The best arm mass builders

[ajdonutz]

I feel like arms are the hardest for me to judge if im hitting them too hard/not hard enough, and i feel they are a weakpoint for me. My medial head on my tri has always been very pronounced and large, but the overall back arm thickness and bicep thickness seem to not want to pack on mass.. im 5ft 10in 225ish and currently bulking, so not super lean but not fat. According to calipers im between 10-11% but id guess myself a little higher, maybe 12-13. So somewhere around there. The biggest ive had my arms were 17.6 at the end of last bulk at 232 lbs with alot of water and getting too out of shape IMO, after a 4 week cut they stayed a little over 17, i think 17.1 was the smallest they hit after dropping bf, but they still werent shredded so they werent even a true 17.. usually for bis i just do standing dumbbell curls, hammer curls, and concentration curls. Depending on my routine at the time depends how many sets. If im doing a 2 day split itll be 1 set of each and get hit ever 48-72 hrs. On my current 3 day split ivd been doing 2 sets of each and they get hit every 4 days. Triceps i always feel alot in any presses i do, so all i really do is a couple sets of close grip skullcrushers, varying incline decline and flat, and v bar pushdowns a couple sets. Lately ive started varying some wide grip straight bar on the skulls. Arms have always been my least favorite to train and i always followed the crowd of them not needing a lot of isolation, but i figured i may as well ask around here

 

[Ghost..]

I'm 6'2" and most I've ever weighed is around 220 with 18.5inch arms. So I guess mine are ok for my height and weight.

I over worked them for years. I started getting the most growth when I switched to my current routine. All I do now is 3x of straight bar curls to failure after my back days.

 

[tkav1980]

Pick a curl, I like dumbells, and just get as strong as you can with it. for Tri's dips and CGBP are my go to's. Do tri dips with 200 lbs on top of BW or CGBP with 350 and your tri's will be just disturbing. I have a major problem with bicep thickness, always have even with a pronounced brachialis when flexed. I think its just plain genetics for me. MY tri's generally overpower basically the rest of me but presses are my strongest exercise too.

 

[Elvia1023]

I think most usually overtrain their arms as they are hit indirectly during most gym days. I would usually recommend people to lower the volume. This usually starts giving them results (like Ghost). To forget about weight and concentrate on the form and contraction. It gets said so many times but it really is how you lift it compared to the weight. But sure if you can lift huge amounts correctly then go for it.

But for you and your current style I always think changing things up is beneficial. Perhaps you should increase your volume for abit. Have a day devoted to arms. In that day perform an array of exercises incorporating different rep ranges, weight, rep speeds etc. Really assault your arms from all angles and make sure your nutrition is spot on.... before and after training.

Generally speaking though I love low volume and high frequency training. However due to the reason I listed at the start I usually train them twice weekly. I usually like to incorporate a compound movement with an isolation. Below are a few examples of what I may do though....

Tri-ceps at twice weekly=
Close Grip Bench Press... 2-3 warm up sets and 1-2 working sets
Tri-cep Extension... 1 working set

or

Skull Crushers... 2 warm up sets and 1 working set
Tricep Dips... 1 warm up set and 2 working sets

Basically play around with exercise selection but generally do 3-4 working sets twice weekly. Full intensity and occasionally incorporating techniques such as rest pause, forced reps and negatives.

Bi-ceps at twice weekly=
Barbell Curl... 2 warm up sets and 1 working set
Hammer Curl... 1 drop set with 3 failure points

DB Preacher Curls... 2 warm up sets and 2 working set
Concentration Curls or Reverse Curls... 1 working set

Techniques used the same as with tri-ceps. Using extra force for more muscle fiber recruitment... An example being using your other hand to push down on the negative portion of db preacher curls whilst resisting against your own force.

95% of the time I pick a weight were I will failure on atleast 10 reps. But most commonly that will be about 15 or so. Occasionally I may do a few lower rep sets but I believe higher reps are henerally better for arms. Rep range could be an area to look at.

Just adding some people simply don't have the arm genetics but all you can do is battle harder

 

[tkav1980]

What are tri dips? How close do you go on your grip with close grip bench and do you go all the way down?

you really just have to play with hand placement until you find the right spot for you. After you get that never lower past a 90 degree bend in the elbows and never lock out. keep that constant tension on the tri's for the entire set. 3 -5 heavy sets twice a week for tri's and bi's is all you need.

Oops missed the second question. For CGBP i go just around shoulder width. Make sure your hands travel towards your armpits and again never take the elbows past a 90 degree bend and never lock out.

these are 2 exercises you want to move some weight on so go heavy but controlled.

 

[ajdonutz]

Thanks guys, i also do dips but in the last few months have been doing chest dips instead of focusing on tris, although i still feel it hits tris as well. It could be in ny head as well, on bis i dont do a lot of volume and i always keep good form and contract, i think instead of close grip on the skulls and pushdowns using an ez bar and v bar ill start using a straight bar with a shoulder grip and use a straight attachment for the pushdowns, since it definitely hits the back of the arm harder, and maybe try to contract a little tighter on curls

 

[kodiak6]

I've been following JM's reccommendation for triceps and seeing some pretty nice results. For a long time I always did skull-crushers/CGBP first in my routine on arm day and it raped my elbows. Now I've been either super-setting or alternating bicep/tricep exercises. I basically reversed my exercise order. Now for triceps I'll start off with something like rope pushdowns, warm up real good and pump the triceps full of blood. Next tri exercise will be something like dips usually. Now I hit skulls last. By the time I get to them my elbows feel great, my triceps are already full of blood and warm, and I don't have to go nearly as heavy on them. I get a great stretch and feel the muscle working so much better this way.


/rant

 

[Elvia1023]

I've been following JM's reccommendation for triceps and seeing some pretty nice results. For a long time I always did skull-crushers/CGBP first in my routine on arm day and it raped my elbows. Now I've been either super-setting or alternating bicep/tricep exercises. I basically reversed my exercise order. Now for triceps I'll start off with something like rope pushdowns, warm up real good and pump the triceps full of blood. Next tri exercise will be something like dips usually. Now I hit skulls last. By the time I get to them my elbows feel great, my triceps are already full of blood and warm, and I don't have to go nearly as heavy on them. I get a great stretch and feel the muscle working so much better this way.


/rant

Yes I love to do the same. I usually rotate the order of each exercise although I don't get any issues with pain/discomfort. The only time I did is when I really pushed the weight with skullcrushers and my elbows would get sore but that was years ago. I got the tip of training hams before your heavy quad exercise from jm... same principles apply there too. I also usually rotate tri-ceps with bi-ceps if I am training them together... pump seems to be so much better that way.

 

[tkav1980]

I've been following JM's reccommendation for triceps and seeing some pretty nice results. For a long time I always did skull-crushers/CGBP first in my routine on arm day and it raped my elbows. Now I've been either super-setting or alternating bicep/tricep exercises. I basically reversed my exercise order. Now for triceps I'll start off with something like rope pushdowns, warm up real good and pump the triceps full of blood. Next tri exercise will be something like dips usually. Now I hit skulls last. By the time I get to them my elbows feel great, my triceps are already full of blood and warm, and I don't have to go nearly as heavy on them. I get a great stretch and feel the muscle working so much better this way.


/rant

It's my understanding that John really like to have joints like elbows and knees really nice and warmed up. I always had pain from skulls but When I worked with john and placed them where he said I had no pain. He's a damn smart man.

 

[Texas Ranger]

Biceps- Chinups, hammer curls and reverse curls using an ez-bar.
Triceps- Weighted/unweighted dips and tricep extensions facing away using a lat pulldown machine. I'll pick 1 exercise of both bicep/tricep. Then do 3 supersets.

 

[Ehren]

I've found that I need to hit Bis before back. My back is big enough compared to my bi's, so I'm not hurting anything by it. 5-6 sets total, 3 exercises for Bis. Heavy on 2 exercises and the last exercise done from a stretched position (like seated at a slight incline, doing hammer curls).

And not to get all "Druggie", but site injections of NPP or whatever you're using, consistently, does the trick, IMO. I had to give glutes a rest, so went to upper pecs and tris and it made a big difference in a short time.

 

[ajdonutz]

I've found that I need to hit Bis before back. My back is big enough compared to my bi's, so I'm not hurting anything by it. 5-6 sets total, 3 exercises for Bis. Heavy on 2 exercises and the last exercise done from a stretched position (like seated at a slight incline, doing hammer curls).

And not to get all "Druggie", but site injections of NPP or whatever you're using, consistently, does the trick, IMO. I had to give glutes a rest, so went to upper pecs and tris and it made a big difference in a short time.

On tris do you hit outside head and the rear head? Ive only hit the outside one, hurts like a bitch the next couple days, bis ive done both heads on the peak. But only once on each muscle each arm.. also do you split injections to each arm each time or just give one side all of it one day and the other all the next

 

[marshallmadman]

Start doing Gironda curls. Look it up on YouTube. There are some good videos. Your biceps will be screaming. Follow up with concentration curls, and finish with some incline alternate d.b. curls. You'll be good.

Trying to bring up my biceps right now. Arms are about 19 1/2, but my biceps have no "pop" to them. They're kinda flat looking, so this is what I'm trying.

I have nothing to add that hasn't been said about triceps. Mine get plenty big from benching and dipping.

 

[marshallmadman]

Welcome to the forum, Markus Ruhl.

My triceps are horrible

 

[ajdonutz]

Start doing Gironda curls. Look it up on YouTube. There are some good videos. Your biceps will be screaming. Follow up with concentration curls, and finish with some incline alternate d.b. curls. You'll be good.

Trying to bring up my biceps right now. Arms are about 19 1/2, but my biceps have no "pop" to them. They're kinda flat looking, so this is what I'm trying.

I have nothing to add that hasn't been said about triceps. Mine get plenty big from benching and dipping.

Alright, ill look into it. It could all just be in my head since ir seems so many guys around here have freak arm genetics.. almost everyone who goes to the gym a little have at least decent chest and arms and tiny everything else, and maybe mine are just even in progression with everything else so they dont stand out as much as a scrawny guy with 16-17 inch arms and a decent chest ha. My biceps have always had a nice peak/pop so ive never had to worry about that, just looking for overall size

 

[dalvare1]

for me arms is all about time under tension, higher repetitions, and getting creative with new exercises to isolate the bis and different heads of the triceps

i do obv believe heavy pressing plays a big role in tricep development and heavy pulls in bicep development... but for "Arm Specific" training i like higher reps and TUT and focusing on blood and stetching the muscle in different ways