbows. Then straighten your arms completely and raise your pelvis until it is parallel to the floor. At the top point, raise your right arm up, turning your body behind it. Lower yourself down, but without touching your pelvis to the floor, and on the next rise, raise your other arm up. A complex exercise for working the biceps, triceps and shoulder girdle additionally involves the legs and abs.

How much to perform: 8-10 repetitions on each side.

Swimmer with elbow flares

Lie on your stomach with your feet flat on the floor. Lift your body up slightly and straighten your arms in front of you. From this position, raise your body even higher, while simultaneously raising your arms and bending them at the end point. Squeeze your shoulder blades together to feel maximum stress on your arms and shoulders. An exercise from the arm workout at home will also help you tone your back and pump up your shoulder girdle, forming a beautiful relief.

How much to perform: 10-12 repetitions.

Push-ups with two hands

Stand in a prone position, and then lower your knees down, lifting your shins. Perform triceps push-ups, keeping your arms close to your body and your elbows pointing back. Now spread your arms wider and do a wide-arm push-up. Alternate between push-up variations to maximally engage your shoulders and inner and outer arms. In addition to strengthening your arms, push-ups also work your chest and back muscles, developing core strength.

How much to do: 8-10 repetitions (two types of push-ups are one repetition).

Rotation of arms in plank

Stand in a plank position with your arms straight, find a stable position without sagging your lower back and lifting your pelvis. Now lift your right arm off the floor and rotate the shoulder joint, moving your arm first back, then up and forward. Once you have completed the full rotation, return to the starting position and repeat with your left arm. During rotations, do not make sudden movements, keep a moderate pace. This exercise for arms without equipment will help you strengthen the muscles of your shoulders and forearms, and will additionally develop your shoulder joint.

How much to perform: 10-12 arm rotations on each side.

Raising the body on the stomach with hands held

Lie on your stomach and spread your arms straight to the sides. Place them palms down, legs pressed to the floor. Raise your body up, lifting your palms off the floor, but without changing the position of your hands. After lifting with full amplitude, return to the starting position. Keep your arms suspended while lifting, touching the floor only with your palms at the bottom. Despite the dynamics of this exercise, it gives the arms a static load, which works the deep muscles and significantly increases physical strength. The exercise also works the rear deltoids.

How much to perform: 10-12 repetitions.

Plank Curl

Stand in a plank position with straight arms, place your palms under your shoulder joints, keep your back exactly in line with your legs. Lift your right arm off the floor and bend your elbow, moving it back and up. Then go back and repeat with your left hand. This exercise is similar to the dumbbell plank row, and therefore uses not only the triceps, but also the latissimus dorsi muscles, strengthening the upper body.

How much to do: 10-12 arm raises on each side.

Boxing from elbow plank

Stand in a plank position on your forearms, clench your palms into fists. Maintain a stable static body position without raising your pelvis or arching your back. Lift your right hand off the floor and forcefully push it forward, as if punching a punching bag. Bring your hand back and repeat the straight punch with your other hand. Perform strikes alternately with each hand, while avoiding sudden movements. The exercise strengthens the shoulders and arms, and also works the back and core muscles.

How much to perform: 10-12 punches on each side.

Advanced people can repeat the workout in 2 circles.

Triceps

Triceps brachii

Consists of two sections or heads that form the famous horseshoe shape and make up the entire back of the arm.
An important muscle for stabilizing the shoulder joint.
The triceps makes up one third of the total arm size. If you want to build massive arms, then you should pay attention to exercises that cause maximum triceps hypertrophy.
Undertraining the triceps can lead to overuse of other muscles, increasing the risk of muscle strains and tears. It is very important to train the triceps with the same frequency and load as the biceps.

Basic program for 4 weeks

Developed arm muscles can be achieved in the shortest possible time if you adhere to systematic and comprehensive training.

Comprehensive program for hands

Training biceps in isolation is ineffective. When selecting exercises, be sure to use your chest and back.

Complex program for biceps + pectoral muscles (set/repetition):

4/12 – bench press from a lying position;
3/15 – lying dumbbell lift;
4/12 – barbell back press on a bench;
3/15 – hand abduction in the simulator;
3/10 – lifting the barbell with emphasis on the biceps;
3/15 – isolated seated dumbbell lift;
20 min – light jogging.

Triceps and back workout:

4/10 – pull-ups;
3/15 – chest pull of the upper block;
3/15 – thrust to the waist of the lower block;
4/10 – close grip bench press;
20 minutes – light jogging.

Super set for biceps and triceps

A super set is a sequential performance of 2 or more strength exercises, between which there is a maximum of a minute of rest.

If the choice fell on super sets, the exercise is performed in 3 sets and 10 repetitions for each set.

This way, an athlete can “shock” his muscles with a new volume of load and overcome the “plateau effect” in muscle growth.

Super set for hands:

arm curls while standing in a machine;
from a lying position, bench press with a narrow grip;
curling arms with dumbbells in a sitting position on a bench;
extension of the arms in the block.

The sequence of sets can be changed or supplemented with other effective exercises.

Forearm

Consists of several smaller muscles including:
Flexor carpi ulnaris (outer wrist)
Palmaris longus muscle (not everyone has it. If they do, it is located in the center of the wrist)
Flexor carpi radialis (middle wrist)
Pronator teres (inside the wrist)
And a few more smaller muscles
The forearm is important for flexing the wrist and elbow.
The forearms also balance out the appearance of the arms. Large, inflated biceps and triceps, with poorly developed forearms, not only look unsightly, but also increase the risk of injury.

Strengthening the forearms

On the horizontal bar

You can quickly and effectively pump up a sculpted forearm on a high bar.

Possible elements on the horizontal bar:

Vis. The palms should be placed with a direct grip. You should hang for at least two minutes. You can perform additional exercises: raising your legs, pumping up your abs, hanging on your fingers or a towel thrown over the horizontal bar.
Pull-ups on fingers. It is allowed to hold your hands with any type of grip. You need to pull yourself up very smoothly so as not to “earn” an injury. Do 2-3 sets of 6-8 repetitions.

In this case, exercises to pump up your arms can be performed even daily, because the muscles being worked are small and do not require long-term restoration of protein fibers.

With dumbbells or kettlebell

It is easier for a man to purposefully pump up his arm muscles with equipment than without it.

The most common exercises include:

Wrist flexion. The technique was described in detail above.
Holding the weights with your fingers. Standing straight, you need to hold the barbell plates, dumbbells or kettlebell on the middle phalanges. You can add wrist extensions with weights if the static load is not enough.

Professionals recommend doing about three sets of 18-20 reps.

Hand muscle interaction

Picking up a water bottle or throwing a basketball might seem like a fairly simple action, but each movement requires a complex set of actions and reactions from the arm muscles. In order to correctly perform a particular movement, the muscles must work harmoniously together.

When you push something, your triceps should tense and your biceps should relax. When you pull, the situation is reversed. When the biceps are active, the triceps are relaxed, and vice versa.

Before you begin training to bulk up your arms, it is important to understand these principles. Pay close attention to how your muscles work during each movement. Direct all the tension to the active muscle, so you can stimulate muscle hypertrophy, which leads to increased muscle mass.

Arm training without equipment (for advanced level)

Exercises for the advanced level are designed for targeted and deep work of the arm muscles. In addition, various plank and static boat exercises develop body strength and endurance, increasing your physical capabilities. The workout is suitable for men and strong women. Move on to this program once you are confident in the intermediate level arm workout option.

See also:

How to pump up your shoulders with dumbbells: 10 exercises + plan
Top 6 shoulder exercises with barbell + 4 training plans
Top 15 strength exercises for triceps with dumbbells and without equipment

Classic push-ups

Stand in a lying position, straightening your body. Make sure you are in a comfortable, stable position. Place your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart for classic push-ups. Now bend your elbows, lowering yourself into a push-up, while pointing your elbows back. In this position, the arms are best worked, especially the triceps area. Be sure to include push-ups in your at-home arm workout to strengthen your triceps, shoulders, and give your upper body a good workout.

How much to perform: 10-12 repetitions.

Plank arm abduction

Stand in a plank position on your forearms, with your body extended in one line. Lift your right arm off the floor and move it back, straightening it at the elbow. Extend your arm until it is parallel to your body. Then return to the starting position and repeat with the other hand. Plank exercises are most effective for working the arms and upper body. In particular, this exercise works well on the triceps and the inner surface of the arm.

How much to do: 8-10 arm extensions on each side.

Plank twists with arm raises

Stand in a plank position with straight arms, following the execution technique. Now lift your right hand off the floor and lift it up, turning your whole body behind it. At the same time, do not lift your right leg off the floor; only the upper body works. Then go back and repeat the lifting turn in the other direction. The exercise not only tones your arms, but also pumps up your core muscles, including your abs, core, and back.

How much to do: 10-12 turns on each side.

Hand-to-hand boat

Lie on your stomach, place your arms along your body, palms down, head down, toes resting on the floor. Raise your legs and upper body along with your arms without changing their position. At the top point, spread your arms straight to the sides and bring them in front of you. Then return to the starting position, repeating the movements in reverse order. A great exercise to strengthen all muscle groups in your arms, including your biceps, triceps, forearms, and even your deltoids.

How much to perform: 10-12 repetitions.

Diamond push-ups

Stand in a prone position and place your hands as close to each other as possible. The thumbs of your palms should touch. From this position, bend your elbows, lowering yourself down. At the same time, try to move your elbows back. The exercise puts the most stress on the triceps, but due to the complexity of the exercise, it also strengthens the muscles of the entire surface of the arms, pectorals and deltoids. At first, you can perform diamond push-ups on your knees.

How much to perform: 10-12 repetitions.

Raising the body in a side plank

Get into a side plank position using your right arm and leg. The left leg lies on the right, the left arm is freely placed along the body. From this position, lower your body down until your thighs touch the floor. From the bottom point, lift your body up to the side plank position. Repeat for the other side. This exercise focuses on working the muscles of the arms and shoulders, as well as the oblique abdominal muscles.

How much to perform: 10-12 repetitions, first on one side, then 10-12 repetitions on the other side.

Side step plank

Get into a plank position with your hands under your shoulders and your body in a straight line. Do not sag in the lower back, do not raise your pelvis. Feel stable by placing your palms and toes firmly on the floor. Now step to the right while moving your right hand one step to the side. Bring your left arm and leg down, returning to the classic plank position. From this position, step to the left with your arm and leg, now bringing your right arm and leg forward. The dynamic plank strengthens the entire body, but also puts more stress on the arms and shoulders.

How much to do: 8-10 passes on each side.

Boat with arms and legs spread

Lie on your stomach with your arms extended in front of you. Palms touch the floor, head lowered, legs lying freely. Lift your legs and torso up into the classic boat pose. Now simultaneously spread your arms and legs to the sides with maximum amplitude, feeling the tension in the muscles. Then push back down and return to the starting position. Incorporate boat pose exercises into your at-home arm workout to strengthen your biceps, triceps, and target problem areas in your upper and lower body.

How much to perform: 10-12 repetitions.

Plank with alternating hand positions

Stand in a plank position with straight arms using the correct technique. Then bend each arm at the elbow in turn, lowering yourself into a forearm plank. From the elbow plank, extend each arm in turn, rising into a classic plank. Perform the exercises at a calm rhythm, alternately changing the position of your hands in the plank. Remember to lift first with your right hand, then with your left, alternating between them with each new repetition. This challenging exercise will help you strengthen your arm muscles and work your entire upper body.

How much to do: 8-10 lifts with each hand.

Torso rotations from elbow planks

Get into a forearm plank position, placing your elbows under your shoulders and keeping your back straight. Now raise your right hand, placing it on your belt, and follow it with your whole body, without lifting your right leg from the floor. Return to the starting position and repeat the rotation with the other hand. When moving to the side plank, do not make sudden movements so as not to injure your shoulder joints. The exercise strengthens the arms and shoulders, and also works the core and obliques, increasing endurance and strength of the body.

How much to do: 10-12 turns on each side.

Advanced people can repeat the workout in 2 circles.

See our selection of exercises:

Top 60 Best Cardio Exercises
Top 50 best leg exercises
Top 50 best exercises for buttocks
Top 50 Best Abdominal Exercises
Top 30 best arm exercises

Basic principles of increasing arm muscle mass

There are many theories and techniques on how to make your arms bigger by using muscles, tendons and ligaments.

The two main training principles boil down to high repetitions at low intensity and low repetitions at high intensity. Which one is correct? Actually, both. To achieve maximum growth, you need to focus on compound movements during your workout, devoting the entire day to loading your arm muscles.

Let's find out what points would be good to observe during training

How to pump your arms correctly?

Some athletes do not bother studying the theoretical part of bodybuilding, although this would allow them to obtain information, using which they can significantly increase the size of their biceps and triceps. For such people who want to know how to properly pump up their arms, what exercises to choose for training their arms and which ones to perform correctly, we have written this article.

If ~35 centimeters in arm circumference does not suit you, you should start reading books on the topic. But first, just read these 9 extremely underrated tips for muscle development, you will understand how to properly pump up your arm muscles and the workout will give you much more results.

What's Important to Remember During the Best Arm Workout

Approaches

from 4 to 6
According to a study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine, in order to achieve muscle hypertrophy, you need to perform 40 to 60 repetitions per muscle in one workout.
4-6 sets just allow you to complete those 40-60 reps needed for growth.

Rep plan

from 6 to 10
As mentioned above, 40-60 repetitions for each muscle group maximally stimulate the process of its growth. You can achieve these values by performing 5 to 10 repetitions in each approach.
For example, 4 sets of 5 reps with a heavier weight, followed by 4 sets of 10 reps with a lighter weight will get you to the target 60 reps.

Load

75 to 85 percent of your rep max or 1RM (the maximum weight you can lift in one repetition).
This may be contrary to what you have been taught, but using a heavier load has been shown to cause maximum muscle hypertrophy during arm training.
In order to stay motivated and stay interested in training, variety is important. This way you can break up your training program: train at high intensity on one day, low on another, and so on. This will help you not to give up training and pump up your arms.

Selecting arm exercises

When it comes to increasing muscle growth, choosing the right exercises is very important. There is no need to invent something unimaginable. Many classic biceps and triceps exercises are great for simulating muscle hypertrophy. Next we will look at them in more detail.

It is also important to change your training program every 6-10 weeks, depending on your level. This will help avoid plateaus in training and simply relieve boredom.

Training frequency

According to a study in the American Journal of Sports Medicine, the best results can be obtained by training one body part every 5-7 days.
It is also important to remember that many compound exercises, such as push-ups and rows, involve several muscle groups at once, so objectively there is no point in 2 or more hands days per week. You will get results even if your training program only has an arm day every two weeks.

How to pump up arm muscles at home

Biceps and triceps, like any other muscle groups, grow under the following conditions: high-quality load, proper recovery and diet. If the body, including the muscles, lacks nutrients, then no matter how correctly you train, there will be no result.

Muscles need fuel. Not only protein, as a building material, solves the problem, but also carbohydrates - energy. It follows that lack of energy will stall progress. For high-quality muscle growth, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates are needed. The first thing you need to do at home is eat. The second most important thing is physical activity. Their frequency and technique must be of the same quality as nutrition. It’s not worth doing all the existing arm exercises. Overwork does not cause muscles to grow.

It is advisable to include three exercises for the main muscle groups in your arm training. The number of repetitions is 6 – 12 times, without exceeding the last figure. Accordingly, the weight should be heavy enough for a given number of repetitions.

Note! The last repetition must be performed with all your might. “Failure” of muscles leads to their rapid growth. In essence, this is a micro-rupture of fibers, which is compensated by the supply of nutrients that serve as building material. New muscle tissue is formed. Without this, tissue growth is not possible.

Training program

Close grip bench press:

2 warm-up sets of 10-12 reps
3-4 sets of 4-6 reps

Barbell Curls:

2 warm-up sets of 10-12 reps
3-4 working sets of 4-8 reps

Push-ups (optional: weights can be attached to your belt)

3-4 sets of 4-8 reps

Biceps curls with Hammer dumbbells:

3-4 sets of 4-8 reps

Alternating biceps curls with dumbbells:

2-3 sets of 6-8 reps

Tips for Maximizing Muscle Gain

It is not enough to simply do the exercises listed. You need to constantly push yourself, increase the load, the number of approaches, and the weights used. Doing the same exercises without making any changes will lead to a plateau, where growth in both strength and muscle mass stops.

Try to increase your working weight by 0.5-2 kilograms each workout. At the same time, make sure that the execution technique is close to ideal.

When performing high-intensity sets, reduce the rest time between them. This will force the body to use the energy it receives more efficiently and will also increase endurance.

Include working to failure in your training. It is advisable to leave the approach to failure until the end of the exercise. Just do as many reps as you can on the last set without compromising your technique.

Remember to change your training program after 6-10 weeks, with different exercises, higher loads and more repetitions.
Focus on the muscle you are working on at the moment. Review the anatomy section to understand how this muscle works, which will help you visualize the effects of stress on it. This understanding will allow you to increase muscle tension and hypertrophy.

Source: https://www.jackedfactory.com/arm-workouts/

What should the training be like?

It is necessary to perform exercises for the biceps, triceps and forearm with the hand on different days, preferably with a short break of two or three days.

The training time should be 70-90 minutes, so that the muscles work hard, but do not get too tired.

You need to train no more than three times a week with a break of 1-2 days, so that the muscles have time to recover and gain excess weight.

Beginners need to increase the load gradually: start with two sets of eight repetitions, then increase the number of repetitions to fifteen and only then add another set, again reducing the number of movements per set.

The number of different exercises for one muscle group should be up to five.

First you need to start with simple elements and complexes, then gradually increase the skill of motor activity.

What ammunition should I purchase?

There comes a time when push-ups alone become not enough, since the main law of progression is the variety of the training process; naturally, nutrition plays the most important role.

When you are ready to pump up your arms at home, you will need: dumbbells, kettlebells, a wall-mounted horizontal bar and parallel bars, ideally purchase a bench, a bar (with additional “pancakes”). If there are financial difficulties, eggplants with water or sand come to the rescue. Most likely, such improvised means will not bring the desired effect, due to the anatomical “inconvenience” of the projectile.

How to pump up your arms? Training Basics

Knowledge about the structure of the hands will help you get the most out of your classes. Having understood which muscles you need to do exercises on, you will not pump one biceps, while leaving the rest of the muscles in their original state.

Along with your biceps, you will have to pump:

The deltoid muscle that forms the shoulder . Strong deltoids make your arms look aesthetically pleasing, and you can pump them up through a variety of exercises like lateral raises.
Triceps is a muscle that has a larger volume than biceps. The thickness of your arms largely depends on the size of your triceps. You can pump it up using the French press and other exercises.
When you decide to pump up your arm muscles, don't forget about your forearms . Their muscles are not so noticeable, but they perform many important functions: they control the rotation of the hand and forearm, and the motor skills of the fingers.

How to quickly pump up your arms: basic principles

Before you start classes, set a goal to strive for. Don’t immediately throw yourself headlong into the pool, putting too much strain on your hands. By following the correct training and rest regime, you will soon notice the first results, and over time, the girth of your biceps will approach the canonical 35% of the chest girth in bodybuilding.

When pumping up your arm muscles, follow these recommendations:

Perform arm exercises slowly, without inertia . Make your muscles sweat during your next set. Quick push-ups or barbell curls will not only not give the desired result, but will also not teach you the correct technique. From the very beginning, try to do each approach technically and slowly.
Maintaining tension during training will help build muscles quickly . Try not to relax your muscles during any phase of the exercise. Give your hands a rest only after finishing the next approach.
All exercises must be performed with maximum range of motion.
Learn to breathe correctly . Breathing plays a very important role, because without sufficient oxygen supply, your muscles will not be able to work in extreme mode. When starting the exercise, inhale, then exhale during the positive phase and exhale again during the negative phase. Inhale through your nose, release air through your mouth.
Give your hands a rest . Muscles do not grow during training, but during recovery after training.
Eat enough . Without the necessary building material, your muscles will not be able to grow even under constant stress.
For those who are looking for how to pump up their arms quickly, the main advice would be to constantly support progress. Don't settle on one weight of the projectile. Increase the working weight of dumbbells or barbells as soon as your muscles get used to it and you feel that the previous load is no longer enough.