Written by Garett Reid | NSCA, CSCS, CISSN, M.S.E.S.S
Fact checked by Kirsten Yovino, CPT Brookbush Institute
FACT CHECKED
Fact: The vast majority of lifters train arms incorrectly. Some gym goers seem to think that the arms follow a different set of physiological principles than every other muscle in the body, meaning they train their arms waaaay too much with improper exercises and programming.
Other trainees never train their arms directly, which usually comes from believing that "arm day" is a bit too bro-y for them.
But arm days don’t have to be so confusing. We're going to lay out the best arm workout, how to perform the best arm exercises, and crucial programming tips for serious arm growth.
Table of Contents:
- What Are The Major Arm Muscles?
- Best Arms Workout
- How to Progressive Overload Your Arm Workouts
- Best Exercises For An Arms Workout
- Programming Tips & Alternative Exercises
What Are The Arm Muscles?
It's important to know what muscles we're hitting when with our arm day program, so we're going to start with a brief arm muscle anatomy overview. To get right to the workout, keep scrolling.
ELBOW FLEXORS (BICEPS BRACHII, BRACHIALIS, & BRACHIORADIALIS):
The elbow flexors include:
- Biceps Brachii: Includes two heads, the long head and short head.
- Brachialis: Don't neglect brachialis exercises, as this muscle is the elbow's primary flexor.
- Brachioradialis: Flexes, or bends, your forearm at the elbow and stabilizes the elbow during movements.
The best way to train the brachialis (and brachioradialis) is to use a reverse grip or neutral grip to mitigate the contribution of the biceps brachii. Training elbow flexion at various angles and with different grips is the best way to optimize growth potential.
ELBOW EXTENSION (TRICEPS BRACHII):
The elbow extensor group only includes the triceps brachii. While one muscle, the triceps is comprised of three heads, which are:
Together, these three heads are responsible for extending the elbow, making them vital for any type of pushing movement.
FOREARM & GRIP MUSCLES:
The forearm is the section of the arm located between the wrist and elbow that contains way too many muscles to list. Having solid forearms protects the elbow as studies have shown that overuse injuries, such as tennis elbow, occur due to weak forearm muscles, primarily the extensors1.
Your forearm muscles are responsible for your grip strength, which is a vital strength training component. In fact, grip strength is a significant indicator of overall body strength and neuromuscular function. A lot of your dumbbell forearm exercises will be centered around grip training.
DELTOIDS (ISOLATION ONLY):
Save your heavy shoulder moves for a chest or pushing day and only focus on shoulder isolation exercises for your arm workout.
Your deltoids contain three heads:
As your posterior head gets trained with literally every single pulling exercise, we're going to concentrate on hitting the anterior head and medial head for arm day workouts.
The Most Effective Arm Workout
We just went over the arm muscles, which is crucial to understanding how to effectively perform an arm workout. Now, I'll review the workout, followed by some key programming tips. Stick around afterward, as I'm providing step-by-step instructions on how to perform each of the exercises featured in the routine.
|
|
Sets |
Reps |
Rest/Special Instructions |
|
Farmer Carry* |
4 |
0:30 |
2:00 |
|
Chin-Ups* |
3 |
6-8 |
2:00 |
|
Close Grip Bench* |
3 |
6-8 |
2:00 |
|
EZ Bar Preacher Curls |
3 |
8-12 |
1:30 |
|
Rolling Triceps Extension |
3 |
8-12 |
1:30 |
|
Reverse Straight Bar Curl |
2 |
12-15 |
1:00 |
|
Y-Bar Pushdown |
2 |
12-15 |
1:00 |
|
Rope Hammer/Rope OH Extension |
3 |
12+ |
Minimal Rest |
|
Delt Raise Forward/Lateral |
3 |
12+ |
Minimal Rest |
|
Wrist Dowel Work |
2/Each Direction |
N/A |
Keep going up and down until failure, then switch direction |
*Main Compound Exercises
How To Progress On Arm Day
Progressing on arm day is basically done the same as any other day, relying on progressive overload.
- Add weight to compound lifts: For your main movements (designated with *), you will attempt to add weight as you go. So, for the chin-ups, this will mean that perhaps you progress from using a band, to body weight, to holding a load. You will basically want to try to steadily increase the load.
- Hit failure and then add weight to the other exercises: For all of the others, your main goal is to hit failure and add weight within the rep ranges given. This may mean that you won't do as many reps as you added weight some weeks. As long as you're within the rep range, it's ok. And again, you should be hitting failure before the end rep. In other words, if you can get to 12 reps, go up in weight (just enough to keep you challenged in the given rep range).
Remember that even though these are done on their own day, these "arm" exercises are still supplemental to the rest of your program. In other words, if your bench press and bent-over row are increasing, you're doing great even if your arm day weights stay the same.
The Top Arm Exercises For Massive Guns
We are now going to go over the top exercises for the different muscle groups. Keep in mind that these are just there to get you started. When it comes to training the arms, using variety is key, which is why we added alternate exercises to swap out with down below.
The best arm exercises are:
- Chin Ups
- EZ Bar Preacher Curls
- Reverse Grip Straight Bar
- Hammer Curl With Rope
- Close Grip Bench Press
- Rolling Triceps Extension
- Y-Handle Triceps Pushdown
- Overhead Rope Extension
- Farmer's Carry
- Wrist Rolls
- Dumbbell Lateral Raise & Front Raise
Let's discuss each in more detail.
Elbow Flexors Arm Exercises:
Your elbow flexors will consist of four exercises with one being performed as a superset with a triceps.
1. CHIN UP:
Chin-ups are going to be the primary elbow flexor exercise. As mentioned above, these generate considerable activation of the biceps if appropriately loaded. Therefore you want to use a weight that allows you to perform 6-8 reps but try to stick around the heavier end.
As chin-ups performance is relative to your weight, this will mean you may need to use a resistance band for assistance, normal body weight, or add a load. In any case, you are aiming for 6-8 challenging reps.
You can also place your hands slightly narrower than normal when gripping the bar. This will cause greater activation in the biceps while also allowing you to place a large load on the muscles for strength. Still, it's going to work out a lot more than just your biceps. Your forearms are going to get a crazy workout as you need to hang from this position as well!
2. EZ BAR PREACHER CURL:
Now it's time to get in some serious isolation work, and preacher curls are perhaps the best to do just that. However, we like using an EZ bar when doing preacher curls, as straight bars can place a lot of stress on the elbows.
When choosing the grip to hold onto, use one of the diagonal angles that allow you to use an underhand grip with your hand's thumbs up and pointing outwards. This is a good exercise to target arm muscular endurance, meaning you'll try to hit 15+ reps.
3. REVERSE GRIP STRAIGHT BAR:
Hello brachialis! As mentioned above, the brachialis is a primary flexor of the elbow, especially when the hands are pronated. This is because the biceps are primarily activated in the supinated position, meaning they contribute little when pronated. In effect, this leaves only the brachialis to work.
When performing this exercise, keep your feet hip width apart apart to provide yourself with a solid foundation.
4. HAMMER CURL WITH ROPE:
Hammer curls are a great variation that will add a slightly different stimulus and will also hit the brachioradialis. Keep a slight bend in your knees with your hands shoulder width apart; don't lock them out.
Elbow Extensors Arm Exercises:
Your elbow extension will also consist of four exercises, with one being performed as a superset with biceps.
5. CLOSE GRIP BENCH PRESS:
Your primary triceps exercise is going to be the close grip bench press for many of the same reasons you're doing weighted pull-ups. It's going to work the triceps dynamically while also allowing a giant load to be placed on the muscle.
When performing a close grip bench press, you do not need to get your hands ultra-close to activate your triceps. In fact, your triceps get a significant stimulus during your standard bench press.
What happens is that the closer your grip becomes, the more triceps activation you'll see. Therefore, you use a grip where your hands are slightly narrower than shoulder-width apart.
6. ROLLING TRICEPS EXTENSION:
We've written about rolling triceps extensions before, and we're going to again here 'cause they're awesome. The rolling triceps extensions utilize dumbbells and a flat bench to perform a skull crusher but then let your arms "roll" back behind the head.
The lifter will then explosively pull their triceps back to the original position and extend the elbows. This extra momentum will allow them to push significantly more weight.
This extra weight creates a greater load and can also elicit greater muscle damage during the eccentric portion, which studies show is vital for growth. Be sure to perform these with a neutral grip.
7.Y-HANDLE TRICEPS PUSHDOWN:
You really can't go wrong with the classic triceps pushdown. We like to use the Y-handle to place the hands in a more neutral position. Like the EZ bar, this takes a significant amount of stress off the elbows while allowing maximal weight to be pushed as the wrist has greater support.
You'll start with elbows bent and slowly lower, working against resistance to straighten them. Keep your upper arms stationary, and I guarantee you will feel the burn!
8. OVERHEAD ROPE EXTENSION:
Last, you'll use the rope to perform overhead rope extensions for these triceps exercises. As you get into the starting position, keep your knees slightly bent, and remember to keep your upper arm stationary during the exercise. At the top of this move, with palms facing forward, begin to lower down, behind your head, back to the starting position.
This is a great exercise that allows a lot of weight to be moved and rounds out the various arm placements. As we've said many times before, variation is key so utilizing as many possible angles will optimize your muscle growth. You'll be performing this with the rope hammer curls in a superset fashion.
Forearm Exercises:
Your forearms will consist of two exercises. The first is farmer carries, which will allow you to use a lot of weight to train your forearm and build some serious grip strength. The other great exercise is actually straightforward to perform (you may need a primary tool, though!)
9. FARMER CARRY:
Everyone should be using some strongman exercises in their program. Farmer carries are a fantastic exercise and actually train the entire body. It also just so happens to be an insane grip exercise - in fact, grip strength is the limiting factor. Therefore, farmer carries are a great way to start your arm training as it's going to truly warm up the entire body.
When performing farmer carries, remember to always pick up the load with feet shoulder width apart, using good form, similar to a deadlift. Once you are standing, you will simply walk with the weight while holding your head up and keeping your shoulder blades back and arms straight.
There are many ways to train farmers, but we will focus on carrying a prescribed weight for time. You will then try to carry more weight as you progress.
10. FOREARM DOWEL WORK (AKA WRIST ROLLS):
Using a dowel is one of the simplest yet most effective pieces of equipment to train your forearms. Many gyms have them, but if not, you simply need a wooden dowel of some sort and a long string.
Tie the string around the dowel and then wrap the string a few times so that the rope catches. You will then attach the other end to some sort of load, such as a kettlebell or weight plate.
You will hold your arms out in front and twist the dowel to raise the weight. Once raised, let it go down slowly. Also, you can perform this movement with a posterior grip to train the extensors or a superior grip to train the flexors.
Best Deltoids Exercises:
For your deltoids, you'll just perform a compound set with lateral raises and front raises. Again, this is written assuming you're doing other shoulder work on your pressing days, so this is merely some supplemental work as many guys tend to have issues with growing their shoulders.
11. DUMBBELL LATERAL RAISE & FRONT RAISE:
Using a set of dumbbells, you will simply perform lateral raises and front raises in a compound set fashion. Also, you won't really worry too much about the reps as you just want to go to momentary failure on each exercise. Use minimal rest in between sets.
Additional Exercises For Your Arm Day Workout
There are a ton of arm movements, and they all have a role to play. We obviously can't train every exercise on every arm day but what you can do is alternate your exercises on a regular basis. While your main exercises should stay the same, at least for a couple months, you can rotate the others when needed.
This could be every week or every month; it really won't matter, assuming you train with the same intensity. Once you work through this plan, sticking with it for 12 weeks, consider swapping out some of the moves for ones in this shoulders and arms workout.
Here are some excellent alternative arm exercises that you can swap out when needed (or even add 1-2 of these moves in if you have the time!).
BICEPS:
- Dumbbell curl
- Barbell bicep curl
- Zottman curl (we love these!)
- Incline bench curl
- Seated curl
- Spider curls
- Drag curls
TRICEPS:
- Skull crushers
- Triceps dip
- Kickbacks
- Reverse triceps extension
- Overhead dumbbell curl
FOREARMS:
- Fat bar work
- Holds
- Pinch carries
DELTOIDS:
- Snatch-grip high pulls
- Rope high pulls
- Pulley lateral raises
- Plate Front Raises
3 Tips For Building Arm Muscles
We just went over what muscles make up the "arm". However, before you start training your arms, we want to discuss a few points of our philosophy on "arm day".
1) Arm Days Are Effective For Intermediate & Advanced Trainees:
The first question we need to answer is “do you even need a specific day to train your arms?” The problem is that too many beginners go to the gym and immediately start training their arms when they're likely just wasting time. When you first begin lifting, your body does not require special attention as your arms will get adequate stimulus from compound movements.
It's difficult to say when you could benefit from having an arm-specific day, but we'll put a cut-off at one year of training. Before you start having an arm-specific training day, you need at least one year of training using a structured program that involves big compound lifts with progressive overload.
If you haven't met this requirement, you will receive greater benefits from following one of these plans:
2) YOUR ARM DAY WILL ALSO INCLUDE COMPOUND MOVEMENTS:
One of the problems that occurs on "arm days" is that a lifters program will solely consist of isolation exercises. This can actually be holding back your arm training as some of the best arm exercises are actually big compound movements.
For example, Dr. Bret Contreas conducted an experiment by himself with his own equipment. Admittedly, this can't be counted as scientific evidence, but it's very, very strong anecdotal evidence2. Basically, he went through a wide variety of back and biceps exercises to compare EMG readings. When trying to identify the best bicep exercise, he saw that weighted chin-ups actually had the highest EMG readings, more so than even bicep curls!
On the other side of the arm, close-grip bench press is an amazing triceps exercise while farmer carries will strengthen your forearms like no other. This is why your arm training isn't just going to be a ton of isolation.
3) YOUR ARM DAY WORKOUT WILL USE A RANGE OF LOADS & REP SCHEMES:
If you look at most arms training day, it's almost guaranteed to have you do 12+ reps on every exercise. We obviously want to use the 12+ range for hypertrophy, so you'll still have that, just not for every exercise.
Your arm muscles are still muscles which means they can get strong. Therefore, we will use some heavier loads for strength in conjunction with the lighter hypertrophy work.
Arm Workouts: Final Tips & Pointers
Everyone can benefit from arm exercises. At the very least, it will provide you with an arm workout where you're not killing your major muscle groups, almost serving as an active recovery day. At best, these arm exercises will fix some weak links that are holding the rest of your movements back (many compound lifts are stunted by weak arm muscles).
If you have the time and a proper program, throw this day in the mix. Whatever the case may be, having a dedicated arms day could be just what you need to start making progress in the gym. Plus, as far as we know, no one has ever complained about having biceps that are too big.
Looking for more great workouts to boost your gains? Check out our Ultimate Biceps Workout.
Want to build arms like Arnold Schwarzenegger? Train like the legend himself with Arnold's Arm Workout.
Prepare to maximize your gains with our exclusive 12-week hypertrophy training program. Choose between a 4 or 5 day training split and gain 2-12 pounds of muscle over 90 days...
References:
- Ollivierre CO, Nirschl RP. Tennis Elbow. Sports Medicine. 1996;22(2). doi:https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-199622020-00006
-
Inside the Muscles: Best Back and Biceps Exercises. COMMUNITY - T NATION. Published March 15, 2010. Accessed January 19, 2024. https://forums.t-nation.com/t/inside-the-muscles-best-back-and-biceps-exercises/284621
Garett Reid
Author