Guys, look, if weâre not self-conscious about our abs (or lack thereof!), then itâs
our puny little arms that have us looking in the mirror and sighing with disappointment.
Ok, maybe Iâm being a little dramatic, but seriously, if youâre looking to beef up
your arms fast, then try these exercises out!
Letâs start with the triceps. These are the muscles that run along the back of your
arm from your shoulder to your elbow. A lot of people forget about them, and thatâd
be a big mistake! You see, your arms arenât just about the biceps â you know, the one
you flex for someone when they wanna feel your âarm muscles.â In fact, your biceps
only make up 1/3 of your upper arms â the rest is all tricep! So, the rule of thumb
is, if you want really big arms, you need to work on your triceps too, and here are
the exercises thatâll help you do it:
- Incline Dumbbell Skull Crushers Lie down on an inclined bench with a dumbbell
in each hand. Carefully bring your arms up overhead and keep your hands shoulder-width
apart. Now, slowly bend your elbows to bring the dumbbells down towards your temples. Your
upper arms shouldnât move, only your forearms. Straighten your arms back out, and thatâs
1 rep. You need 3 sets of 12-15 reps each. It might seem like a lot, but the triceps
are one of those muscle groups that are hard to work on. So you need more reps to start
to feel it. Think of the first 2 sets as a sort of warm-up for your muscles. Just donât
overdo it with huge weights from the get-go. Building up your arms takes time, so be patient!
And hereâs a cool tip for ya: try to do this exercise at different angles and grips.
This will help you target different parts of your triceps (there are 3 of them, hence
the whole âtriâ thing) so that they get massive in no time!
- Reverse Grip Push-ups Hereâs a fun spin on traditional push-ups.
Iâm sure you know how to do a push-up, but hereâs a reminder: get on the floor with
your arms straight, hands in line with your shoulders, and your feet straight back behind
you. Pull your core in â your stomach shouldnât be hanging down. Now, for the reverse style,
youâll turn your hands in the opposite direction so that theyâre pointing more toward your
toes. Yeah, it takes flexibility and strength, so this one isnât for beginners! And if
you canât do it, just work your way up from regular push-ups. Youâll get there in time,
donât worry! Anyway, this style will make the outside part of your triceps really work.
Try to do 4 sets of 12-15 reps (or work your way up to that goal). As for the last set,
do as many reps as you can with some weights on your back. Again, if youâre new to the
fitness game, then work your way up to the weighted version too. This oneâs intense,
but it helps grow your triceps dramatically!
- Cable Tricep Pushdowns Hereâs probably one of the most classic
and standard moves to build up your triceps. Grab the cable with your hands close together
and your palms facing down. Keep your elbows tucked at your sides and bent at a 90-degree
angle. Now, straighten your elbows to bring the cable downward. Then, slowly return to
the initial position. Iâd recommend doing 3 sets of 15 reps for this one. There are
also different styles you can do with the cable machine, like facing away from it and
doing a similar move like you did in the Dumbbell Skull Crusher exercise. Just pick a style
that you like best or do as many different kinds as you want in order to hit all the
parts of the triceps.
Ok, letâs move on to those biceps. If you want really big bulky biceps, youâll need
to use the progressive overload method. It basically means adding more weight and intensity
to your exercises with each set you do. Starting withâŠ
- Preacher Curls Sit down on a preacher bench and place your
upper arms on the support pad. Make sure your armpits are right up on that pad. (And clean
it afterwards!) You can grab an EZ curl bar, dumbbells, or a barbell. Whatever you choose,
pull it up towards your chin, hold it there for a second, and then slowly straighten your
arms and bring it back down. Donât straighten your elbows completely or you risk hurting
yourself. They should stay slightly bent and parallel to each other â donât let them
point outward. Try to do 4 sets of 12-15 reps to really blast those biceps!
- Barbell Curl Stand up straight with your feet shoulder-width
apart, head up, shoulders back, elbows tucked into your sides, and your chest out. Now,
bring the barbell up to your chin by bending your elbows and engaging your biceps. A great
thing about barbell curls is that you can put your whole body into the last few reps
when your arms are getting kinda tired. In all, itâs best to do 4 sets of 10-12 reps.
And donât forget about that progressive overload thing â add more weight to the
bar with each set!
- Zottman Curls For your final bicep exercise, youâll need
to grab some dumbbells and hold one in each hand with your arms down at your sides and
your palms facing your body. Keeping your elbows locked at your sides, curl the weights
up to your chin while turning your palms toward your face. From there, youâll do a 180 with
your hands so that your palms then face outward, and lower the dumbbells back down to the starting
position. All this turning might sound complicated, but itâs what targets both the inner and
outer parts of your biceps, making them big and bulky all around. You need 4 sets of 10-12
reps.
Now, before you run to the nearest gym and overtrain yourself, there are some important
things for you to know. All this stuff about big arms and muscles isnât just connected
to lifting weights. One of the essential things here is your diet. Yeah, yeah, sounds so cliché,
but hear me out. You need to take in more calories than your body requires right now
with your current weight. And the best way to do that is (any guesses?) protein. Hey,
athletes donât chug this stuff down for nothing! More specifically, you need lean
protein, which can be found in eggs, nuts, fish, chicken, beef, pork, and low-fat dairy
products, to name a few. If you wanna gain inches around your arms, try to consume 1
gram of protein per pound of your body weight.
You also shouldnât underestimate the importance of staying hydrated and well-rested. Water
and sleep should be your best friends on your road to huge arms. I know, sounds kinda random,
but it makes sense when you think about it. Since youâll be losing hydration through
sweat, you need to replace it by drinking at LEAST 6-8 glasses of water every day. As
for sleep, Iâm sure you know the drill: 7-8 hours each night. But itâs especially
important for people who work out because your muscles need time to chill and repair
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