How To Get Bigger Arms: The Best Bicep And Tricep Workout Routine

8 Workout Recommendations

Here’s what you need to do…

1. Train your biceps and triceps (and every other muscle group) 2-3 times per week. This is the frequency that has been proven to work best for building muscle (source). Once per week can work, but it’s the least effective approach.
2. Use a workout split that allows for this ideal frequency to be met. For beginners, full body is my recommendation. For intermediate and advanced trainees, upper/lowerand push/pull/legs are my favorites.
3. Fill the majority of your workouts with compound exercises done in low-moderate rep ranges. This means various chest presses, shoulder presses, rows, pull-ups/pull-downs, squats, deadlifts and so on done within the 5-10 rep range most of the time.
4. Make progressive overload happen on those compound exercises. Gradually getting stronger over time is THE key stimulus of muscle growth (fatigue and damage are the others… I cover all of this in Superior Muscle Growth), and making it happen on compound pushing/pulling exercises will play a very significant role in making your arms bigger. This should be the #1 goal of your training.
5. Do 2-4 sets each of direct biceps and triceps isolation work in moderate-higher rep ranges. The specifics will vary depending on what split you’re using and how the rest of the workout is designed, but in most cases, 2-4 sets of direct biceps work and 2-4 sets of direct triceps work – in the 10-15 rep range most of the time, and always after the compound work – will be ideal. Why not more? Because after the heavy progressive tension stimulus your arms received during the compound exercises that came earlier in the workout, you’ll only need a few higher rep fatigue-oriented sets of isolation work to maximize the overall growth stimulus without exceeding recovery.
6. Do whatever arm isolation exercises you like best (and pick ones that don’t bother your elbows or wrists). Everyone wants to know what the “best” exercise is for a body part, but there really is no such thing. Any exercise that allows you to safely provide the intended training stimulus to the intended muscle group(s) is potentially “the best.” So, whether you do dumbbell curls or EZ bar curls, or triceps pushdowns with a bar attachment or a rope… it’s really not going to matter much with all else being equal. So, pick whatever you like best and is mostly elbow-friendly for you, and feel free to change your isolation exercises every 4-12 weeks.
7. Make sure your diet is designed to support muscle growth. The best arm workout in the world isn’t going to do a damn thing for you if your diet plan isn’t designed to support muscle growth. Above all else, this means making sure you’re eating a sufficient amount of calories per day and a sufficient amount of protein, fat and carbs (in that order of importance).
8. Be consistent and give it time, because muscle growth is slow as hell. The average intermediate man doing everything perfectly might gain 1lb of muscle PER MONTHacross his entire body. The average woman might gain half that. So if you’re expecting to put an inch onto your arms in a few weeks (probably because the shittiest people in the fitness industry have tricked you into believing this type of thing is possible so they can sell you their useless garbage), you’re going to be mighty disappointed. It’s going to be a long, slow process. Know that in advance so you have realistic expectations.