Arms are some of the most sought after muscle building pieces that we seek. Who doesn’t want some jacked swole arms?! While it may seem tricky and even elusive, it is more straightforward than you think.

Progressive Overload

Any muscle you want to grow will require progressive overload. That is, making sure you are doing one more rep or more weight than that week before. This is how you can ensure you are getting stronger and adding muscle. If you spend all your time sticking to the same weight or reps, how can you expect change?

Choose a weight that allows you to do a given rep range (let’s say 6-8 reps). When you are doing those reps, make sure to choose a heavy enough weight that by the 8th rep you have maybe 1-2 reps left in the tank. This will ensure you choose the right weight. If you find you could have done way more than the given rep range, then it’s probably not providing enough stimulus. If you went too heavy your form may suffer or you won’t be able to hit the rep range you selected.

Track your progress so that you can see the change week to week.

Variety

Incorporating a variety of exercises is crucial to stimulating growth. While the entire muscle has to fire in any given exercise directed towards it, there are different strength curves. A preacher curl for example, will stimulate more growth in the stretch at the bottom whereas a bicep curl is toughest in the midrange. You want to make sure you are hitting all aspects to get the most growth. Usually it’s 3 components - the stretch (preacher curl), midrange (dumbbell curl), and the contracted position (spider curl).

Make sure to include all varieties to maximize growth.

Form or Technique

Without proper form you may not be optimizing the growth. Sloppy form limits muscle engagement and thus limits the activation and quality of the set. You’d ultimately have to do MORE sets to overcome the junk volume. Prioritize form! Ensure every set is quality, and you are engaging the intended muscle throughout the entire range of motion. This may require you to slow down the rep, or go lighter in weight.

Some tricks and tips here can involve slowing down the eccentric, or lowering part of the movement. Give yourself a 3-4 second count to lower that weight and focus on having the muscle do the work.

Another trick is maximizing the peak contraction. At the top of the movement give yourself a 2 second pause at the top to squeeze the muscle as hard as you can and really feel it work. 

Training Frequency

You may find one or both muscle groups recover quicker than other bigger muscles. You may start out at a frequency of hitting 1-2 times a week and find your arms recover quicker. Experiment with trying 3-4 times a week and spreading the volume out over those days and seeing if you get better results after a 4 week block.

Compound Movements

Compound movements seem to be underrated for growing the arms. People forget, your triceps are still being utilized on pressing movements and biceps being utilized on pulling movements. Underhand pull-ups are a great example of getting great bicep activity on a more compound movement. Overhead press and bench press will still incorporate the triceps.

Recovery

The last piece here is allowing enough time for recovery. Hardgainers should make sure they are eating 1 gram per pound of protein to get the nutrients needed for muscle repair, and eating enough carbs and fats to fuel those workouts. Make sure you get 8-9 hours of sleep a night to allow the body to catch up on the intensity being accumulated.