The Best Way to Build Muscle - Add Inches to Your Skinny Arms!

Have you been cursed by being born with naturally skinny and weak looking arms? If you have and you're looking to add some inches to your feeble arms, there are three things that you must keep in mind if you want to see optimal growth. They are: compound exercises, minimizing overtraining and adding variety. In this article, I will discuss these principles in detail as well as looking at how you can implement them and ultimately learn the best way to build muscle onto your under-nourished arms.

Most people believe that to add mass to your arms you have to do countless isolation exercises such as bicep curls and tricep push-downs. Unfortunately for the majority of the population, this is completely incorrect and will only end up being a waste of your precious time. Compound exercises are ones that force you to use numerous muscles throughout your body to complete the lift and have been proven to not only increase the mass of the muscle they're actually targeting, but also the various other muscles that aid in the lift. You will see more growth in your triceps by doing a few sets of a compound exercise that doesn't even directly target the muscle such as the bench press over doing 10 sets of an isolation exercise such as tricep push-downs. Compound exercises are fantastic mass builders for the arms and also help to prevent overtraining.

The biggest reason for seeing slow progress and growth in the muscles of the arm is by training them too much (also known as overtraining). Surveys have proven that over 80% of men and women who regularly attend a gymnasium have never even heard of the concept of overtraining, so it's no wonder that it's such a widespread problem. It's very important that you give each muscle at least 48 hours of rest before targeting it again. If you're still not seeing regular progress after implementing this advice, you should try adding more variety to your workouts.

Many fitness enthusiasts are unknowingly preventing themselves from seeing great results by using the exact same exercises week in, week out. Keep both your biceps and triceps guessing by changing your arm workouts on a regular basis.

Along with a protein-rich diet and good consistency: using compound exercises, preventing overtraining and adding a little variety to your workouts simply is the best way to build muscle to your biceps and triceps. Follow this advice and you'll add inches to your skinny arms in no time at all.


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Muscle Building Tips To Combat Stubborn Arm Growth

Many bodybuilders have found that despite their best efforts, their arms simply won't grow. They might be overtraining, undertraining, or just plain doing it wrong. Here are a few tips for getting those stubborn arms to grow.

High Volume

Muscles grow when blood is forced into them. If you have all the other aspects of your diet and nutrition down, then the focus becomes "What can I do to move more nitrogen-rich blood into these arm muscles?" At this point, high volume training should be considered. More sets and more reps mean more blood flows into the area. Just watch for overtraining.

Blitzkrieg

For stalled smaller body parts such as calves or arms, some trainers recommend an initial "blitz" in which the muscle group is hit with a brief yet intense training session every day for 5 to 6 straight days. The belief is that the muscle has become accustomed to a once-weekly workload and will no longer grow from it. However, daily ambushes upon the muscle group force it to face a new, nearly insane challenge, and it will grow as a result.

Calorie Boost

You can't get big arms without excess calories to be used for growth. If you're dieting, your arms are shrinking, not growing. Many trainers forget this simple, obvious fact. If the goal is to grow your arms 1+ inch, you should be eating 500 calories per day in excess of what your body burns.

Focus on forearms.

Many bodybuilders often ignore forearms, as biceps/triceps are the showpiece arm groups. However, if the forearms lack functional strength, they might be the failing point in biceps or tricep exercises. Strengthen them, and see if your biceps and triceps suddenly carry a bigger workload. Additionally, well-developed forearms make the upper arms look better in most poses.

Lose the cardio

Many bodybuilders who are near-ripped year-round often suffer from small-arm syndrome. They never allow their bodies the calories, or their Central Nervous Systems the resources, to grow. As a result, their arms do not grow. If this describes you, cut cardio by 75% for a month and see if the arms start to grow.


Dane Fletcher is the world's most prolific bodybuilding and fitness expert and is currently the executive editor for BodybuildingToday.com. If you are looking for more bodybuilding tips or information on weight training, or supplementation, please visit www.BodybuildingToday.com, the bodybuilding and fitness authority site with hundreds of articles available FREE to help you meet your goals.

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How to Get Big Arms and Biceps - Gain Muscle Mass Fast With This Routine

The first exercise most guys ever try in their life is the barbell biceps curl. Big arms that can be shown off in a t-shirt are impressive and make you look strong. The only problem is the misconception that doing lots of curls will make your arms and biceps get huge. The bicep is only 1/3 of the arm muscle and the triceps makes up a whole 2/3 of the arm. So to get really big arms you really need to focus on the triceps rather than neglect them by doing endless curls.

A good way to work the biceps and triceps is to do supersets. This is when you take a pair of muscle building exercises like barbell curls for biceps and lying extensions for triceps and do them one right after another. Pick up a barbell and do a set of strict curls for about 8 to 10 reps and then rest for 1 minute. Then take the barbell and lying on the floor or a bench and do a set of lying triceps extensions for 8 to 10 reps. This is 1 superset. All you need is 3 to 4 sets and you'll be ready to move onto another muscle building exercise to assist you in your quest for big arms.

If you want to get an entire upper body workout while building your arms you can superset dips with pull ups. This is a great way to get big arms and biceps while also building your back, chest, and shoulders. You can do 5 supersets of pullups with dips and then follow it up with the bicep and tricep superset of curls and extensions. The direct work your arms will get from these heavy exercises will pre exhaust your arms and you won't need to use as heavy weights on your exercises.


The best way to gain muscle mass fast is to follow these tried and proven routines. Get Big Arms and Biceps with these top rated programs for developing massive muscles and getting ripped fast! Save yourself the trouble of wasted efforts.

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The 5 Best Bodyweight Exercises For Building Big, Muscular Arms

I've recently read several articles in which some self-proclaimed fitness "guru" insists that you must choose between bodyweight and weight lifting exercises in setting up your strength or muscle building program. The usual argument claims that bodyweight exercises are absolutely better than weight lifting techniques without any consideration of your specific training objective.

In reality, it's a false debate because if your goal is to build big, muscular arms you should use both bodyweight exercises and weight lifting movements to do so.

Specifically, if your goal is to maximize the size and strength of your biceps and triceps, you need a program based primarily on isolation bodybuilding techniques that are supplemented with compound exercises. These compound exercises should include both weight lifting movements (which I've discussed in other articles) and bodyweight exercises. While the isolation training will stimulate maximum growth in your biceps and triceps, there's no question that the following bodyweight exercises can enhance the amount and rate of that growth and ensure balanced development of your entire upper body.

1. Triceps Pushups

Triceps pushups are the only isolation exercise in this group and designed to minimize chest and shoulder involvement with targeted resistance on your triceps. For proper performance, simply take a standard pushup position with your hands and arms extended and shoulder-width apart. Then slide your hands closer together until your thumbs nearly touch each other. This is the starting position. Slowly lower your arms underneath you and then push yourself back up to the starting position as you would with regular pushups. Make sure that you keep your back straight and your head up for maximum resistance on your triceps.

If your bodyweight doesn't provide sufficient resistance, have a training partner gently place barbell plates on your back as needed to keep your rep range within 6-10 reps per set. A sample pyramid sequence could consist of 3 sets of 10, 8 and 6 reps with gradually increased poundage in each set.

2. Seated Triceps Dips

Seated triceps dips are another terrific triceps builder. To do this exercise, sit on a workout bench or chair with your legs together and extended on the floor in front of you. Your arms should be fully extended and shoulder-width apart behind you. Slide your body slightly forward to suspend yourself so that your arms are bearing your bodyweight between the bench and the floor. With your arms extended and your hands nearly touching behind you, slowly lower yourself as though to sit on the floor and then push yourself back up by extending your arms and returning to the starting position. This exercise, when performed properly, will add tremendous power, shape and definition to your triceps.

Again, if your bodyweight doesn't provide enough resistance, keep your legs together and extend them to another chair or workout bench in front of you so that they're parallel to the floor. Then have a training partner gently place barbell plates on your thighs as needed to keep your rep range within 6-10 reps per set. A sample pyramid sequence could consist of 3 sets of 10, 8 and 6 reps with gradually increased weight in each set.

3. Parallel Bar Dips

Parallel Bar Dips are great for shaping and building mass in the long and medial heads of the triceps. Grasp the handles of a parallel dip apparatus and hold your body suspended between them. For substantial training emphasis on your triceps, hold your torso as erect as possible (leaning forward puts primary resistance on your chest). Inhale as you lower yourself as far down as you can comfortably descend and then exhale as you push yourself back up to the starting position. This exercise is a great bodyweight triceps builder as long as you watch your technique and keep your torso straight throughout the movement.

For an overload effect or to pyramid your work sets, use a harness to hang a barbell plate or dumbbell from your waist for added resistance. Most commercial gyms and some health clubs have these harnesses, so if you need one, ask for it. Make sure to keep your rep range within 6-10 reps per set. A sample overload sequence could include 3 sets of 10, 8 and 6 reps with gradually increased weight in each set.

4. Chin Ups

Chin Ups are excellent for building strength and muscle mass in your biceps. This exercise also thickens the latissimus dorsi ("lats") and rhomboid muscles on the sides and upper-middle portion of your back. Simply grasp the Chin Up bar with an underhand grip and your arms shoulder-width apart. Inhale as you pull your body upward until your chin nearly touches the bar. Exhale as you lower your body to return to the starting position.

For variation and balanced biceps development, you can alternately do this exercise with your arms slightly wider than shoulder-width to place more emphasis on the short head or inner portion of your biceps.

Use a weighted harness if you need to increase your resistance beyond your bodyweight. Make sure to stay within the 6-10 rep range with gradually increased weight in each set.

5. Pull Ups

Pull Ups are another excellent bodyweight exercise for adding power and muscle density to your biceps. Like Chin Ups, this exercise also works your lats and and rhomboids. Pull Ups also put significant resistance on the trapezius muscles in your shoulders when you squeeze your scapulae together at the top of the movement. Simply grasp the Pull Up bar with an overhand grip and your arms spread comfortably but wide apart. Inhale as you pull your body upward until your eyes are slightly higher than the bar. Exhale as you lower your body to return to the starting position.

For variation you can pull your body upward with your chin facing the bar or with your head facing downward as you pull yourself up with the bar behind your neck. When performing this movement with your chin facing the bar, primary training emphasis in on your biceps and lower lats. But when you pull yourself up with the bar behind your neck, focused resistance is placed on your biceps and upper lats. Either approach will add strength and muscle tone to your upper arms.

As with your Chin Ups, use a weighted harness when doing Pull Ups if you need to increase the training resistance beyond your bodyweight. And always make sure you stay within 6-10 reps per set with gradually increased weight in each set.

As you can see, bodyweight exercises and bodybuilding techniques go hand-in-hand when it comes to building big, muscular arms. If anybody tries to tell you something different, tell them to go do some weighted Chin Ups and Dumbbell Preacher Curls.


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