You’ve heard the expression ‘sun’s out, guns out’ and while sunny weather is great if you have an impressive set of arms on you, it can be frustrating if your “guns” are more like peashooters. When people flex, it’s always the biceps they flex, and if you’re sick and tired of having spaghetti arms, it might be time to look into ways of building your arms up. But how do you get a set of sleeve-bursting biceps with peaks like mountains that would make many a pro bodybuilder jealous? Well, check out these tips for bigger arms and see for yourself.
Concentration curls – Okay, when it comes to the biceps, curls are inevitable. There are many different variations of the humble bicep curl, and some are inevitably more popular than others. Arguably the most underrated arm exercise in existence however, is the concentration curl. Concentration curls are an isolation exercise that works wonders for isolating the biceps. Not only that, but it also really helps to build an impressive bicep peak when you flex.
Work the triceps – When people try to train their arms and build them up, they often focus on the biceps and neglect the triceps. The triceps muscle however, is probably more important for adding size to the arm than the bicep. The triceps is the bigger muscle, and it is this muscle that gives the arm its size. Without working the triceps, your biceps could very well look big, but your arm will look small and out of proportion with your over-developed bicep. If you want big arms that fill out tank tops and tight shirts, make sure you work those triceps.
Change your grip – Whether you use dumbbells, a barbell, or an EZ bar, when you work the biceps, something as seemingly basic as changing your grip slightly can really work wonders when it comes to building muscle. Rather than gripping the handles of the dumbbells in the centre for example, use an offset grip with your pinkies or thumbs facing upwards and pressing against the sides of the handles. The idea here is that, as you curl the dumbbell, your biceps are working even harder to stop the weights from rotating, so more force is placed upon them. This means more muscle fibres are ripped, and more muscle will be built. Using an overhand grip instead of an underhand grip is also a great way of shocking the muscles, and of working the forearms in the process.
Switch up your exercises – We all have our most favourite and least-favourite exercises in the gym, but to get the most out of your training, it is recommended that you switch up your exercises regularly and try new things. One day you may start with preacher curls, whereas the next you may go with hammers. Instead of triceps rope pushdowns, go with triceps overhead extensions, and so on. Although all forms of curl are similar, they still work the biceps in a slightly different way, and this is how muscle is built evenly.
