Building Big Arms In 10 Easy Steps!
Building big arms is actually really easy and in this article we will cover exactly what you need to do in 10 easy steps!
If you ask most guys what muscle group they would like to grow
quickly they will generally reply with: ‘Arms!’ Whilst having big
shoulders, chest or back are impressive, no other body part quite has
the impact of a decent set of guns!
Even though building big arms is a goal for many guys, it is amazing how
few actually achieve their goal. Before we go through the principles
you need to employ, we will firstly examine how to rate different arm
sizes.
Of course, the shape of everyone’s arms is different. Some have
peaked biceps, while others are flat. Some have full, sweeping triceps
while others have little shape at all.
Even though you can’t change the shape of your muscles (i.e. if you
don’t have peaked biceps then no matter what exercises you do, you will
never get peaks on your biceps!) you can change the shape of your arms
by increasing the size of your muscles and by decreasing the fat stored
around the muscles.
Best of all, no matter what you current arm size, using the
strategies covered here will definitely help you with building big arms!
Here’s a guideline for arm size
(for natural bodybuilders):
- 15-inch arm: It looks like you might train a bit
- 16-inch arm: It looks like you definitely train
- 17-inch arm: That is a decent-sized arm
- 18-inch arm: That is a very big, impressive arm
- 19-inch arm: That is a massive arm!
Very few natural bodybuilders get arms bigger than 19 inches.
However, if they do they are genetically-gifted indeed, and tend to
weigh well-over 100 kilograms (220 pounds)!
These measurements are based upon the circumference of the flexed
upper arm, measured around the peak of the bicep perpendicular to the
floor. It may also vary quite a lot based on the height of the person
(and therefore their limb length).
The appearance of the upper arm also depends on how lean you are. The
above measurements and comments are dependent upon you being relatively
lean, i.e. you can see veins in your arms. If you can’t see the veins
in your arms you simply aren’t lean enough!
Here are the 10 principles you need to employ for building big arms:
- Train ALL the muscles in your arms
- Train as many muscle fibres in each muscle
- Progressively overload the muscles
- Use a variety of rep ranges
- Use various ATOs
- Train your arms twice a week (plus indirectly as well, split them up?)
- Train your legs!
- Consume sufficient calories and protein
- Get plenty of rest
- Use suitable supplements
We will examine each of these principles in detail.
Train ALL the muscles in your arms
If one of your goals is building big arms then you must train all the
muscles in your arms. This means not just your biceps and triceps
muscles but also your brachialis, brachioradialis, and forearm flexors
and extensors. If all of these muscles aren’t trained then building big
arms is extremely difficult.
The brachialis muscle sits underneath the biceps and its function is
to perform flexion at the elbow joint (this is one of the functions of
biceps as well). However, since the biceps muscle is far stronger than
the brachialis muscle it tends to do most of the work when the forearm
is in a supinated (palm-up) position.
Therefore, in order to put greater emphasis on the brachialis muscle
the forearm should be in a pronated (palm-down) position or neutral
position. Reverse curls and hammer curls are examples of exercises that
work brachialis more than biceps.
Brachioradialis is the muscle on the lateral (outside) aspect of the
forearm. Hammer curls are a great exercise to work that muscle.
The forearm flexor and extensor muscles are worked very effectively by performing the wrist flexion and extension exercises.
Train as many muscle fibres in each muscle
Building big arms requires you to train as many muscle fibres in the
targeted muscles as possible. In order to do so you must firstly know
the function/ action of each muscle. By knowing the function/ action of
each muscle you can then select exercises that utilise those functions/
actions.
For example, the biceps brachii muscle has 3 functions/ actions:
- Flexion at the elbow joint
- Supination at the wrist joint
- Flexion at the shoulder joint
Therefore, when training your biceps you should select exercises that
incorporate those actions into their movement. Barbell curls is a good
exercise for performing flexion at the elbow joint, alternate dumbbell
curls is a good exercise for supination at the wrist joint, and cable
curls can incorporate flexion at the shoulder joint when you perform
that movement.
A future article will cover the functions/ actions of all the major
muscles groups in the body, but until then you may need to visit a
library (remember those?) or search online for more information about
the different functions/ actions of muscles.
Progressively overload the muscles
There are many fundamental bodybuilding principles that apply for
building big arms just as they apply for any other muscle. One of the
most well-known of those principles is that of ‘progressive overload’.
This principle states that in order to stimulate a muscle to grow it
must experience a stress that it is unaccustomed to. Therefore, as a
muscle grows and becomes stronger the stress needs to become
progressively greater.
The greater stress doesn’t necessarily mean you have to keep
increasing the weight even though that is one way to progressively
overload a muscle. Progressive overload can also be achieved by
increasing the intensity of exercise, perhaps by using Advanced
techniques of Overload (ATOs), you could also increase the frequency of
exercise (how often you train), or by increasing the volume (amount you
train).
Usually a combination of all 3 factors, intensity, frequency and volume, works best.
Use a variety of rep ranges and sets
Since different rep ranges target different aspect of muscle hypertrophy
it is worthwhile using a variety of rep ranges for each exercise in
your workout.
You may also want to increase the number of sets you perform for each
muscle group. This is one of the factors in progressive overload.
However, if you decide to increase the intensity of your arm workout you
may want to reduce the number of sets you perform. This will help to
reduce your risk of over-training.
Use various ATOs
ATOs are a great way to increase the intensity of your workouts and
intensity is one of the key factors involved in progressively
overloading the muscles. They also make it easier to help use a variety
of rep ranges.
The most common ATOs will be covered in a future article, but until then here are some of the most commonly-used ones:
- Forced reps
- Drop sets
- Pre-exhaust
- Super-setting
- Negatives
If you’re serious about building big arms then you must use some of these Advanced Techniques of Overload in every workout.
Train your arms twice a week
One of the best strategies for building big arms is to train them
more frequently. This is also one of the factors for progressively
overloading the muscles.
When structuring your workouts for this make sure that you have a
break between arm workouts and try and if possible try to avoid training
them the day after training them indirectly, i.e. when you train chest
or back.
If you decide to split up the muscles or train them together in a
workout is completely up to you. It will make little difference.
However, it may be a good idea to change things around after a few weeks
of following the same routine so if you usually train them together,
perhaps try splitting them up and training them with a different muscle
group.
Train your legs!
The hips and thighs are the largest muscle groups in the body. As a
result, they have the greatest impact on hormone production when they
are trained. This means that anabolic hormones, like testosterone and
growth hormone, get produced in greater quantities when these muscles
are trained.
Best of all, not only do these hormones affect the muscles that
stimulated their growth in the first place, but also all of the muscles
throughout the body. This process is known as the ‘Indirect Effect’ and
will be discussed in greater detail in a future article.
Therefore, if building big arms is important to you it is absolutely
imperative that you train your legs in order to maximise the hormones
production in your body.
Consume sufficient calories and protein
Building muscle requires sufficient calories and protein in your
diet. Therefore, building big arms means you must focus on eating
correctly in addition to training properly. Calories, in general,
provide your body with energy and protein provides the building blocks
of muscle tissue. This means that you must have sufficient quantities of
both in order to build your arms.
Insufficient calories or a lack of protein in your diet will impede
your ability to build muscle and therefore will stop you from getting
bigger arms.
The importance of nutrition for muscle growth as well as the importance of rest and recuperation
Get plenty of rest
Your body builds muscle during rest, not during training. Training
provides the necessary stimulus for muscle growth, nutrition provides
the energy and building blocks for muscle growth, and finally rest and
recuperation provide the ideal environment for muscle growth.
Therefore, makes sure you have a good quality sleep each night and
take naps during the day whenever you can. This will ensure adequate
recuperation and an optimum environment for muscle growth.
Use suitable supplements
Supplements are a great addition for building big arms. Whilst they
certainly can’t take the place of good nutrition or a suitable training
program, they can definitely give you an edge.