How to Make Your Arms Grow

When I'm at the gym, a lot of times guys will come up to me and ask if I have any tips to help them get their arms to grow. Most guys would like bigger arms, no doubt, but a lot of people see their progress stagnate after only a year or so when they first get into weight training.

One of the biggest mistakes I see in terms of getting more results out of arm day is just flat out training the wrong way. This includes several aspects of training. First of all, too many guys aren't training hard enough. To get the most out of your workouts, you have to push yourself to the limit. There's simply no other way. The muscle only grows in response to a stimulus that it isn't used to. In order to bring about that stimulation, you have to really bring it during your time at the gym.

Second, many don't do the right kind of exercises. I see a lot of guys spending their time on isolation exercises like concentration curls, one arm preachers, cable curls, and machines. These exercises are popular with casual gym goers because they're just plain easier to do than a heavy barbell curl or weighted chin ups. However, if you really want your arms to grow, you have to pound them with some heavy compound exercises and barbell curls. Pullups, chinups, bent rows, etc.: these are all back exercises primarily but can put some serious work into your bicep growth as well. As far as curls go, ditch the one armed preacher machine and pick up a barbell with some plates on it and lift. Just make sure you're not swinging the weights too much. Work with a spotter to help you get that extra rep and negatives.

Third, many forget that the tricep muscle is about 2/3 of your arm. The biceps get all the attention, but the tricep is what really forms the base of a powerful, large arm. Again, compound exercises are key here. Close grip bench and weighted dips are two of the best arm growers you can do in the gym. Stay away from the smith and nautilus machines and use free weights.

For isolation, cable push downs can be a great exercise for tricep growth. However, these are one of the most poorly performed exercises you'll see people do. Make sure you get a full range of motion on them, really forcing your tricep to do the work. And use the heaviest weight you can do for a solid 8-10 reps. And another tip: forget about tricep kickbacks. Stop doing these right away. This is the most useless exercise you will ever see people do.

Last of all, once you've put your time into an effective workout at the gym, make sure that you're resting enough and getting the nutrition your body needs to recover and rebuild itself. All the hard training in the world won't grow your arms if your body doesn't have the necessary building blocks to create new muscle. And without enough recovery time, you'll just be tearing yourself down again before you can grow.

That's it for me, stay tuned for more of my very own thoughts.