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.

Hand training program by day

Now you need to select several exercises from all of the above and create a training program from them.

I hope everyone understands that you don’t need to do all of them to pump up your bazooka arms.

There can be a lot of program variations. It depends on which exercises suit you best, on what equipment you have in the gym. And the construction of the program also depends on whether you will train in the gym or maybe at home.

For the hall

It is much easier to quickly build up arm muscles in the gym than at home, because you have the opportunity to constantly progress. For the hall, the hand program will look like this:

Close grip barbell press 4 sets of 8-10 reps.
Barbell curls for biceps 4 sets of 8-10 reps.
Close-grip parallel bars, 4 sets of 8-12 reps.
Lifting dumbbells on a Scott bench 4 sets of 8-12 reps.
Extension of arms with dumbbells from behind the head, 4 sets of 8-12 repetitions.
Hammers 4 sets of 10-16 reps.
Crossover arm extension 4 sets of 12-20 reps.

I advise alternating biceps with triceps, so that while one muscle is working, the other is rested and you can lift more weight again.

For home use

If you plan to quickly pump up your arms at home, but you don’t have any dumbbells, barbells, or weights, then you can use this program :

Dips. 5 sets of 8-12 reps. If it’s easy, then you can put on a backpack, throw something heavier in there and do push-ups with it.
Reverse grip biceps pull-ups. 5 sets of 8-12 reps. If it's easy, we use a backpack.
Narrow grip push-ups. 5 sets of 12-16 repetitions. If it’s easy, remember about the backpack.
Pull-ups on a horizontal bar with a towel. 5 sets of 8-12 reps. Throw the towel over the bar, grab both ends of the towel with your hands and pull yourself up.
Back push-ups from a bench/chair/sofa. 5 sets of 12-20 repetitions.
Water bottle curls. 5 sets of 12-20 repetitions. You can use either 5-6 liters or 18, it all depends on your abilities.

But you will have to go to the nearest sports ground. Now they are in almost every yard, so there shouldn’t be any problems.

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.

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.

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.

Pump your arms 1-2 times a week

You shouldn’t stop at 1-2 simple biceps exercises and think that this will be enough. I recommend that you do 3-4 biceps and triceps exercises.

You must force your muscles to work at full strength.

I never tire of repeating that if you do not feel pain in your muscles after doing the exercises, then such training is ineffective.

Do you know the best way to do exercises? I'll tell you my secret now. One day I do biceps and pectoral exercises, and the next day I do triceps and back exercises.

Don’t be surprised, below I will explain what and how you will do.

If you have weak muscle mass, then you will need 6-8 weeks for more or less pronounced results.

Don't forget about other muscle groups: your body should develop proportionally. Otherwise, you'll look like Popeye the Sailor Man.

Next, you can familiarize yourself with my unique training program for pumping up your arms at home, and absolutely free.

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 up your arms in the gym

Those who can visit the gym should try the following exercises to pump up their biceps:

Scott Bench Curl . This exercise machine fixes your arms, preventing unnecessary muscles from working. Each set will put maximum stress on your biceps.
Seated arm curl . Performed with the elbow of the working hand resting on the thigh.
Standing arm curl . Feet shoulder-width apart, hold the dumbbell with an underhand grip. Bend your arm so that the projectile is at shoulder level. All movements are performed slowly.

No less attention should be paid to the triceps during training. It is impossible to pump up your arms quickly without properly working out the triceps muscles. The following exercises will be effective for beginners and others:

Dips . They are done in a vertical position with a straight body. We lower the body slowly, trying to sink down as much as possible. At the same time, the elbows are pressed close to the body.
Narrow grip push-ups . They differ from regular push-ups in the position of their hands, which are placed on the floor a few centimeters from each other. Arm curls are carried out to the point at which the shoulders are parallel to the floor. Read: floor push-up program.
Dumbbell bench press . Lie on a bench, holding dumbbells at chest level with a hammer grip. Forearms point vertically. Straighten your arms up, then slowly return them to the starting position.

How to quickly pump up the muscles of your forearms? Using the following hand exercises:

Wrist flexion . Sit on a bench with your feet shoulder-width apart. Place your forearm on the surface of your thigh, first grasping the dumbbell with an underhand grip. Lower the projectile by straightening your wrist. Slowly bend your wrist.
We pump our wrists while standing . We stand with our feet shoulder-width apart. The dumbbell is held with an overhand grip. We extend the wrist, raising the hand as high as possible.

It is not enough to pump up the muscles in your arms; you also need to take care of pumping up your shoulders. You can make your deltoids bigger by doing the following:

Raising arms with dumbbells to the sides . Performed standing, feet shoulder-width apart. The arms are on the sides of the body. Extend your arms to the sides, raising them to shoulder level. Slowly lower down to the starting position.
Raising your arms with dumbbells in front of you . We become the same as in the previous exercise. The dumbbells are held with an overhand grip. Slightly bent arms are brought forward to shoulder level, after which they slowly return to their original position.
Bent-over dumbbell raises . We place our feet shoulder-width apart, tilt the body so that the back is parallel to the floor, and arms down. Without straightening your back, we spread our arms to the sides, then slowly return to the starting position.

If you are wondering how to pump up your arms quickly, you need to strictly follow the recommendations above.
Constant training and proper arm exercises will help make your muscles strong and defined in no time. Download WordPress Themes Freefree download udemy course

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 quickly build up arm muscles

Triceps and biceps develop quite quickly, but it takes time. In the first month, the muscles become toned and adapt to the load. You can see the results after the second month of training. For quality growth, it is necessary to provide the body with a balanced diet. For growth, you need to consume 3 - 4 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of weight, 3 - 4 grams of protein, 1 - 2 grams of fat (b-40%, y-40%, g-20% of the daily value). Distribute equal portions throughout the day, eat 5-6 times a day.

Remember! For muscle growth, hunger is the first enemy. Fasting triggers the release of the hormone cortisol, which breaks down muscles. Try to eat small meals every 3 hours that contain all the nutrients.

Train your arms no more than twice a week, considering that they are auxiliary muscles in back and chest training. At least two days should pass between hand workouts. Try to add more weight or more reps each workout. For example, in your last workout you lifted a 20 kg biceps barbell for 12 reps. Next time, try lifting a 25kg weight for 8 to 10 reps. So, progress each exercise as needed, but don't go to extreme weights. For speedy growth and recovery, be sure to stretch your muscles. To stretch the biceps: Stretch your arm out in front of you, palm facing up. With your other hand, pressing down on the palm of your straight arm, pull your wrist toward you, feeling the stretch in your biceps brachii muscle. To stretch the triceps: place your arm bent at the elbow behind your head. The elbow looks up, clasping it with the second hand, lightly pressing on top of the elbow joint, stretching the triceps muscle.

Important! Don't skip meals after training. Within 40 minutes, food rich in proteins and carbohydrates should arrive. You can add simple carbohydrates, such as flour, to this meal.

The rapid release of glucose and insulin into the blood will prevent the catabolic process (muscle breakdown). But do not include fatty foods in such a meal; fat can inhibit the absorption of protein, which builds new fiber. Therefore, a timely and correct diet will help muscles grow faster.

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/

A set of exercises for arm muscles at home

To train their arms, men need collapsible equipment - dumbbells or weight plates with a bar. This is necessary for constant progress, as well as for training according to the pyramid principle. Gradually increasing the working weight, while decreasing the number of repetitions, will stimulate nerve impulses, contracting the desired muscles at the low-weight stage, allowing you to maintain the correct contraction even with heavy weight. Such training gives a powerful anabolic boost.

Reverse push-ups

For this exercise, you need two supports of the same height, one under the arms and the other under the feet. To add weight, you need to use free weights, for example, placing plates on your thighs. This is necessary for the growth of muscle mass, when the number of repetitions cannot exceed 12 times, while the muscles work to failure on the last repetition. Perform the first set of the exercise 15 times with your own weight without weights - this will be a warm-up approach that will warm up the target muscles and ligaments and prepare you for the straight pyramid (increasing weights).

Sit on the edge of a bench and place a weight on your hips, rest your palms on your hands, forming a straight line with your arms.
Place your feet on the second support, keeping your pelvis hanging.
As you inhale, bend your elbows and lower your pelvis until the angle at your elbows reaches a right angle.
As you exhale, push your torso out with your triceps force and fully extend your elbows.
At the end of the approach, place your feet on the floor, sit on the edge and remove the weight.

Perform the first strength set with a lighter working weight, but do not exceed 12 repetitions.
Not counting the warm-up, perform 4 approaches, adding weight to each set. Thus, push-ups are performed: 4 x 12, 10, 8, 8-6. Read more about the exercise - reverse push-ups →

French press with barbell or dumbbells

The barbell in this exercise can be replaced with dumbbells, also keeping the distance between the dumbbells equal to shoulder width. In this exercise, strictly follow safety precautions when lifting the apparatus. Each approach, increase the working weight by adding small plates.

Sit on the edge of a bench with the barbell resting on your hips and grab a shoulder-width grip on top of the bar.
Lift the bar from your hips, pushing the bar upward with your knees. Slowly lower yourself onto your back, holding the bar with straight arms.
At the top point, the hands are located above the shoulder joints.
As you inhale, leaving your elbows in place, lower the bar with your forearms to your forehead.
As you exhale, use your triceps to straighten your elbows completely and bring your hands back over your shoulders.
At the end of the exercise, raise your knees to the bar, pressing the barbell on your hips, roll your back along the bench to a sitting position.

Add working weight, perform 4 sets of 12, 10, 8, 8 times.

Extension of arms with a bar or dumbbells from behind the head

This exercise can also be replaced by lifting one or two dumbbells from behind your head. The technique affects the triceps in isolation; in this case, helping yourself to push out a large working weight with your hands will not work. Therefore, stick to technique and do not take huge weights .

Sit on a bench with your back straight and grasp the bar at your hips with a close overhand grip. Raise your arms above your head, keeping them straight.
As you inhale, begin to lower your forearms with the bar behind your head, without moving your elbows. At the bottom, stretch your triceps as much as possible.
Exhale and lift the bar, straightening your elbows completely at the top point.
In reverse order, lower the bar to your chest and return it to the floor.

Perform 4 sets of 12, 10, 10-8, 8 times.

Lifting barbells or dumbbells with a narrow grip

After working your triceps, move on to biceps exercises. replace the exercise with dumbbell curls, also placing your elbows on your stomach.

If you experience pain in your shoulders due to morphological features with a narrow or wide grip, replace the technique with a medium or neutral grip.

Lift the bar off the floor with a straight back, first using a reverse close grip.
For a more concentrated lift, place your back against the wall to avoid swaying. Place your elbows on your stomach.
As you exhale, bend your elbows and lift the bar to your shoulders.
As you inhale, straighten your arms, maintaining a slight angle at your elbows.
At the end of the approach, lower the bar to the floor without rounding your back.

Increase the weight of the bar each set, performing 4 sets of 12, 10, 8, 8-6.

Alternating dumbbell raises with supination

You can replace the exercise by lifting the barbell with a wide grip, gradually increasing the weight. Alternating lifting helps to take a large working weight of dumbbells, since when bending one arm, the other has time to recover. The exercise can be performed standing or sitting.

Take dumbbells, keep your arms along your sides, hands parallel to each other.
With an exhalation, bend your right arm, without lifting your elbow from your body, turning your hand in the middle of the amplitude.
As you inhale, lower the dumbbell.
Repeat the movement on your left hand.

Perform the same number of repetitions on each arm. Total, 4 sets of 12, 10, 8, 8-6 repetitions.

Hammer Grip Dumbbell Raise

The exercise not only works the biceps, but also targets the muscles of the forearms. Therefore, you can replace this exercise by lifting the barbell with a reverse grip .

Hold dumbbells along your torso, hands with dumbbells parallel to each other.
Exhale and lift both dumbbells to your shoulders without turning.
As you inhale, lower the dumbbells.

Do 4 x 12, 10, 8, 8-6.
Read more about the hammer exercise →