Arm workout: six exercises for biceps, triceps and grip, and how much is enough

What the arm muscles do

The biceps run along the front of the upper arm. They bend the elbow and turn the palm upwards, so they work in every pull: a chin-up, a row, lifting a child. The brachialis lies underneath and is a strong elbow flexor too, especially with the palm facing down or sideways. The triceps, at the back, straighten the elbow and make up the larger part of the upper arm; they work in every push, from a push-up to closing a car boot. The forearm muscles control the wrist and the grip.

That is why a sensible arm workout follows the body's logic: pushing and pulling exercises first, then smaller exercises to finish.

What compound exercises already do

Gentil's trial is the most direct test. Twenty-nine untrained young men trained for ten weeks. One group did only lat pulldowns and bench presses; the other did the same plus biceps curls and triceps extensions. The thickness of the elbow flexors grew by 6.5% in the first group and by 7% in the second, a difference that was not significant, and strength gains were similar.

Other studies point the same way. A study by Youdas and colleagues found that the chin-up, with the palms facing you, recruited more biceps than the pull-up. Trials by Kikuchi and colleagues and by Calatayud and colleagues found that push-ups produced strength or muscle gains similar to the bench press when the effort was matched. For a beginner, push-ups and chin-ups are already an arm workout. Isolation exercises earn their place later, or for anyone who wants bigger arms specifically.

Six exercises, with technique

1. Push-up. Hands slightly wider than the shoulders, body in one line, lower the chest to a fist's height from the floor, elbows at about 45 degrees from the body. Hands closer together put more work on the triceps. Our push-up guide gives the full progression from the wall to the floor.
2. Chin-up or row. Palms facing you, hands shoulder-width, pull until the chin passes the bar, lower under control. Without a bar, or until the first full chin-up, do inverted rows under a sturdy table. See the pull-up guide for assisted versions.
3. Biceps curl. Standing, dumbbells or filled water bottles in the hands, elbows fixed by your sides. Curl until the weight reaches the shoulder, lower slowly. The NHS includes this exact exercise in its home strength routine.
4. Hammer curl. The same movement with the palms facing each other, which brings in the brachialis and the forearm.
5. Overhead triceps extension. One dumbbell held in both hands above the head, elbows pointing forward. Lower the weight behind the head by bending the elbows only, then straighten.
6. Farmer's carry. A heavy dumbbell, kettlebell or shopping bag in each hand, shoulders down, walk 20 to 30 metres. Simple, and one of the best grip exercises there is.

How much volume, and which loads

The NHS recommends strengthening all major muscle groups, arms included, on at least two days a week, with sets of 8 to 12 repetitions taken close to the point where another would be difficult, and two or three sets per exercise.

For growth, a Schoenfeld meta-analysis found that each extra weekly set adds a little more muscle. A review by Iversen and colleagues proposes at least four weekly sets per muscle group as a minimum. The load range is wide: Schoenfeld's analysis of light versus heavy loads found similar muscle growth, with heavier loads better for maximal strength. That makes arms easy to train at home with bands or water bottles, provided the sets are hard. The calculator on this page turns your sets, repetitions and days into a weekly total.

A 20-minute arm session

1. Warm-up, 3 minutes. Arm circles, ten wall push-ups, ten light curls.
2. Push-ups, 4 minutes. 3 sets close to failure, at the level of the progression you have reached.
3. Chin-ups or rows, 4 minutes. 3 sets of as many clean repetitions as you can, leaving one or two in reserve.
4. Biceps curl and triceps extension, 6 minutes. Alternate the two for 3 sets of 10 to 12 each.
5. Hammer curl and farmer's carry, 3 minutes. 1 set of 12, then two carries of 30 metres.

Done twice a week, with push-ups and rows on your other strength days, this gives the biceps and triceps comfortably more than the minimum.

How to progress

• Repetitions first: add one or two per set each week until you reach 12 to 15.
• Then load or leverage: heavier dumbbells, a harder push-up variation, a lower row.
• Then tempo: a three-second lowering on curls and extensions makes a light weight work much harder.
• Keep the elbows happy: warm up, avoid jerking the weight, and stop any exercise that gives sharp elbow or shoulder pain.

One myth to drop: arm exercises do not burn the fat on the back of the arms. In a trial by Ramírez-Campillo and colleagues, training one limb reduced overall body fat but not the fat on the trained limb. The toning principles guide explains what does change the look of the arms.

If you have shoulder, elbow or wrist pain, a recent injury, or high blood pressure, ask your doctor or a physiotherapist before lifting heavy, and avoid holding your breath during effort.

Build stronger arms with Never Skip Club

Arms respond to steady, repeated work, which is exactly what most busy weeks lack. In Never Skip Club, you pick the body area, the level (Easy, Medium or Intense), 20, 30 or 45 minutes and where you train, with or without equipment, and the app builds a guided session of five or six animated exercises in about a minute, with your sets logged. Start a crew of three to seven friends with a weekly rhythm; a session counts from 30 minutes, and the ranking rewards regularity, not extra sessions. Pair arm work with our core workout on the same day for a complete upper session. Create your free account, and if you want an expert to check your form on push-ups and chin-ups, find a coach from our network. Already a member? Sign in.