How to quickly pump up big arms at home or in the gym

What exercises are most effective for biceps, triceps and forearms. How to competently build your training complex with an emphasis on the arms. For most athletes, the main indicator of success in the gym is not even six-pack or chest volume, but the size of the biceps. Many beginners first of all ask the question of how to pump up their arms. This is not surprising, because the symbol of masculinity is strong limbs - huge shoulders, biceps and well-pumped forearms. All this is incredibly popular with women who are ready to “drown” in strong hands.

But, despite having a goal, many do not know the main thing - how to quickly pump up their arms. You can spend months of training, but still achieve nothing. Let's look at what format is best to build a workout in, how to properly pump up your biceps and other arm muscles.

Biceps

You don’t need to look “deeply” into an anatomy textbook to understand the features of the biceps muscle. It consists of a pair of main heads. One of them is long (located on the outer part), and the second is short (located on the inside). It is at this stage that the pair of heads are connected into a common tendon and are located near the elbow joint. It turns out that the biceps muscle can not only bend the hand, but also rotate the palmar part in the direction of the thumb.

To maximally strain the outer head, the elbow joint must be moved as far behind the back as possible. The situation is different with a short head, the development of which can be improved by moving the arms a little forward.

Before pumping up your biceps, you must understand not only the anatomy, but also understand the features of existing grips. For example, to work the inside of the head, the best option is a wider grip. If there is a desire to load the external head to a greater extent, then the grip when working with the barbell should be made as narrow as possible. If you follow all the recommendations, huge hands will not keep you waiting.

Don’t forget about the brachialis, one of the shoulder muscles that takes on a large share of the load. To figure out how to quickly pump up your biceps, you simply must take into account the intricacies of this muscle. When performing exercises, she takes on more than half the load. As a result, it is not the biceps muscle that works, but the brachialis.

So how to pump up your arms in the biceps area? There are several excellent exercises here - working with a barbell for biceps (lifts are best done while standing), working with dumbbells for biceps (lying down, with suspension), lifting a barbell with an extended hand (reverse grip), hammer.

The most powerful exercises I recommend

Let's look at triceps and biceps exercises separately.

For triceps

This:

French press with barbell or dumbbells . This is when you lie down on a bench or floor, pick up dumbbells or a barbell, raise your arms above your head and bend your arms so that your elbows are motionless. There should be no movement in the shoulder joint, only in the elbow.
Close grip barbell press . This exercise can be done with either free weights or a Smith machine. The idea is that you take a barbell with a close grip and lower it to your ribs, and then press it up. The most important thing in this case is not to spread your elbows; the more you spread your elbows to the sides, the more you engage the pectoral muscles, which will take the load from the triceps.
Extension of arms with dumbbells from behind the head . I used to really love this exercise, it works the long head of the triceps very well. You need to sit on a bench with a back that ends at the level of your shoulder blades so that you can comfortably lower the dumbbell. You take one dumbbell with both hands, lift it above your head and lower it behind your back, then straighten your arms and lift the dumbbell above your head. The most important thing is not to hit yourself on the head with dumbbells, this happens quite often. You can also do this exercise standing or sitting without a backrest, but then a greater load will be placed on the lower back.
Arm extension with dumbbells overhead . This exercise differs from the previous one and is performed with each hand separately. You can also perform it sitting or standing, your choice. You take the dumbbell by the handle, lift it above your head, and then lower it behind your head, pointing your elbow to the side.
Bent-over arm extension with dumbbells . This is also a good exercise if done correctly. Many people simply swing their arms instead of doing power lifts. The triceps don’t work here, and other muscles don’t really work here, except that the law of the pendulum works here. In the correct version, you need to take dumbbells in your hands, bend over with a straight back, slightly bend your knees, bring your elbows to your body and lock in this position. Then you straighten your arms, lift the dumbbells up and hold them at the top point, then smoothly lower them down and repeat the movement.
Close grip push-ups . You can do push-ups from the floor or, if it’s hard, from a bar, table, chair, etc. The essence is the same as in the close-grip barbell press. Place your hands narrowly, approximately shoulder-width apart, and do not spread your elbows when lifting.
Close grip dips . This is a very cool exercise that not everyone uses. If you do push-ups with a wide grip, your chest will work more, and if you do push-ups with a narrow grip, your triceps will simply grow before your eyes.
Back push-ups from the bench . This is also a cool exercise, but if your triceps are already quite powerful, then you will have to put additional weights on your legs. And doing it yourself is not very convenient. You'll have to look for a partner or ask someone from the audience.
Crossover arm extension . This exercise can be used to tone down your triceps. This is an isolation exercise that will tear your triceps to shreds. It will burn like the girls in their underpants at the sight of your powerful hands. They are usually performed with a straight handle or ropes, but you can use different techniques and experiment. You can even do this exercise one arm at a time.

For biceps

Now let's look at the biceps.
If the triceps extends the arm at the elbow, then we can assume that the biceps flexes the arm at the elbow, and we would be right.

The biceps already has 2 heads, namely long and short (although in fact they are approximately the same). Again, they work together, but depending on the exercise, the emphasis of the load shifts slightly. There is also a brachialis in the hand, but few people know about it. It also works together with the biceps.

So, to pump up your biceps, there are many exercises, but in fact all of them can be divided into 3 groups:

basic;
concentrated;
insulating.

The basic ones include:

Standing biceps curl . You just take a barbell, throw on plates if necessary and bend your arms with it. The most important thing is not to overdo it with weight. So that you don't sway like a young birch tree in the wind. Take such a weight that you lift it with your biceps, and not with your back. You can take either a straight bar or a curved one. With a curved one, your wrists will feel more comfortable.
Standing dumbbell curl for biceps . The principle is the same as with a barbell, only now you have a dumbbell in your hands. You can lift them either with a static position of the hands or with a rotation. You can also do it without turning, with your palms facing inward. This exercise is called “hammers” and specifically loads the brachialis.

Concentrated exercises are a more challenging option. For example:

Lifting a barbell or dumbbells for biceps against the wall . That is, the same lifts, but now you lean on the wall and lift the weight with absolutely no help from your back.
Lifting dumbbells while sitting on a bench . It's a pretty good exercise, as long as you don't throw everything you can at the dumbbells except for the biceps.
Lifting a barbell or dumbbells while lying on a bench . This is also a cool exercise that I very rarely see. Lie down with your chest on a bench, take a barbell or dumbbells and begin to bend your arms. In this case, you do not need to throw the weight, but lift it with force so that your elbows are motionless.
Lifting barbells or dumbbells on a Scott bench . The main principle of this simulator is that you rest your elbow on the pillow and simply physically cannot work with anything other than your biceps.

Isolation exercises are what I call something done in machines. For example:

Crossover arm curl . You can do it with a katana or with a straight handle, you can do it one hand at a time, whatever your heart desires. You can do it by resting your elbows on some surface so that your elbows are motionless.
Curling arms in a block exercise machine for biceps . This is something like a Scott bench, but as a ready-made exercise machine with handles and a cable.

These are basic biceps and triceps exercises that will help you get bigger arms, but you don't have to do them all. You need to properly train your muscles so that they grow, and not do everything in a row.

Triceps

When looking for an answer to how to pump up big arms, we must not forget about another important muscle group - the triceps. The latter consists of a whole group of heads - external (lateral), internal (long), middle (medial). All “elements” of the triceps are interconnected and work in all exercises where the triceps are involved. The only thing that may differ is the degree of load, for example, when working with dumbbells or a barbell, as well as the mechanics of performing the exercise.

How to pump up arm muscles in the triceps area? Here are some interesting exercises:

dips (to concentrate the load on the triceps, it is better to make the grip narrow);
bench press (also with a narrow grip);
French press;
arm extensions when working in a vertical block.

Arm muscle pumping plan

As you can see for yourself, the main secret by which you can pump up big arms is to give your best in every movement. A high number of repetitions, the highest intensity, full concentration on muscle contractions and maintaining a mental connection with the muscles are the training principles for pumping up the large arm muscles, following which you will achieve their impressive size, and they will rightfully become your strength.

Biceps exercises

Exercise	Approaches	Replays
Alternating dumbbell raises while standing	3-4	10-20
Simultaneous dumbbell raise while standing	2	10-15
EZ-bar lifting	4	12-20
Arm curls on a block	3-4	21 + 3-5**
Hammer	3-4	12-20

**After performing 21 curls, do an additional 3-5 reps using the rest-pause principle at the peak of the contraction. See all biceps exercises.

Video: How to pump up big arms:

Forearms

Many beginners, in search of a solution to how to pump up big arms, work more on mass and develop only the groups described above (triceps and biceps). In fact, this is a mistake. It is important to consider that there are also forearms on the hand, which also need attention.

There is an opinion that it is better to pump them with other muscle groups. This is partly true. But still, the forearms should also receive a portion of attention. This is especially true if your goal is not to work for mass, but to create an ideal relief. If the goal is muscle growth in general, then a general load will be enough for the forearms, for example, working on the back or chest.

For spot work, you must know how to quickly pump up your arms in this area. There are three main exercises here:

working with a barbell for biceps (standard lifting);
a similar exercise, but with reverse positioning of the hands;
bending the hand while holding the barbell at the wrist. This exercise can also be performed with dumbbells in your hands.

Pumping up your arms at home

It's no secret that with the proper motivation, a novice athlete can increase arm mass on his own. To do this, general physical training exercises that involve the trainee’s own weight as a load are enough for him. The principle applies here: simple is not always bad. Even the simplest exercise can provide a significant breakthrough in the accumulation of muscle mass. Let’s answer the question of how to pump up your arms with push-ups. Depending on your physical fitness, you can choose one of the methods - with emphasis on the floor with your palms, fists, fingers, ribs of the palms, and the backs of the hands. The following table reveals the method of training with push-ups.

Pull-ups on the crossbar (horizontal bar) are considered good exercises for the arm muscles. When performing them, it is also possible to combine them according to the type of grip: straight, reverse, narrow, medium, wide. To achieve maximum effect, it is not recommended to swing or pull up with a jerk. There is another “useful” exercise. Pull-ups on uneven bars specifically target the triceps (extensor muscles).

However, to build high-quality arm muscles, you should not get carried away with the number of push-ups on the horizontal bar and uneven bars in each set. It is recommended to simply achieve the following number of repetitions in working sets: 4 sets of 10 repetitions. Next, to increase the mass of the arms, when doing pull-ups, trainees hang additional weight on the body without increasing the number of repetitions in the set.

Best combinations

Now let’s look at how to pump up the arm muscles in a complex manner, that is, taking into account the preparation of a training program. There are several options here:

combining work on the biceps and back in one workout, and triceps and pectoral muscles in another. This type of training is very effective, because the entire muscle group is worked out - both the biceps and the back. In the next workout, the muscles are pumped even better - by working the triceps and chest. The only drawback is that after training large muscles with dumbbells or barbells, small groups will get tired and become less effective;
combining triceps and back in one lesson, and chest and biceps in another. Athletes often use this scheme when working on weight. If you don’t know how to pump up your arms at home, then you can give preference to this option. The advantage here is that you can train two useful muscles at once - the pectoral and biceps muscles, which are almost unrelated to each other. For example, for the chest you can do the bench press, and for the biceps you can work with dumbbells. But there is also a minus. If on one day you loaded the triceps and back, and on the other - the pectoral and biceps muscles, then the biceps receives a load two days in a row. In this case, you can only achieve overtraining of this muscle group;
the third option is considered the most promising. This is a combination of triceps and biceps. As in the previous case, here you can choose any exercise - with dumbbells or a barbell. In addition, the exercise allows you to perfectly work out the arm muscles for mass.

Train your arms on a separate day with supersets

The classic way to train arms from pro bodybuilders is this.
You choose a separate day, preferably not the one following the day when your back shakes. Exercises for biceps and triceps are combined into supersets, according to the principle of antagonist muscles. For example, you could work like this:

Standing barbell curls;
Close grip bench presses;
Hammer curls with dumbbells;
Triceps extension with cable handle;
Concentrated biceps curls;
Straight-grip triceps push-ups with a weight plate on your back

Results

OK it's all over Now. Now you know approximately how to pump up your arms at home or in the gym. All that remains is to realize your plans. But it happens that training does not produce results. What to do in this case? There could be several reasons:

Don't forget about progression

Many people have been doing arm training with the same weight for years. It is not right. On the other hand, there are unique people who train their biceps with huge weights, but exclusively using the cheating technique. This is the other extreme. It is better to exercise in moderation, do not overload the ligaments with excessive cheating, but also do not forget to add weight or repetitions. Where there is no progression, there is no growth. The number of hand workouts per week is an individual indicator. Some athletes grow well by doing light biceps and triceps on back and chest days, respectively, and a heavy workout on one of their free days. Others require a little more training, meaning they add a third. But there are others - they simply do hands once a week, on a separate day, and progress. It is impossible to say in advance which approach is best for an athlete. It is worth observing yourself and your progress, and tracking what works for a particular person.