Always wanted bigger arms?

Have you struggled to get your guns to grow, no matter how hard you’ve tried? These top 5 tips to build bigger arms could be the answer you’ve been looking for!

Tip 1.
Firstly, you will not grow muscle unless you are in a calorie surplus. If you consume the same or less calories than your maintenance amount you simply will not grow; you might get stronger due to myofibril hypertrophy conditioning, however in terms of mass, unfortunately, you will not see the results you desire. So, tip number 1 which happens before you step foot in the gym is, get those clean quality calories on board!

Tip 2.
When we talk about building arms, consider the full arm anatomy so that all muscles are being trained. Many people make the mistake of over indexing in arm curls as stereotypically they believe this is what builds big arms. Remember that the triceps are the largest portion of your arm and the brachioradialis (connects forearm to upper arm) are another considerably large muscle group of the arm.

Tip 3.
Work your arms through multiple angles, don’t do everything in the upright position with your arms by your sides. Put your shoulder through various ranges of flexion and extension when curling and extending at the elbow; you can also abduct the arm and work the biceps and triceps through those angles too. All of these movements will provide a new stimulus to the muscles of the arms triggering a growth response.

Tip 4.
Don’t over train them! The first thing people assume when wanting to develop a particular muscle group is “I better train them more”. In reality, the more you train them, the less time you give them to grow. Remember, when you go to the gym you go to cause stress to the muscle in aim of triggering protein synthesis (the rebuilding process). If you interrupt the re-building process you cannot and will not grow. Remember you use your arms as secondary muscles when training any upper body part too so be conscious of this.

Tip 5.
Something to consider. Your arms don’t know whether you’re holding a 10kg dumbbell or a 20kg dumbbell, only you do. My point is, don’t try to lift the heaviest weight possible and shift it from A to B. Yes, work to a heavy weight but never at the compromise of form and tension when looking to build muscle. Get the targeted muscle under tension & keep it under tension. Feel the burn, then push some more!

Written by Josh Beet

Josh is an Online Fitness Trainer & qualified Sports & Exercise Therapist Bsc (Hons)