Muscle7 min read
How to get bigger arms
Bigger arms usually top a beginner's wish list, and they are also the body part most often trained badly. This guide is general strength-training guidance for healthy adults 18 and over, covering what actually grows an arm: a handful of exercises, enough weekly sets, steadily heavier weight and enough food to build with.
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The short answer
Train arms directly two or three times a week, with roughly six to twelve hard sets weekly for biceps and the same for triceps. Use a curl, an overhead or pushdown triceps movement, and heavy rows and presses. Add weight or reps over time, eat enough protein, and expect change over months.
- Progress the weight or the reps, or nothing changes
What actually makes an arm bigger
An arm gets bigger when the biceps and triceps are made to work hard, repeatedly, against a load that goes up over time, and when there is enough food and rest for the body to rebuild. Nothing else is required, and no exercise is magic.
| Muscle | Rough share of upper-arm size | Also worked hard by |
|---|---|---|
| Biceps | About a third | Rows, pull-downs and other pulling exercises |
| Triceps | About two thirds | Bench press, shoulder press and dips |
Counting sets honestly is the same exercise for every muscle, and it is what the incline-angle question turns out to depend on once the popular shortcuts are set aside.
The exercises worth doing
Two exercises per muscle is enough. One in a stretched position, such as an incline curl or an overhead extension, and one in a straightforward position, such as a standing curl or a pushdown. On the pushdown, grip and attachment have been measured directly.
How many sets, how often
Step 1
Start at six sets a week per muscle
For example three sets of curls and three sets of triceps work in each of two sessions, which is simply a way of spreading six weekly sets across days rather than doing them all at once (Schoenfeld, Grgic and Krieger, 2019).
Step 2
Work close to hard
Stop each set two or three reps before you could not manage another one. Eight to fifteen reps suits arms well.
Step 3
Add a set every few weeks
Build towards ten to twelve weekly sets per muscle if you are recovering well and still enjoying the sessions (Schoenfeld, Ogborn and Krieger, 2017).
Step 4
Put arms after the big lifts
Rows and presses come first while you are fresh; arm work finishes the session.
How long before arms look different
A beginner training consistently and eating enough can expect a noticeable change in around three to six months, and a measurable one sooner than a visible one. Take an arm measurement now so you have something to compare against.
- Measure the upper arm relaxed, in the same place, once a fortnight
- Compare month to month, not day to day
- Expect faster change if you are gaining weight slowly at the same time
- Photographs in the same light beat memory every time
The mistakes that stall arm growth
- Swinging the weight so the arm barely works
- Curling only, and ignoring the triceps
- Training arms hard once a week instead of twice
- Never adding weight or reps from month to month
- Eating too little to build anything new
Making each set count
Arm exercises are the easiest in the gym to do badly, because the rest of the body can take over without you noticing. A set that becomes a whole-body swing trains very little. Four cues fix most of it.
Step 1
Control the way down
Take about two seconds lowering the weight. The lengthening half of the rep is doing real work, and dropping it wastes half the set.
Step 2
Keep the elbow still
On curls and pushdowns the elbow is a hinge, not a moving part. If it drifts forward and back, the load is coming from your shoulder instead.
Step 3
Use the full range you own
All the way out, all the way in. Partial reps with heavier weight look better and build less (Schoenfeld et al., 2017).
Step 4
Pick a weight you can control for the last rep
If the final rep needs a heave, the weight is choosing the technique for you.
That finding is useful for arms in particular: you do not need to load a curl heavily to make it work, which means you can train them properly without the sloppy technique heavy curls tend to produce.
What arm size is and is not within your control
Two people can follow the same programme with the same effort and end up with differently shaped arms. Where a muscle attaches to the bone, how long the muscle belly is, and where you store fat are all set by genetics. What training changes is how much muscle sits on that frame, and that part is entirely worth working on.
| Factor | Within your control? |
|---|---|
| How much muscle the biceps and triceps carry | Yes, through training and eating enough |
| Whether the arm looks leaner | Yes, through overall body fat |
| Where the biceps peak sits | No, this is the muscle's attachment point |
| The gap between biceps and forearm | No, this is muscle belly length |
| How quickly arms respond compared with a friend | No, individual response varies widely |
People also ask
Can I train arms every day?
No benefit comes from it and recovery suffers. Two or three arm sessions a week, with a day between them, is enough for a beginner.
Do I need heavy weights for bigger arms?
Not especially. Sets of eight to fifteen reps taken close to failure build arms well, and lighter weights are easier to control.
Why are my arms not growing?
Usually one of three things: not enough weekly sets, no increase in weight or reps over time, or not eating enough overall to build new tissue.
Can I get bigger arms at home?
Yes, with a pair of adjustable dumbbells or bands. Curls, overhead extensions and press-up variations cover both muscles.
Should I train arms on the same day as chest and back?
It works well. The arms are already warm from pressing and rowing, so a few finishing sets are enough.
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Scientific References & Evidence
- Schoenfeld, B.J., Grgic, J., Ogborn, D. and Krieger, J.W. (2017) 'Strength and hypertrophy adaptations between low- vs. high-load resistance training: a systematic review and meta-analysis', Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 31(12), pp. 3508-3523. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000002200. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28834797/
- Schoenfeld, B.J., Grgic, J. and Krieger, J. (2019) 'How many times per week should a muscle be trained to maximize muscle hypertrophy? A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies examining the effects of resistance training frequency', Journal of Sports Sciences, 37(11), pp. 1286-1295. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2018.1555906. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30558493/
- Schoenfeld, B.J., Ogborn, D. and Krieger, J.W. (2017) 'Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass: a systematic review and meta-analysis', Journal of Sports Sciences, 35(11), pp. 1073-1082. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2016.1210197. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27433992/
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Educational information for adults aged 18 and over. It does not diagnose, treat or manage any medical condition. If you have a health condition, or symptoms that worry you, speak to your doctor or a health professional.