Arms are often a sticking point for many beginner lifters out there.
Especially if you’re an ectomorph with long skinny limbs, then at times it can feel impossible to grow your arms at the same rate as the rest of your body.
I’m here to tell you that it’s most certainly NOT impossible, as I’ve been able to grow my arms to an insane degree using the tips presented in this article.
If you’re looking to get those massive triceps, and peaked out biceps, then you’re in the right place.
So without further ado, let’s get into it!
Myths About Getting Jacked Arms
First, before we get into how to grow your arms, let’s look at a few of the most common myths about growing your arms.
A lot of these myths are broscience, and I can tell you from when I doubled my arm size in less than 90 days, these were most certainly NOT the principles and techniques I used.
Here are the most common arm growth myths:
- “Just do more curls”
- “It’s all genetics”
- “Focus on your biceps”
- “You just need to do MORE”
Even though these pieces of advice sound logical, I can assure you that ninety-nine times out of a hundred, they’re not.
A lot of arm growth tips result in “doing more” but that is hardly ever the case, and let me explain why…
The muscles in your biceps and triceps are actually relatively small compared to other muscles like your chest, legs, back etc.
This means that it’s WAY easier to overtrain the arms than other muscles.
This is especially the case if you train your back and chest on one day and then arms the next, because your arms are used in back and chest exercises.
Then you go and do an arm day immediately after that? That’s way too much volume for your arms.
So instead of doing more, consider doing less, or at least letting your arms FULLY recover rather than doing curls every time you step in the gym.
It’s tempting, but you’ll have to forego the pleasure of training your arms so damn frequently if you want to get massive bi’s and tri’s.
How To Actually Get Massive Arms Fast
So how do you ACTUALLY grow your arms fast?
Well it starts with understanding a few things… for example, did you know that your triceps make up two-thirds of your arm and the biceps only make up a third?
This is why it’s often funny to see guys do curls for hours on end and wonder why their arms aren’t growing. It’s because they’re not even targeting the muscles that provide your arm with the most mass.
Besides that however, I’m going to share with you the tips that I used when I set out on a journey to get in the best shape of my life.
The 5 hardcore tips to grow massive arms are as follows:
- Utilize form over weight
- Target ALL arm muscles
- Use compound exercises for your arms
- Let your arms rest and recover
- Use THESE key exercises
That’s just a brief overview, because for the rest of this article we’re going to go in depth about how to grow your arms.
So strap in, and let’s start growing those arms!
Tip #1 – Utilize Form Over Weight
The first mistake that I often see guys do, is that they aren’t seeing the gains they want, so they think the answer is just to add more weight.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. If you change up your form just slightly on a few key exercises then your arms will BLOW up, now that they’re finally being trained properly.
Let’s take rope pushdowns for example… I’ve seen guys literally load up like 80 or more pounds and start repping out on it – yet they stay frustrated as to why they’re arms aren’t growing.
Then, take me for example. I use a VERY low weight but I get much better results, because I focus more on performing the exercises perfectly before I add any weight.
So take the time to research proper form on the internet – there’s tons of free resources you can use.
Once you learn the proper form, you may need to lower the weight considerably, but that’s okay.
Unless you’re a powerlifter, there’s no extra benefits to adding as much weight as possible, other than to boost your ego.
Drop the weight. Drop the ego. And watch your arms surge with newfound gains.
Tip #2 – Target ALL Arm Muscles
If you think your arm muscles consist of just your biceps and triceps, then think again.
The truth is, your biceps are made up of even smaller muscles that all serve different functions – these are called the “heads” of the biceps/triceps.
These are the heads of the biceps:
- The short head
- The long head
The short head of the bicep is found on the inside of your bicep and is responsible for the thickness of your biceps.
The long head however, is found on the outside of your biceps and is responsible for giving that “peaked” look.
Now here’s the head of the triceps:
- The lateral head
- The medial head
- The long head
The lateral head is on the outside of your triceps, and is what creates the “horseshoe” look when fully developed.
The medial head is at the bottom of your triceps and helps add width and length to your triceps when looking from the side.
The long head is what you’re going to want to focus on if you want truly massive arms. The long head is the biggest head of the triceps and is responsible for the look of “mass” to your arms.
The point of this section is to show you the heads of the biceps and triceps and for you to assess your own weaknesses and strengths.
Have good bicep thickness but virtually no peaks? Do some dumbbell preacher curls to target the long head of biceps.
Have good tricep mass but no definition? Do some rope pushdowns to target the lateral head.
Assess your arms and figure out which heads need the most work, and start addressing them in your next workout.
Tip #3 – Use Compound Exercises For Your Arms
This is probably one of the most underrated arm growth tips out there.
If you want to grow your arms then you need to train them similarly to your bigger muscles like your chest.
Think for a moment… if you want to grow your chest, then you’ll load up heavy on a compound exercise like bench press.
So why don’t you do the same for arms?
Where’s your heavy compound exercise for your triceps? Or your biceps?
If you want massive arms, then you need to introduce some compound lifts specifically for your arms.
For triceps this could be close grip bench press, or dips.
For your biceps, you could do weighted chin ups, heavy underhand rows with a focus on the biceps, etc.
Whatever you decide to do, you need to add a compound exercise for your triceps and one for your biceps if you want those massive arms that you’ve been dreaming of.
Tip #4 – Let Your Arms Rest & Recover
As talked about earlier, most people do WAY too much for their arms without fully letting them recover.
Remember, gains are made at home, but you break the muscle down at the gym – so what happens when you take a gym bro who does curls everytime he walks in the gym?
Then all he’s doing is breaking down his arms without giving them enough time to rest and rebuild.
After a while he’ll probably get frustrated as to why his arms aren’t growing so he’ll just try harder and lift more, rather than scaling back the volume a bit.
Try to give at least 2-3 days before training your arms again, and make sure you’re taking your rest days seriously.
Follow a diet that’ll allow you to build muscle and lose fat at the same time, so you can build new mass and reveal the definition of your arms.
Get 8-9 hours of sleep. Don’t get drunk every night. Train hard.
Simple things that you know you should do, but might not be doing.
Take your recovery seriously and you’ll get some serious gains as well.
Tip #5 – Use A Few Key Exercises
Hopefully, by now you’ve already figured out what heads of your biceps and triceps need working on, and you’re adding the appropriate exercises into your routine.
However, if you aren’t sure where to start then I’ll give you two GREAT exercises to get started with.
Here’s two great arm exercises to add to your routine:
- Incline Curls (Biceps)
- Rope Pushdowns (Triceps)
Incline curls are actually one of the most scientifically proven best bicep builders out there.
In fact, there’s literally studies that would claim it’s the best bicep exercise due to the fact that you get a good stretch at the bottom.
Not only that, but it’s been shown to recruit the greatest amount of muscle activation through the entire range of motion.
Then, for triceps we have rope pushdowns which are arguably my favorite tricep exercise.
When done properly, no other exercise will give you that “horseshoe” look to your triceps better than rope pushdowns – no matter what routine I use, I always make sure to include rope pushdowns because they’re just that damn effective.
Overall, if you don’t know where to start in your arm growing journey, these are some GREAT exercises to start with
Summary
Overall, I hope you guys enjoyed the article and found the advice helpful.
If you follow the tips in this article with a strict discipline, then you can expect your arms to blow up in size – I know this because it did the same for me.
As always, make sure to check out the other great articles here at Herculean Strength for more advice on how to make gains, shred fat, and more!
Until next time.
