Best Workouts for Bigger Arms: Maximizing Biceps and Triceps Growth

Bigger Arms | Bigger Back | Bigger Chest | Bigger Legs | Bigger Shoulders | Muscular Abs

Arm training days ought to rank as the most anticipated weekly session for bodybuilders. Is this the case for you? If not, your training protocol may be the culprit. You should approach the gym with enthusiasm, assured of your progress, and eager to achieve a significant muscle pump. I provide a curated selection of elite biceps and triceps routines from my personal repository of proven methods.

Presenting your comprehensive blueprint for developing massive arms. When combined with a growth-optimized nutrition and supplementation strategy, this framework provides everything required to build the showstopping arm musculature you desire!

Know Your Arms to Grow Your Arms

When asked to display muscularity, most individuals flex their biceps—yet the triceps account for two-thirds of total arm mass! Many novices succumb to this common pitfall—even the legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger acknowledged prioritizing biceps over triceps in his early training, creating an imbalance that required years to correct.

The optimal strategy for arm hypertrophy involves equally intense stimulation of both biceps and triceps, incorporating a full spectrum of rep ranges: high (15–20), moderate (8–12), and low (4–6). For the initial eight weeks of this program, triceps will be trained prior to biceps. Below is a breakdown of each muscle group:

Biceps Brachii

The primary function of the biceps is elbow flexion. To maximize hypertrophy, your training should incorporate variations of proven biceps exercises across multiple planes:

• Posterior arm positioning: Incline Curls

• Neutral arm positioning: Standing Curls, Seated Curls

• Anterior arm positioning: Preacher Curls

Given the biceps’ secondary role in forearm supination, multiple grip variations should be integrated:

• Supinated grip: Traditional Curls

• Neutral grip: Hammer Curls

• Pronated grip: Reverse Curls

It is not necessary to incorporate all positioning and grip variations in every session. Instead, cycle through the following workouts over several months to ensure comprehensive stimulation.

Triceps Brachii

The triceps—antagonist to the biceps—primarily functions in elbow extension. Optimal triceps training requires exercises that target all three heads via varied angles:

• Anterior torso positioning: Close-Grip Bench Press, Cable Push-Downs

• Facial plane positioning: Skull Crushers

• Overhead positioning: Overhead Cable Extensions

Forearm Musculature

The forearms are responsible for grip strength, wrist stability, and wrist strength. If you have neglected forearm training to date, prepare for a rigorous challenge—you will perform extremely high-rep sets (e.g., 50 repetitions per set).

How to Use These Workouts

Execute one dedicated arm session per week, ideally on a Friday or Saturday. Your arms receive sufficient indirect stimulation during chest, shoulder, and back workouts earlier in the week—thus, a second weekly arm session is unnecessary.

Complete Workout 1 once weekly for 4–6 weeks, then progress to Workout 2. Continue this cycle until you have finished Workout 5. Upon completing Workout 5, you may restart with Workout 1—confident in your increased muscle mass and strength.

During this program, utilize Bodybuilding.com’s macronutrient calculator to ensure you consume adequate calories, protein, carbohydrates, and fats to support muscle hypertrophy. Arm growth requires a caloric surplus—consuming more calories than you expend.

Complementary to protein intake, two key supplements to consider for this program are:

• Creatine Monohydrate: Supports muscle and strength development

• Pre-Workout Formulas: Combats fatigue and enhances arm pump intensity

Main | Bigger Arms | Bigger Back | Bigger Chest | Bigger Legs | Bigger Shoulders | Muscular Abs