I get it, the one area you want more than absolutely anywhere else to grow is your arms. You want them to hug your sleeves and look insane when your shirt is off. However, sometimes, it's not as simple as hammering out some curls and pushdowns and calling it a day. If your arm genetics aren't that of Chris Bumstead, here's 5 tips for you.
Get Everything Lined Up Properly
When training the biceps we want their to be a straight line going from our shoulder, through to our elbow, and finishing at our wrist. Often times exercises like EZ bar curls, depending on our own personal structure, don't allow us to set up in this way.
Same goes for exercises like Barbell Skullcrushers. The force from the bar is going straight down, whilst our elbows are out at an angle. Misaligning the muscle we're trying to train and the weight we're using.
If lining yourself up is an issue, opt for single arm exercises like these Face Away Curls and Dumbbell Curls for your biceps, and Pushdowns and Dumbbell Skullcrushers for your Triceps.
Hit the lengthened range
A lot of the traditionally used bicep exercises, like dumbbell and barbell curls, don't train the muscle in it's lengthened position (when your elbows are straight).
On it's own this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but we do want to ensure our training also includes some lengthened work. This is where Face Away Cable Curls (like the ones linked above) are an incredibly useful exercise.
To really get the most out of this one, hold each rep at the bottom (when you're elbows are locked out) for 2-3 seconds.
Train Them To Failure
Just like any other body part, you shouldn't be stopping your bicep and tricep sets when you still have more reps in the tank. Keep going until you can't go anymore.
Eat enough
Bulking isn't just about training hard, the other half to the equation is ensuring you are in a calorie surplus. This doesn't mean burger and fries three times a day, but it does mean eating enough that the scale slowly increases month on month, and you're making sure enough of your calories are dedicated to protein (generally 1g per pound of bodyweight).
Hit Them First
If your number one priority is bigger arms, it might be worth training them before anything else.
This isn't a decision to make lightly. Remember, it's going to affect the rest of your session, meaning you risk slowing down the growth of other areas. But, if you're genuinely wanting to grow your biceps and triceps ahead of everything else, it's worth training them when they're fresh.