How to Gain Arm Mass with 8 Basic Moves

Why do it: Because incline dumbbell curls are difficult AF. Reclining on a bench at a 45- to 60-degree angle increases your range of motion by positioning your torso in front of your arms. This creates quite a bit of strain and stretching on the biceps muscles. At the bottom range of motion, the biceps are lengthened (you can think of this as being stretched out fully) and can result in greater muscle gain⁴ because of the fully lengthened position. 

How to do it:

1. Using an adjustable bench, place the back pad anywhere between a 45- and 60-degree angle (depending on your mobility requirements).
2. Sit on the bench holding a pair of dumbbells. 
3. While holding the dumbbells, bring your arms to the dead hang position. 
4. Without help from your upper arms or back, begin to bend at the elbows and curl both dumbbells toward your shoulders. 
5. Curl until your biceps are fully contracted. 
6. Pause at the top and control the lowering motion until you return to the dead hang starting position. 
7. Repeat for reps (aim for 10 or more).

Why do it: A traditional biceps curl activates both biceps brachii (short and long head of the biceps) but the hammer curl adds a bit of flair by recruiting the brachioradialis and brachialis muscles. Both of these muscles are mainly located in the forearm, but attach to the humorous. This means that adding the hammer curl variation to your routine can help achieve balanced arm muscle growth through the upper and lower part of your arms. 

How to do it:

1. Start in a standing position, with your feet, hips, and shoulders in alignment. 
2. Holding a pair of dumbbells, bring your hands into a neutral position with your palms facing your legs. 
3. Keep your hands in the neutral position and begin bending at the elbow without recruiting your upper back and shoulders. 
4. Curl the dumbbells toward your shoulders until your biceps are fully contracted. 
5. Keep your palms in the neutral position as you complete the range of motion. 
6. Pause at the top and lower the dumbbells back to the starting position—keeping neutral palms the entire time. 
7. Reset and repeat for repetitions (aim for 12 reps or more).

Why do it: Bigger arms means training holistically. You’ll need to incorporate triceps exercises to target your antagonist muscles (aka opposing muscles). Lying skull crushers are an ideal way to bring the triceps through full range of motion, which can lead to tremendous muscle gains. The skull crusher also simulates the locked-out position of a push-up, bench press, and overhead press, which can be helpful to your overall weight lifting routine. 

How to do it:

1. Holding a barbell or EZ-curl bar, get into the prone position either on the floor or a weight bench with your arms fully extended, hands shoulder-width apart, shoulder blades pinched, and palms facing away from you. 
2. Begin the skull crusher by bending at the elbows and slowly lowering to your forehead (or just beyond depending on your range of motion capabilities).  You should feel a stretch through your triceps at the end range of motion. 
3. Pause before pushing the barbell back up and returning to the starting position with your elbows locked out. 
4. Reset and repeat for repetitions (aim 15 or more). 

Why do it: Triceps dips are an accessible bodyweight exercise for most home gym owners (and anyone with a sturdy chair, coffee table, or box, for that matter). As you get stronger arms, you can progress by increasing your range of motion, increasing the number of reps, or adding more sets. When going for muscle size, selecting exercises that you can complete for 10 to 20 repetitions is key to seeing arm growth. 

How to do it:

1. Sit on a stable surface like a bench, plyo box, or chair then place both hands on the edge with hands on either side of your hips and fingers pointing forward.
2. With your elbow locked out and shoulders down and back, walk your feet forward until most of your bodyweight is in your arms. Legs can be bent at 90 degrees or straight. 
3. Brace your core muscles and begin bending your elbows, lowering your body towards the ground.
4. Pause when you can’t lower any further, then press through your hands to straighten your arms and turn to the starting position. 
5. Repeat for reps, aiming high (think 10 to 20). 

Why do it: Not only do chin-ups target your lats and upper back muscles, this exercise also recruits forearm and biceps muscles. Plus, the more reps you complete the more time under tension¹ your arm muscles will endure—which is another hack to bigger biceps. Note: You’ll need a traditional pull-up bar for this and you’ll utilize an underhand grip. 

RELATED: Best Pull-Up Bar

How to do it:

1. Start in a dead hang position on a pull-up bar with palms facing you. 
2. Retract shoulder blades down and back, creating space between your shoulders and ears. 
3. Begin to pull yourself up using the strength of your arms and upper back. 
4. Keep your chest up, back slightly arched, and shoulder blades pinched.  
5. Pause at the top if you can and slowly lower yourself down until you’re back to the dead hang position.
6. Repeat for as many as you can. 

Why do it: Much like the chin-up, the bent-over row is predominantly a back exercise. However, with an underhand grip you’ll get increased activation in the biceps, too. You can use a barbell, EZ-curl bar, or dumbbells for this exercise. 

How to do it:

1. Start in a standing position with your feet hip-width apart, gripping a barbell with an underhand grip, arms relaxed, and shoulders down away from your ears. 
2. With a slight bend in your knees, hinge your hips back (like you’re performing a partial Romanian Deadlift) until your chest is pretty much parallel to the floor. You’ll probably feel your hamstrings stretching here, but that’s normal. 
3. The starting position for the row is arms fully extended. To initiate the row, keep you back flat and your shoulder blades pinched as you bend your elbows and pull the barbell toward your belly. The elbows should stay tight with your ribcage. 
4. Hold at the top with your biceps and lats contracted. 
5. Slowly lower until your arms are fully extended and directly below your shoulders. 
6. Repeat for reps (aim for 10 to 20). 

Why it’s great: The lateral raise is an ideal way to strengthen and shape your shoulders. This exercise targets your lateral deltoids, which is one of the best exercises if you’re looking to build boulder shoulders. 

How to do it: 

1. Start in a standing position, with your feet, hips, and shoulders in alignment. 
2. Hold a pair of dumbbells on each side of your body, palms facing inward toward your legs. 
3. With your shoulder blades down, raise your dumbbells up until they reach about shoulder level. You’ll want to choose a weight that allows you to lift without shrugging your shoulders or recruiting other muscles. 
4. Slowly bring the weights back down to your sides.
5. Repeat for repetitions (aim for 15 to 20 using lighter weights). 

Why do it: If you’re going after bigger arms, the rear delt is worth your time, too. Strengthening and building muscle around the rear delt offers a defined appearance to your shoulder from the back. While you may not be able to see it, your gym friends certainly will! 

How to do it:

1. Start in a standing position, feet shoulder-width apart and your feet, hips, and shoulders in alignment. 
2. Hold a light pair of dumbbells with your palms facing inward toward your legs. 
3. With a slight bend in your knees, hinge at the hips until your chest is parallel with the floor.
4. Allow your arms to extend straight keeping them directly below your shoulders. Before you start the reverse fly, be sure shoulders are down away from ears. 
5. Raise your dumbbells using the strength of your shoulders and upper back, pinching your shoulder blades together at the top range of motion. 
6. Hold for a moment before slowly lower the weights back to the starting position.
7. Repeat for reps (aim for 10 to 15).