curling, pushing, twisting, these are the top 10 exercises for building bigger arms
starting with the most impressive muscle in the arm biceps
every biceps exercise involves a curling movement hinging the arm at the elbow many trainers prefer
free weights for biceps with barbells a popular choice good for working up to heavy weights but
the grip is fixed so you're missing out on an important function of the biceps twisting the arm
dumbbells allow you to twist and curl in one movement so we asked fit media's top trainers
to recommend their most effective exercises for biceps using free weights and the answer came
in two parts because the bicep is made up of two different muscles the short head on the inside of
the arm adding thickness to the arm and the long head on the outside giving you that bicep peak
so we're starting with the bigger of the two the long head and our first
recommended exercise seated incline dumbbell curl
placing the elbow behind the body shifts the focus onto the long head of the bicep
and being seated stops you swinging helping isolate the bicep elbow back two seconds up
two seconds down this exercise gives you a full range of movement on that long head [Music]
building that bicep peak plus there's a range of grip variations that come with choosing dumbbells
making incline dumbbell curl our first recommended exercise for growing biceps
and for the short head of the biceps [Music] spider curls just as having the elbows behind
the Body Works the long head setting the elbows in front of the body puts more
effort on the short head on the inside of the arm again using the bench to prevent swinging
most trainers prefer dumbbells on this exercise for a greater range of movement
but a barbell can be better for heavier weights again slow and controlled helping add thickness
to the arm making spider curls our recommended exercise for the short head of the bicep
next bicep exercise concentration curl number of options to fix the elbow in position to prevent
swinging this barbell strict curl locks the elbows against the wall here the elbows are by the sides
putting equal effort on the long and short head of the bicep concentration curl is often
done with elbows resting on a pad or bench this puts more effort on the short head of the bicep
but the problem is resistance this version of the concentration curl gives you plenty of resistance
in the middle part of the movement but when you get to the top the resistance eases off you're
pulling in towards you but the weight is pushing down [Music] hardly any resistance as you're
squeezing the muscle same problem on the preacher curl resistance in the middle much less at the top
some machines solve this problem by the way the weights are set up maintaining
resistance across the full range of movement but it depends on the machine
most trainers use machines like this for heavier weights using a shorter range of movement
concentrate on the middle part of the movement where the muscle is strongest [Music]
overall though our trainers recommend a tried and trusted version of the concentration curl with
the upper arm resting on the inside of the leg this position allows you a full range of motion
compared to a preacher curl arm in a neutral position working both heads of the bicep equally
and you can add that extra twist at the top for a full squeeze
making single arm concentration curl number three on our recommended list of bicep exercises [Music]
4. cable curl [Music] so far we've looked mainly at dumbbells
and barbells but cables can also play an important part in biceps training
cables have many advantages with a choice of handles for different grips
and they're easy to use for example in a drop set but the problem is that resistance curve
on a standing cable exercise the resistance is all in the middle of the movement
hardly any at the top at the point where you're squeezing the muscle [Music]
one solution is to go for a concentration curl locking the elbow for resistance across the whole
movement allowing a full squeeze at the top but our trainer's favorite version of the cable curl
uses a bench for this incline bench cable curl single arm upper arm locked using the cable for
resistance all the way up to the full squeeze on the muscle as we know an exercise like this with
the elbow in front of the body is working more on the short head for thickness in the bicep [Music]
if you feel the long head needs more work you can still use the cable with the elbow behind
the body with this single arm cable curl overall our trainer's recommended cable
exercise for biceps the incline bench cable curl before we move on to triceps a reminder that all
the trainers you're watching have their own complete workouts to follow here on fit media
channel so make sure you're subscribed and check out our playlists for more so now triceps [Music]
triceps are made up of three muscles the lateral head the biggest of the three going down the side
of the arm creating that horseshoe shape of the triceps the long head down the back of the arm
adding thickness to the overall look of the arm and the medial head on the inside of the arm
sitting underneath the long head our experts recommend different exercises for each of the
three heads starting with tricep push down push down movements Target the lateral head [Music]
usually done with cables arms beside the body upper arm locked hinging at the elbow
using a straight bar puts slightly more effort on the lateral head of the tricep
while a v-bar offers a more neutral grip or handles which let you push the fists
out to the sides for a greater squeeze there's also the choice of overhand
or underhand grip many gym goers ask which is better the truth is there's very little difference
but if you choose underhand don't grip the bar too tightly as this will bring in the forearms
whatever grip you use the real key to this exercise is squeezing the muscle
locking the triceps as you extend the arm so try different options to get that full extension
a rope can help you bring the fists out more to the sides using two separate cables lets
you bring the fists further behind the body or maybe you prefer single arm for that full lockout
whichever works best for you but always look for the perfect angle of the body if necessary leaning
forward slightly so you can feel the resistance at the point where you're fully extending the arm
while there's no one option more effective than the others the range of variations
available make the cable push down an essential exercise for triceps at number five on our list
at six overhead extension [Music]
while exercises with the Arms by your sides Target the lateral head of the triceps extending the arm
overhead Works more on the long head giving that thickness at the back of the arm [Music]
elbow next to the ear focus on simply bending at the elbow many trainers do this exercise
standing [Music] but being seated means you can't use the legs to help get the weight up [Music]
the lying version is called a skull crusher often done with a bar but changing to dumbbells gives
you a chance to vary the path of the weight for example by coming across the body for a greater
range of movement some trainers find they can get a greater stretch on that long head by using a
decline bench because it allows them to bring the hands behind the head While others use an incline
bench again with the full range of motion but putting less stress on the shoulder joint [Music]
moving to dumbbells allows you to add a Twist but there's less resistance at the top of the movement
nothing to push against when you're squeezing the muscle when the weight is directly over the
elbow so for resistance across the full range of movement our trainers again recommend cables
cables maintain resistance through to that key point of lockout here
the moment when you're looking for a full squeeze on the muscle
cables also offer a choice of grips and angles from using a bench for stability [Music]
to standing using the handles
making cable overhead extensions our experts recommended exercise for the lateral head of
the tricep [Music] next recommended exercise for triceps Diamond push-up here we're targeting the
medial head of the tricep sitting underneath the long head it's the smallest of the three
but training it can add size and overall width to the upper arm
the medial head comes into play on push down movements when you use an underhand grip [Music]
but the best exercise to fill out the medial head of the tricep according
to our trainers is the diamond push-up all push-ups involve some work from the triceps
but here the diamond hand position specifically targets that medial head
completing your work on all three heads of the tricep at eight tricep kickback [Music]
this is an exercise that not only gives a full range of movement but also maximum resistance
as you squeeze the tricep if you're in a hurry it can be done with both arms but there's a risk
of swinging so it's better to go for single arm the free arm resting on a bench for stability and
protecting your lower back but for the Perfect Resistance curve it's back to our old friend the
cable with the Rope Kickback leaning forward to find the perfect angle for hitting triceps
double rope so you can bring the fists fully behind the body completing our list of recommended
triceps exercises so biceps and triceps are done but there's other smaller muscles that also need
attention to fill out the overall look of the arm and first the brachialis a smaller
muscle that sits under the biceps for this muscle recommended exercise is a cross-body dumbbell curl
leaning slightly forward Hammer grip dumbbell comes up and across the front of the body
as you develop this muscle it's going to push up from underneath the bicep adding extra thickness
to the arm [Music] finally forearms many trainers skip forearms but for a fully balanced arm you
need to get the forearms in proportion with the upper arm but for forearms our trainers
recommend adapting some of the exercises you're already doing the lower arm muscles assist in the
twisting movement of the arm so adding a Twist to your bicep curl will bring in the forearms [Music]
on a bar changing to an overhand grip will also make the forearms do more work [Music]
flipping the forearms over time by mixing it up with twists and grips