How to Bulk Up Your Biceps and Triceps

All you need is this simple weekly routine.

Sean Abrams

Oct 23, 2015

When it’s time for show and tell in the gym’s weight room, you want to make sure you’ve got something to share. Don’t be the guy who grunts over lifting a measly 20 pounds — earn your stripes by benching the impossible and filling out those shirt sleeves. Girls want an arm they can wrap themselves around, and it’s never too late to get your tickets to the gun show.

Fitness expert and personal trainer Don Saladino of Drive495 (the guy who trains Ryan Reynolds and Sebastian Stan, among others) shared his expert tips to building up your bis and tris. By following his guidelines and expertise, you’ll be ripping through your t-shirts in no time.

Arm training has always been very simple and shouldn’t be overdone. When training other body parts, the arms are always included. The biceps assist in all upper body pulling moments and the triceps assist in all the pressing movements for chest and shoulders. Even though they are getting work with these other areas, some people might find that there arms are stubborn.

Pro tip: Begin with a heavy compound movement, especially when trying to get the muscle dense.

There are specific fibers that will not get hit when just trying to achieve a “pump” in the muscle. Beginning with a heavy movement for your biceps and triceps will get the muscle much harder and dense. After that you can start to pump away. Here’s an example of a great, fun arm routine:

– Close Grip Floor Presses (5×5 reps; Rest around a minute and repeat for 5 total sets)

– Barbell Bicep Curls (5×5 reps; Rest around a minute and repeat for 5 total sets)

Now it’s time to pick up the pace by super setting each movement. Rest for 40 seconds after Hammer Curls and Incline DB Curls and repeat.

– Dumbell Tricep Extension (4×10-12 reps)

– Superset with Dumbbell Hammer Curls (4×10-12 reps)

-Dips Till Failure (3-4 sets)

– Superset with Incline Dumbbell Curl (3-4 sets; 10-12 reps)

This routine should be done once a week. As always, keep your technique perfect.

Photos by PM Images