Building Big Biceps and Triceps

There are two (at least two) keys to building big biceps and triceps, not to mention muscular forearms. The first is to use compound exercises and the second is to use isolation movements. Whoa!?! What? No kidding man, tell me something I don't know, right?

This advice may sound redundant, but after reading something from Franco Columbu, I thought it bore repeating and expanding on. Franco said to 'understand what muscles are involved in a movement, and then use them all ' to lift the weight.  For example, when doing a deadlift, the primary movers are the legs and lower back.

However, the grip on the bar should be so tight you feel it in the biceps; the lats should be engaged to pull the shoulders back; the abdominals and especially the transverse abdominis should be tight as a drum. Above all these muscles should all be engaged as every muscle fiber in the thighs and calves drives the floor away. Herein lies the secret to adding more mass to the biceps and triceps.

When performing deadlifts, follow the protocol described above, but also follow it when performing bent-over rows, lat pulldowns or pull-ups. Whenever you pull, engage the lats but also engage the biceps and forearms. The same goes for practicing cable rows, pulling heavy objects with rope or lifting atlas stones. 'Understand what muscles are involved and then use them all.'

For the triceps, this concept may take place without much thought during bench presses and dips. Still, be conscious of engaging all three heads of the triceps muscle.

The second key is not to rely on compound movements alone. The biceps and triceps must have direct stress placed on them. When not doing compound movements like bent-over rows, isolate the biceps with preacher curls, alternating incline dumbbell curls or cable/suspension trainer curls.

After all the bench presses, military presses and dips are done, isolate the triceps with the French press, triangle push-ups, cable pushdowns or dumbbell kickbacks.

The added work done by consciously using all the muscles involved in a particular exercise, combined with intense isolation work will be the missing link in your search for building big arm muscles.

To continue reading about muscle building, visit:

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