How to Grow Your Arms (as a Natural Lifter)

Arms are the Sign of a Bodybuilder

The difference between bodybuilders and other fitness endeavors is a mindset. That mindset is shown primarily in their results. A strength athlete will have a big and strong torso, but smaller arms. A calisthenics athlete will have a large back and well developed shoulders and abs, but will have smaller legs, and a bicycler will have large and developed quads. 

But a bodybuilder will have all of the above, and more. Of these muscle groups, one stands out among the rest. The arms. A lifter with large and muscular arms will stand out in a crowd. A large chest, back, and legs will be hidden under clothes in the crowd. But arms are displayed to the world. They fill the sleeves and make a figure look more imposing. When someone looks at a bodybuilder with large arms, they can tell that they lift.

If you are on a hypertrophy quest, you better be working your arms. Minimal compound movements will not optimally grow your arms. You must treat them as a priority, and perform isolation movements that target the arms specifically.

In this article, I'll cover the movements I use as a natural lifter to grow the arms. I'll break it down in groups, starting with the triceps, then the biceps, and then the forearms. I will skip the shoulders and write about them another time as they already get worked heavily if you do lots of pressing and rowing movements.

Triceps

Triceps Cable Push-downs

These are great if you have elbows that get pain while working out. Do these with a higher rep count (12-20 reps per set). These are amazing for warming up the elbows for heavier movements.

French Press

French press is a great way to hit the long head of the triceps. You need to target this muscle a lot if you want big arms. The long head is what makes up the bulky sweep under the arm and fills out those shirts. Do these in a moderate rep range, like 8-12 reps per set.

Any Pressing Compounds (Bench, Dips, Pushups, etc.)

Aside from isolating the long head and maybe some cable push-downs, your medial head of the triceps will be worked a lot with any pushing movements. You can bias some of these movements to hit your triceps even harder, like doing a close grip bench press, or moving your arms closer to your sides during a pushup. Aside from push-ups, most pressing movements are probably best done in a 8-12 rep range. Pushups done with bodyweight can be pushed until failure. 

Biceps

Decline Bench Curls

These are amazing for really isolating the bicep. I do these instead of standing dumbbell curls simply because they take your hips out of the question. When standing and performing the movement, it's easy to start swaying your hips with the movement in order to swing the weight back up. By sitting down you eliminate that variable. Additionally, the stretch on these is amazing. They also force you to lower the weight, which means you get more out of less. I like doing these on a rep range like 6-12 reps per set. Going a bit lower to 6 reps helps you build a bit of strength on these.

Preacher Curls

I don't have a preacher curl station at my gym so it is hard to get into position to do these, but having tried them a few times by leaning over a bench (yeah kind of sad lol), the tension put on the muscle is insane. It's easier to take the biceps to failure if you can focus on one arm at a time (unfortunately, it takes twice as long doing this). Do these in a range of 8-12 reps per set.

Forearms

Finger Curls

By putting the weight on your fingers and slowly letting them open the hand up, an intense stretch is placed on the muscles in the forearm responsible for opening and closing the hand. Try not to go higher than 12 or 13 reps per set on these, not because you can't go higher, but because they will pump your forearms up so much that it will be hard to do any exercise that requires you to hold something. 

Hammer Curls

These hit the brachioradialis and the biceps. Using these along side finger curls should be plenty to blow up your forearms. Do these in a range of 8-12 reps, maybe even 6-12 reps per set.