The 6 best biceps and triceps exercises to gain mass

Let's be honest, the reason many men decided to work out is to have arms that fill out their T-shirt sleeves nicely. You can often come across people curling mindlessly for hours to get little to no gains. It is therefore important to know the best biceps & triceps exercises and know how to perform them!

In this article, I will break down the different arm muscles and provide you with 6 exercises to strengthen the biceps and triceps:

We have published a video with the collaboration of our athlete Rodrigue Saker to give you the keys to having big arms.

The 6 best biceps and triceps exercises to gain mass

Upper arm muscles

To gain arms, you must first know the muscles you are going to train and their functions. The upper arm is made up of two major muscle groups:

Biceps: your biceps are made up of the long (outer) portion of the short (inner) portion and represents 1/3 of the upper part of the arm.
Triceps: as their name suggests, triceps are made up of 3 portions. The long portion, the short portion and the middle portion. They also represent 2/3 of the arm which might surprise those who think that you need big biceps to have big arms.

To build arm muscles for maximum growth, you need to make sure you work each muscle with a specific set of exercises. The following 6 exercises are, in my opinion, the best for targeting each portion.

1. Triceps Dips

This triceps exercise is the best for strengthening the triceps. Performing this exercise using your body weight has the benefit of naturally forcing the muscle with a very heavy load: the more work the muscle has, the greater the number of fibers recruited, which leads to more growth.

Tricep dips work all 3 portions of the muscle at once but work with body weight as a minimum, which is more than we can do with any isolation exercise.

This movement can be done on a bench or aerobic step to start if your arms need more strength. If you have enough arm strength, you can head straight to the parallel bars which are most often found on the assisted pull-up/dip machine. If this is your first time doing dips on an assisted machine, it's a good idea to start with a load that's about 2/3 of your body weight. You can then adjust once you master the movement.

Triceps dips exercise steps :

As you approach the machine, let your arms hang on either side before grabbing the parallel bars with your thumbs inward.
Position your wrists at an angle that allows the elbows to bend back, making sure they stay in line with the forearms.
(If using the assisted machine, place your knees on the platform) Slowly lower yourself until your bicep contacts your forearm to fully contract the triceps.
Push your body up and contract your triceps as you do so.

Sets and repetitions: 3 x 8-10 repetitions for beginners moving towards 5 x 10 as you gain strength.

Tip: To progress with this exercise, start adding weight as you get stronger. If you are performing this exercise without assistance, add weight using a weight belt or by placing a dumbbell between your legs.

2. The tricep pulldown

The triceps pulldown performed using a pulley machine is a very good way to target the lateral and medial part of the triceps.

They are considered a key exercise to give the muscle its “horseshoe” shape.

While using a straight or V bar will allow you to use slightly more weight, the rope helps isolate the muscle better and receive a better contraction.

This is not the type of exercise where you have to put too heavy loads. Choose a moderate weight.

If you haven't already, attach a rope to the pulley.

The tricep pulldown steps :

Stand tall, lean your upper torso forward slightly, and hold the position. Grasp each side of the rope with a normal grip with your palms facing each other and be ready to exhale during the next movement.
Keep the triceps contracted throughout the movement. Pull the rope down so that it spreads, bringing the handles to either side of your thighs.
Lock the position after each exercise to avoid using momentum or back support, which will ensure your triceps do all the work. The forearms should complete the movement.
After holding the position for 2 seconds, gently raise the rope back to its initial position, inhaling as your arms rise.

Sets and reps: 5 x 12-15 reps

Tip: When the arms are fully extended, bring your wrists away from the body for maximum triceps contraction.

3. Dumbbell triceps extensions

One reason why many people fail to fully develop their triceps is because they do not know how to properly work the long head of the triceps. The long head is understimulated when it acts as an elbow extensor when the movement is not performed overhead.

This movement can be done one hand at a time or by placing both hands on the same dumbbell. I recommend using the 2-handed version to add mass to the arms since it will allow you to use more weight while still maintaining a stretch on the eccentric part of the movement. This triceps exercise can be performed sitting or standing.

Dumbbell triceps extensions exercise steps :

Sit or stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, hold the dumbbell in both hands before gently lifting it over your head with your arms straight.
Move the dumbbell slightly between your hands to seat it properly in your palms with your thumbs reaching around the bar. Your palms should face the sky and prepare to inhale during the next movement.
Focusing on holding your triceps next to your head with your elbows facing in, begin lowering the dumbbell toward the floor until your forearms touch your biceps.
As you exhale, contract the triceps and gently raise the dumbbell to its original position, then repeat the movement.

Sets and reps: 3 x 12-15 reps

Tip: This exercise can be performed with the elbows pointing outwards, however keeping the elbows pointing in front of you places more emphasis on the triceps and allows for a better stretch.

4. The Curl Desks

Made famous by Larry Scott with his arm circumference of 50cm for just 1m70, this biceps exercise is probably the best isolation exercise for the biceps due to the fact that it is almost impossible to cheat while doing it.

This exercise works the long head of the biceps and is responsible for creating the peak of the biceps which will create the impression of much larger arms.

Performing this exercise with correct form is extremely important. You will first need to use light/moderate loads since the desk curl is not an exercise on which you can hope to lift extreme loads.

Focus on lifting the bar with your biceps and contracting at the top of the movement.

It can be done with dumbbells, on the pulley or even with an EZ bar or even a simple bar. Take a wide grip to accentuate the work on the short portion or a tight grip to accentuate the long portion. Perform it on a curl desk but if you don't have access to one, a bench in an inclined position will have the same effect.

The Curl Desks exercise steps :

Place your arms on the desk with your torso firmly pressed against it. The palms of your hands should face forward. Whether using the dumbbell, pulley or barbell, your hands should be slightly pointing towards you due to the shape of the barbell. If you only use one arm, rest the other on a support to maintain balance.
With your torso and arms firmly in place, hold the load at shoulder length to complete your starting position.
Begin to inhale as you lower your arms to maximum extension or enough to feel a big stretch in the biceps.
As you begin to exhale, contract the biceps, raising the weight back to its original position, in line with the shoulders. At this moment, it is important to contract and hold the position for 2 seconds.

Set and reps: 3 x 8-12 reps

5. Reverse pulley curls

Just like a simple pulley curl but with the grip reversed. Once again, you won't be able to go super heavy on this exercise because of the slow eccentric part of the movement which will literally fry your muscles. It is essential to perform a slow eccentric phase to obtain significant gains since this is the way to stimulate the brachialis.

The brachialis is a muscle between the biceps and triceps on the outside of the arm. If you tense your arm, you may see a small bump appear. The brachialis is actually located under the biceps and by working it and making it grow, you will push your biceps upwards.

This is a somewhat sneaky method of increasing the size of your arms and it is therefore crucial to perform this movement with a slow eccentric phase since this is what the brachialis respond best to.

Use a straight bar or EZ bar attachment on the low pulley. Using the pulley allows you to exert a constant resistance to the cable which will keep your biceps under tension while a simple bar allows you to rest at the bottom of the movement and will make you lose this tension.

Reverse pulley curls exercise steps :

Stand with your torso straight. Hold the bar in front of you pronated (palms down) with a shoulder-width grip.
Keeping your elbows close to your body and your upper arms straight, exhale as you raise the bar toward your head. Contract the biceps to land at shoulder level, only the forearms should move.
Hold the contraction for 1-2 seconds.
Slowly release the bar back down with a movement lasting 3-4 seconds then repeat.

Sets and reps: 5 x 12-15 reps

6. Hammer curls with dumbbells

The final exercise recommended to give you big arms is the hammer curl. While traditional curls are done with the palms facing forward, hammer grip curls are done with the palms facing inward and remain in this position throughout the exercise.

This exercise is effective simply because it allows you to use much greater loads than a normal dumbbell curl, which will help to overload the biceps. The brachioradialis, a muscle in the forearms, will be activated in addition to the biceps, which works two muscles in the same movement.

My advice would be to use a heavier weight than you can handle during a normal curl. While the first two aren't meant to inflate your ego if you want to get the best results possible, hammer grip curls allow you to go as heavy as possible for 8-12 reps. You can also use lighter weights at the start to adjust the movement.

Hammer curls exercise steps :

Stand with your core firm to keep your back straight. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms aligned across your body, palms facing inward.
Keeping your upper arms close to your body, exhale while contracting your biceps to raise the dumbbell until you reach shoulder level.
Contract for a moment at the top of the movement. Again, move only the forearms to maintain focus on the biceps.
Slowly release the contraction by lowering the weights back to their original position. Repeat.

Tip: Get maximum results by using different variations of the movement. Use a bench for example to support your back or use only one arm for more concentration, etc...

Set and reps: 3 x 8-12 reps

In conclusion

You have probably already tried or at least heard about these exercises before. So I fully recommend performing them every week to take your arms to a whole new level. For harmonious progress you also need to work the rest of the body! Don't forget to combine your training with appropriate nutrition and gaining weight in correlation with your mass gain goal.

Frequently asked questions

How to work the biceps?

Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms aligned across your body, palms facing inward. Exhale while contracting your biceps to raise the dumbbell to your shoulder.

How to get big biceps without equipment?

It is possible to strengthen your biceps without equipment thanks to exercises such as: push-ups, dips, planks and arm rotations.

How to work the triceps?

The triceps can be worked by performing dips, push-ups, close bench presses or triceps extensions. Anything that involves arm extension works the triceps.

How to gain mass?

We gain mass by consuming more calories than we expend. This is why you need to determine your daily calorie consumption.

When to gain weight?

You can bulk up when you want to gain muscle. It can therefore be done at any time of the year.

So move on to your back and do these 6 exercises for a massive back .

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