Best exercises for the arms?

Cammy_Atleta8

Hi guys, you might have seen my post about the Protein shakes!

Ok, so I've been working out now for maybe 8 months and I have seen decent gains everywhere, (Chest,Back,Shoulders,Legs,Abdominals) etc.

The only place where it seems to be hard to add mass to is my arms. They definitely have got stronger but not so much mass if that makes sense? Should I keep doing compound exercises but add some Isolation reps just targeting triceps and biceps? Or do you know any exercises which are the best that bulk the arms and how many sets/reps of it?

Thanks for your help, cheers!

LolBroScience

Close Grip Bench Press, Weighted Chins, Rows, Barbell Curls, Dips, Skullcrushers. Pretty much all you need.

byronyucker

I see the biggest different in my arms, I like doing seated Incline dumbbell bicep curls, it really gives a good stretch in the bicep. Ido 3x8 usually. alternating dumbbell curls, hammer curls, cable curls, barbell curls.

For triceps I do tricep rope pushdowns, skull crushers, close grip bench press, tricep kickbacks, and tricep extensions but I like to switch everything up each workout I do. Idk if this will help, I'm young and no expert but hope this gives you some ideas.

xmichaelyx

Dips and chin-ups, weighted if possible. Then supplement with skullcrushers and curls, if you want.

Remember that the *tricep* is a much larger muscle. Too many guys -- especially younger guys -- focus on curls and wind up with a great bicep peak, but no real strength or arm size because they've ignored the larger, stronger muscle.

joan23_us

Hi guys, you might have seen my post about the Protein shakes!

Ok, so I've been working out now for maybe 8 months and I have seen decent gains everywhere, (Chest,Back,Shoulders,Legs,Abdominals) etc.

The only place where it seems to be hard to add mass to is my arms. They definitely have got stronger but not so much mass if that makes sense? Should I keep doing compound exercises but add some Isolation reps just targeting triceps and biceps? Or do you know any exercises which are the best that bulk the arms and how many sets/reps of it?

Thanks for your help, cheers!

all arm exercises are good, periodize each exercise at a time for better result, im not sure if how long do you stick to an exercise routine but for some 6 weeks is a good start to re-evaluate exericise hitting the muscle in a different angle.

byronyucker

Also use controlled weight, I always see people flopping around the weights with so much momentum it really irritates me. Lower slow, stretch at the bottom, squeeze at the top.

MityMax96

weighted dips and chins (reverse grip chins also) as others have mentioned.

Then you can added in preacher curls.....

steve_mfp

Galatea_Stone

Close Grip Bench Press, Weighted Chins,
Rows, Barbell Curls, Dips, Skullcrushers. Pretty much all you need.

These. You will get moderate strength from the major compound lifts, but for hypertrophy, you have to suck it up and curl and do skull crushers. Dips, rows, and chins have the added benefit of working the back.

MagnumBurrito

Also use controlled weight, I always see people flopping around the weights with so much momentum it really irritates me. Lower slow, stretch at the bottom, squeeze at the top.

Do what this guy says if you're going for pump.

If you're going for strength, do weighted pull ups (all hand holds) and dips.

KoopaSix

Dips and chin-ups, weighted if possible. Then supplement with skullcrushers and curls, if you want.

Remember that the *tricep* is a much larger muscle. Too many guys -- especially younger guys -- focus on curls and wind up with a great bicep peak, but no real strength or arm size because they've ignored the larger, stronger muscle.

This right here + working in hypertrophic rep ranges + caloric surplus = size

I'm also a big fan of close grip and reverse grip bench press, weighted dips, chin ups, skull crushers, pulldowns

Focus more on tricep for overall size

wilmnoca

Skull crushers and close grip bench presses have really added some mass/depth to my arms. I've noticed it more since incorporating these two heavily into my arm days. Also, cutting my rest time even more between sets helps!

Eastmont87

Triceps kickbacks, dips and overhead dumbell extension for Triceps and Dumbbell curls and hammer curls for Biceps.
Works for me. Just be careful to not lift too heavy on triceps unless you want to snap your elbows up (just talking from own experience)

I would also add Concentration curls for biceps, if I could. But I always get backpains from that exercise for some reason.

And I vary number of reps and sets from week to week.
Sometimes I do dropsets - start with a heavy weight and work my way down. Sometimes I do supersets, with two exercises.
And sometimes I do the classic: usually 4x10 reps or 3x10. If you go all out on these exercises and do them frequently, you will build mass. Thre is no other way :P

shane_tac1

Have you tried using static holds and negatives?

steve0820

Dips and chin-ups, weighted if possible. Then supplement with skullcrushers and curls, if you want.

Remember that the *tricep* is a much larger muscle. Too many guys -- especially younger guys -- focus on curls and wind up with a great bicep peak, but no real strength or arm size because they've ignored the larger, stronger muscle.

I agree!! I see many people at the gym, especially guys, do 5-6 different bicep exercises, mostly curls. While ignoring the back half of the arm, which is the larger muscle and really determines how big your arm looks.

goldenhawkball

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=309354

check this link out. very informative. emphasis on slowing your reps down if you want more size in the arms. most people think faster=bigger, but slower builds mass better. my 2 cents

ninerbuff

The basics: Barbell curls, underhand pullups, concentration curls, close grip presses, dips and a lying/overhead extension of some sort.
High volume training with as much weight as you can handle for each set.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

drocknoel

Another great way to torch your triceps and push them way past fatigue is to do a huge dropset of cable pushdowns. Also, remember the tricep has 3 different "heads" that all need to be worked in order for your tricep to properly grow, which can all be hit just by switching up grips in classic tricep movements.

chrisdavey

I focussed on compounds only (chinups, dips) for the majority of my training (5-6 years now) and my arms have basically stayed the same size for the last 2 years after the initial growth period.

I now try and include some more isolation exercises also. For a beginner, I'd stick with compound for a bit though.

Bicep: db curl, db preacher curl (and negatives), cable curl

tricep: CGBP, board press, rope pressdown

Just be wary of your elbows. I've found that when I do these it sometimes aggravates the elbows a bit.