Building bigger biceps is at the top of many people’s wish list, right? And with spring just around the corner, you might be wondering how you can work on your ultimate fantasy of arm muscles that really pop.

First things first, let’s make one thing clear: achieving sizeable arm growth requires more than just hope and determination. While blindly pumping out endless bicep curls might seem like the ticket to sleeve-filling success, adopting a smarter approach can save you time and yield better results.

So where exactly are you going wrong? “When people say they want to build their arms, it’s common just to focus on the biceps; the muscles that sit at the front of the arms,” explains Milly Isaac, PT and assistant studio manager at F45 Oxford Circus.

“But the best way to grow the arm muscles is to actually focus a little more on the triceps at the back of the arms, and concentrate on simple, compound movements rather than isolation exercises.”

To help you train more effectively, we asked Isaac to share a handful of explosive exercises you’ll need to make your arms stand out. Whether you’re looking to dedicate a full session to your arm gains, or accessorise with varied splits in the gym, bookmark these moves for your next sweat sesh.

1. Close grip barbell bench press

The close grip press is a small but powerful tweak to the classic bench press that can quickly send your arm gains soaring. Instead of the hands being placed at shoulder-width apart or wider, as in a standard bench press, this arm-burning movement brings the hands closer together, typically around shoulder-width apart, or even slightly narrower.

As Isaac explains: “Shifting the hands to this holding pattern isolates the triceps more effectively, when compared to the normal grip version, which is more focused on the chest area. And by narrowing your grip, you’re essentially shortening the range of motion, dialling up the intensity on the triceps to push through the resistance.”
One you’re sure to feel the morning after, there’s a reason why this is a go-to move for strength trainers and bodybuilders looking to build muscle mass.

2. Underhand pull up

Think of killer arm exercises and you probably picture yourself furiously pumping a hefty set of dumbbells. But don’t overlook the power of simple bodyweight exercises, where you become your own resistance machine.

The underhand pull-up, also known as a chin-up, is possibly one of the most effective and easy-to-adopt upper body moves you’ll find. This variation of the traditional pull-up brings the burn by challenging you to haul your own mass using your arm strength alone.

Instead of gripping the bar with your palms facing away from you, in an underhand pull-up, you grip the bar with your palms facing towards you. By flipping your wrists to this grip, you’re tapping into a different set of muscles, intensifying the challenge, and sculpting those sought-after arm muscles.

“This move brings the burn to your biceps, but it also engages your back and shoulders too, helping to sculpt a full upper-body picture,” says Isaac. “If you find supporting your own weight difficult, you can practise building up the strength with a resistance band under the foot, or under the knee, or you can try using an assisted pull-up machine in the gym instead.”

3. Tricep push down

The tricep push-down is a staple of any arm-focused workout routine, loved by gym-goers and fitness enthusiasts alike for its effectiveness, not to mention the subtle flex of showing off your guns in all their glory.

Typically performed using a cable machine with a high pulley attachment, it involves gripping the pulley handle with both hands and extending your elbows downward, squeezing the triceps as you go. With each controlled repetition, you’re building strength in the long muscles that run up the back of the arms, while chiselling out the sleek lines often seen on athletes and bodybuilders.

“The cable machine at the gym is a great piece of equipment for refining and defining the triceps, but you can always use a set of inexpensive resistance bands if you have limited equipment or are working out at home,” notes Isaac.

4. Bicep curl

Sure, we may have trashed on bicep curls earlier, but this classic move still deserves a spot in any varied arm-day workout.

As a strength training exercise, the curl is all about firing up the bicep muscles in the front of your upper arms, by bending your elbows to lift a weight towards your shoulders.

“The key thing to remember with the bicep curl is that you want to make sure you’re going nice and heavy with your weight, without the need to use your hips to swing the dumbbell back up to your chest,” stresses Isaac. “This keeps the movement controlled.”

Choosing the right weight for bicep curls depends on your individual strength and fitness level, but a sensible starting point is to select a weight that allows you to comfortably perform 8 to 12 repetitions with proper form while still feeling challenged by the last few reps.

5. Diamond push up

As the diamond in the rough of bodyweight exercises, this simple but torturous exercise is the perfect finishing move for polishing your arm game to perfection.

In basic terms, a diamond push-up is a variation of the traditional push-up where you place your hands close together in a diamond shape beneath your chest, rather than at shoulder distance. “Bringing your hands together puts extra pressure on the triceps compared to traditional push-ups, making them an effective exercise for strengthening the arms and chest,” says Isaac. If you struggle with full-body push-ups, you can take a chunk of the weight off by supporting yourself on your knees.

Once you’ve mastered each move, the next step is stringing them together into a sequence that ignites muscular hypertrophy – essentially, the fancy term for building muscle mass. By strategically combining these exercises, you can start sculpting your arms into a Michaelangelo-worthy thing of beauty.

Finally, don’t forget the crucial role of nutrition in the muscle-building journey. Protein is the building block of muscle, so incorporating a high-quality protein supplement like Form’s Performance Protein can amplify your gains no end. With 30g of multisource vegan protein powder, 5g of BCAAs per serving and no artificial nasties, you can consider yourself primed for success in the weights room. No excuses – time to crush those goals.