Biceps, triceps, tremble: The best arm exercises

Want to turn heads on the beach this summer with muscular arms too? Then arm day is unavoidable. How should you build your workout, and which exercises bring the biggest results?

Warm up

A warm-up should never be missing from your training plan. Without it, you risk ending up with a torn muscle instead of bigger muscles. A warm-up gets the blood flowing to your muscles and prepares your body for some serious work.

Dynamic stretching or an active warm-up works best such as rowing, shoulder rotations and warming up with a resistance band or a wooden stick. If you have no time for a longer stretch, do at least one warm-up set. A lighter load and more reps are enough. That way you prepare effectively for your working sets.

Let's get to it

Arm training targets the biceps, triceps and forearms. Choose your exercises so that you ideally work all of these parts. The biceps, as the name suggests, is a two-headed muscle – it consists of a long head and a short head. During biceps exercises you also engage the brachialis, the muscle that separates the biceps from the triceps, and the forearm. And why is it worth training? Apart from the aesthetics, stronger muscles and tendons will also help you with pull-ups and other pulling exercises. And of course when shaking up your Voxberg protein.

Some people prefer bodyweight work, others would rather use a machine or dumbbells. Both options will get you results. Pick the one that suits you better.

Biceps exercises

One of the most effective exercises is the biceps curl, which comes in several variations. The most popular ones include:

• EZ-bar biceps curl – Grab the EZ bar with an underhand grip in both hands, keep your elbows at your sides and lift the weight towards your shoulders using only your biceps.
• Seated incline biceps curl – Here a stabilised back is the foundation. Keep your arms close to your body and focus on lifting the weight with your biceps, not with your traps or shoulders.

If your gym has a cable machine, you can also try these exercises:

• Cable cross-over biceps curl – Stand sideways between the opposing cable stations and grab the so-called D-handle on each side with an underhand grip, attached at the top of the pulley. Start with your arms extended and pull them towards your head.
• Low-pulley biceps curl – For this exercise set the pulley to its lowest position. You will be working with a rope. Stand facing the machine, grab the rope with an underhand grip and lift it towards your shoulders using your biceps.

Every movement should be slow and deliberate. The goal is not to get through the exercise as fast as possible, but to do it correctly.

Triceps exercises

The triceps has three heads and sits on the back of the upper arm. During triceps exercises you work the lateral, medial and long head of the triceps, the brachialis and the forearm.

If you are at the cable machine and your biceps are already done in, you can stay right there and work your triceps.

• Rope triceps pushdown – Move the pulley to the top position. Grab the rope by both ends in a slight forward lean and bend your arms to a 90-degree angle. Pull the cable down until your arms are extended and, at the bottom, spread your hands apart to add extra tension.
• Triceps dips on parallel bars – If you are a beginner, do them on a bench; more advanced lifters can go for the parallel bars. Grip the bars with your palms facing inwards and your arms straight. Lower yourself slowly until your elbows are at a right angle, then push yourself back up. These dips strengthen your whole upper body, but if you want to target the triceps, keep your torso upright and your elbows close to your body.
• Close-grip bench press – On a flat bench, grab the bar with an overhand grip narrower than you would for a regular bench press, i.e. narrower than shoulder width. Your wrists and elbows are in line directly under the bar. Press the weight up using your chest muscles and arms.
• Seated EZ-bar triceps extension – Lean your back against a bench set to roughly an 80-degree angle. Hold the EZ bar with an overhand grip, lift it above your head and lower it behind your head in a slow, controlled movement.

A universal training tip is to start with whatever is hardest for you. Take advantage of the fact that you have plenty of strength at the start, you are not exhausted yet and you know the muscle can handle the exercises.

Injuries

The heavier the weight you lift, the higher the chance that something goes wrong. The most common injuries in arm training are muscle strains or tears, tendon inflammation and shoulder or elbow injuries. So never skip stretching, warming up your muscles and proper form. You can also prevent injuries by improving your flexibility and mobility. Read more about it.

Extra care during arm training is also needed by people with hypermobile joints. Especially in end positions and in extension when lowering the weight.

How to avoid plateaus

Your body responds to the stimuli you give it in training. You will see visible results on your arms if you train these muscle groups at least twice a week. But pumping iron alone is not enough. Fitness is a lifestyle, and its effect does not depend on training alone. Do not forget proper recovery, enough sleep and a high-quality, well-balanced diet. The goal of a healthy, good-looking body is a marathon, not a sprint.

If you are doing all of this and still not seeing results, consider increasing your training volume. Volume is determined by the number of reps and the weight you lift. Muscles adapt to a load very quickly. If you do not vary your exercises and gradually add weight, you cannot expect to improve or grow. Roughly every 4 weeks, change up your weights, the number of reps and your rest times. If you have been training for a good while and still see no changes, read this article.

If you are working on making your workouts more effective, also read how to deadlift properly or what works for sore muscles.