Bigger Arms & Where To Focus
Tank tops & triceps? Not likely, if you're reading this you probably feel a bit ridiculous wearing a tank top because of your lack of arms development.
Good news, I am here to help.
Most people associate arm development with biceps, and most people are also misinformed. Shoulders & triceps take up A LOT more space than your biceps in terms of how your arms look. Below are some basic guidelines you can implement to turn your arms into marble and break some necks.
For ease of reading, we'll break it down by body part and then bring it back together at the end.
Shoulders: Front, lateral, and rear deltoid aka shoulders
Education: With 3 "heads" on your shoulders and your goal to increase the size, you need to get the most bang for your buck. The majority of your direct shoulder work should be on the side / lateral delt because of the indirect volume you get on your rear and front deltoids. Any form of overhead press & lateral raises primarily will help you blow up your arms. Rear & front delts get hit enough from horizontal pressing movements like bench press as well as any form of pulling movements such as a row that it isn't necessary to donate too much volume to those areas.
Example & Execution: You have allocated 16 total sets throughout the week.
Lateral: 8 sets
Rear: 5 sets
Front: 3 sets
Triceps: Long, short, and lateral head.
Education: Much like the shoulders, the triceps have 3 parts. However, the emphasis is much different than the shoulders. I am of the camp, keep it simple with triceps. Having a compound movement like a close grip bench press, and secondary movement like dips or pushdowns, and finishing a long head approach like cable extensions is a balanced approach. Making sure your tricep volume outweighs your bicep volume really should be the number one thing on your mind when approaching the triceps along with variety.
Example & Execution: 16 total sets throughout the week allocated.
Long: 6
Short: 6
Lateral: 6
Biceps: Short & Long head
Education: Keep it simple! With only two heads, it comes down to two movements. What to keep in mind here is when your arms are just hanging and you look at the from the side, hammer curls or a long head approach is what you're seeing. When flexing/curling your arms for a typical bicep pose, that is your short head aka the peak. What do you lack? Attack that, but do not overdo it.
Example & Execution: 14 sets throughout the week allocated.
Short: 7 sets
Long: 7 sets
Bringing it together: Arm Workout Example
Barbell Overhead Press ( shoulders )
5 x 8
w/ banded pull parts x 12
Dumbbell Floor Press ( triceps )
4 x 12/8/8/6
Seated Lateral Raise ( shoulders )
3 x 8 / 12/ 15
Rope Pushdown ( triceps )
3 x 15 / 12 / 9
Hammer curls ( biceps )
4 x 12 - 15
Simple & balanced.
This isn't THE approach, it is just one that you can build off of. Happy Flexing.
