Execrises for upper arms size gains

[JHS]

I was wondering what execrises for upper arms are especially good at gaining size. So far, bicep curls and bench dip only make my upper arms more defined but not any larger.

Thanks guys!

[TimD]

Don't forget your basic compound moves. To add size to your arms, you also more or less have to add size all over. Bench presses, overhead presses,Rows, chins, etc. They all work the arms quite hard in addition to working the whole upper body. Bench dips and curls are good, if used in conjuction with the above. Also, My favorites for the triceps are either close grip benches or P bar dips. Again, compound moves, but lots of emphasis on the arms.
Tim

[JHS]

Don't forget your basic compound moves. To add size to your arms, you also more or less have to add size all over. Bench presses, overhead presses,Rows, chins, etc. They all work the arms quite hard in addition to working the whole upper body. Bench dips and curls are good, if used in conjuction with the above. Also, My favorites for the triceps are either close grip benches or P bar dips. Again, compound moves, but lots of emphasis on the arms.
Tim

Thanks for your suggestion Tim, but I also do chest dips, incline BP, rows, military press and chins before I touch the upper arm execrises. Usually I leave the upper arm execrises to the end as "finishing-offs" for the compound execrises. The compound execrises seem to add lots for my torso, but I didn't notice affects at all on my upper arms. My chest measurement is about 40", but my upper arm is 11.5" (both relaxed), so go figure =(.

[TimD]

You could ty something a little different then. A good "arm specialization" course I once did years ago might be in order if you are into full body. Some definitions of my notations though.
5X5 2-3 progressively heavier warm ups, then 2-3 top weight wor sets
5x6-8, basically the same thing
1 or 2A and B means you do a set of A, then a set of B and repeat for the total number of sets.
This looks deceptively simple, but works pretty well. One day/week is devoted to basically just arms.
Day 1
Squat 5X5
BP 5X5
Row 5X5
Semi stiff leg DL 2-3 X 8-12
Abs

Day 2
1A DB overhead press 5X6-8
1B BB curl 5X6-8
2A BB close grip or P bar Dip 2-3X6-8
2B DB Hammer curl 2-3X6-8
The sets are fewer with the 2 series becauise you should be already pretty well warmed up

Day 3
Regular DL 5X3-5
Incline BP 5X5
Chins/pullups or lat pull 5X6-8
Split squat (lunge_ 2-3X10-12
abs

Try something along the lines of this for 4-6 weeks, see what happens, then go back to a more normal routine.
Tim

[langeranger]

Hi JHS-Curious about your age. I've been lifting for eight years and have added no more than a quarter to a half inch to my bi's. Like you, they are hard and well-defined, but I've long ago given up on adding any thing significant to their size. Now, I'm a fairly ectomorphic kinda build to begin with, plus I'm well into "old age" insofar as weight training goes, so I'm not making much testosterone, growth hormone, etc. That's why I wondered about your age. Good luck with Tim's suggestions. Don

[hoosegow]

Here's my workout I've gained 5 3/4 inches:
Superset bi/tri exercises, for 4 exercises with at least 3 sets per exercise:

Bicep exercises to choose from: Preacher curl, Hercules curl, Hammer curl, bicep curl, monkey curl, concentration curl, cable curl.

Tricep exercise: skull crushers, close grip bench, close grip decline bench, overhead db press, cable pushdown,

[Keith Rowland]

One of the best exercises for adding inches to your bicepts requires nothing but a bar to hang from. Chins, whether over or under-grip, will make those guns grow. Another great bicep bulider is the lat machine, using a medium grip with palms under the bar, your knees wedged under the pads. Stick with 3 sets of 8-10 reps with all the weight you can handle. You can't expect big gains from dumblells or cable work, in my experience, because you can handle only so much weight. Use these after a compound exercise, if you like.

[JHS]

Hey everyone, just want to begin by saying thank you to all of you for your input.

To TimD: Thanks a lot for creating the entire routine for me, I look forward to try it and report the results. Just a question though, I have only start working out consistently for last few months, so not sure if this routine is for more advanced type or not.

To Langeranger: I am almost 20, so I hope hGH is not my primary concern. I think I am quite mesomorph in the dead middle, average height but can gain muscles fairly easily (or I thought).

To Hoosegow: Thanks for your routine. I never seriously thought about doing supersets because I fear it might prematurely fatigue my muscles. Since I split my workout into upper/lower, working my arms too intensely might cause some problem. (I am still recovering from wrist tendonitis I got 2 weeks ago due to my job)

To Keith Rowland: I always do compound execrises before isolated ones, but for some unknown reason I suck at lats-related execrises and never seem to grow out of it. Then again, my lats don't seem to be sore the day after, so I guess the rows (which have increased steady) must have pre-fatigue my back before I got a chance to use my back to its fullest potential for lats execrises.

[TimD]

Hi JHS. The routine I gave you is very similar to what I and many others used to gain mass and strength. It is not a bodybuilding routine, but bodybuilders might want to try this type of thing out once or twice a year. It can be used by anyone, but I think you would be better off using it after a 3-4 week breakin period. Good luck, JHS
Tim

[Wouter]

Hello JHS, I am new to bodybuilding (just started) but I have already used some db Triceps exercises from which I really felt my arms burn and see them getting larger, especially the Kickback and Triceps extensions.
The Triceps extensions will really improve your lateral head (outside of arm) and with the kickback I've felt the medial and long head, propably only these because my lateral head is very big in comparison with the other heads, really burn.
http://exrx.net/Lists/ExList/ArmWt.html#anchor122387

You might also want to do some forearm exercises to make your arm bigger

[JHS]

Hi JHS. The routine I gave you is very similar to what I and many others used to gain mass and strength. It is not a bodybuilding routine, but bodybuilders might want to try this type of thing out once or twice a year. It can be used by anyone, but I think you would be better off using it after a 3-4 week breakin period. Good luck, JHS
Tim

Thanks TimD, but I don't know if going more heavy (the reps you suggested are all below 8 almost) will further amplify my wrist tendonitis.

Hello JHS, I am new to bodybuilding (just started) but I have already used some db Triceps exercises from which I really felt my arms burn and see them getting larger, especially the Kickback and Triceps extensions.
The Triceps extensions will really improve your lateral head (outside of arm) and with the kickback I've felt the medial and long head, propably only these because my lateral head is very big in comparison with the other heads, really burn.
http://exrx.net/Lists/ExList/ArmWt.html#anchor122387

You might also want to do some forearm exercises to make your arm bigger

Hey Wouter, glad to hear your arms get larger at the early stage already. I did quite a bit of tricep extensions (cable) before too, but that make my lateral head stick out much more than the long head. That's why I switched to bench dip to balance it back out (some growth to long head but not enough to overcome the already larger lateral head). I don't know about kickbacks, because it seems to have a reputation of being a useless execrise (I think I heard this from threads earlier or from other weight-training forums) But then again, I will try anything to make my arms bigger.

Regarding doing forearm execrises, it will be a bad idea at this stage due to recent wrist tendonitis. Also, my right forearm right now is 12" while my upper arm is 11.5" (both relaxed), so making it any bigger will further alienating my upper arm size.

[Ironman]

I do close grip bench, skull crushers or laying dumbbell extensions and the heads of my triceps are in good preportion. Every great once in a while I might do single arm standing dumbbell. I've done the seated single dumbbell thing maybe twice a year. Of course I do lots of heavy pressing, which is what makes up the vast majority of my tricep work.