How I Grew Big Arms As A Skinny Guy

Let’s face it – Having big guns is one of the main reasons people enter the gym in the first place.

My name is Troy Adashun and in this collaboration with the Weight Gain Network, I’ll reveal to you the most powerful weapons in my arm training arsenal.

For me, it seemed that my upper limbs were ALWAYS lacking…

My biceps, my triceps and my shoulders were perpetually weak, compared to other upper body muscle groups.

Most of us would blame it on genetics and just put up with this “fact”.

Well, truth is that genetics do play some role, but they are not the primary factor.

You CAN develop YOUR arms to their BIGGEST potential.

Doing so doesn’t involve any sort of magic, but rather understanding the muscle growth mechanisms and applying certain principles and methods.

Let’s get right into it.

Upper Arm Anatomy

As you can see on this visual, the upper arm is made up of the deltoid, the biceps and the triceps.

In the near future we’ll dedicate an article to shoulder (Deltoid) training, but for this specific one, we’ll tackle biceps and triceps training.

Let’s briefly see the biceps and triceps in-depth.

Biceps

The word “Biceps” is derived from “Bi” and “Ceps”, meaning “Two” and “head”, respectively.

This simply implies that the biceps is made of two heads – The short head and the long head.

The short head is located on the inner portion of the biceps and accounts for the thickness of the arm.

On the flipside, we have the long head, which is located on the outside of the biceps and accounts for the “peaky” look of the arm.

The activation of each head depends on a number of factors, such as elbow and wrist position.

Triceps

Following the terminology from above, we can say that the “Tri-Ceps” is a muscle that has three heads.

Those are the lateral, medial and long head of the triceps.

It needs to be noted that the triceps is in fact a massive muscle, meaning that focusing solely on the biceps is a no-go, if the goal is having well-shaped arms, overall.

This is exactly why, we’ll focus on ways to blast the triceps and especially its long head.

Brachialis

In the middle of the biceps and triceps, we have the brachialis.

This often neglected muscle actually pushes the bicep peak up, giving a more prominent, peaky look of the upper arm.

The brachialis is mainly targeted by utilizing neutral (hammer) & pronated (Palms down) grip movements.

Do NOT neglect this muscle – It really gives a different look to the arm.
Now that we have basic anatomy in check, let’s see the training principles we can use to maximize arm growth.

Training principles and methods

There are 3 factors to muscle growth – Mechanical tension, metabolic stress and muscle damage.
Solely focusing on just one of them will lead to suboptimal gains.

This is exactly why we need to focus on optimizing all three.

To do so, we’ll use the following training principles and methods:

Time under tension

Ever seen a guy in the gym do curls like he’s been attending swing dancing classes?
Yeah… Don’t do that. Or at least, not right off the bat.

The time under tension (TUT) principle implies using a controlled pace for the most part of each exercise.

A controlled pace allows us to get MAXIMUM tension through the working muscle, which grants optimization of growth rule #1 – Mechanical tension.

Swinging and inertial movements can be used to go beyond failure, once we have reached an inability to continue with proper execution.

Supersets & drop sets

The more prolonged, intense work we do, the more energy we use.

Energy is simply the substance in the muscle that the body uses upon demand.

To be precise, the energetic substances that the body uses in a workout are three:

1. ATP (Adenosine triphosphate)
2. CP (Creatine phosphate)
3. Glycogen (End product of carbohydrate metabolism)

As those energetic compounds breakdown upon use, there is an accumulation of byproducts (Metabolites).

This is the so-called metabolic stress.

Supersets & drop sets allow us to do just that – Do prolonged, intense muscle work and hence, optimize the second law of growth – Metabolic stress.

Now, especially for the arms, supersets are KILLER! (In a good way)

This is because the biceps and triceps are attached in the same joint and are “Antagonists” (Opposing muscle groups).

Antagonistic muscle groups are known to interact in a very interesting way.

When the agonist (contracting muscle group) receives a contraction signal and shortens, its antagonist (opposite group) receives a relaxation signal and stretches.

What this does is it gives us a sort of “Active rest” and helps both muscle groups recover quicker in-between sets.

Oh and did I mention the insane pumps you get by using this?

If we don’t go overboard with supersets & drop sets, we’ll also be able to maintain good training intensity (weight) and cover the third rule of growth – Muscle damage.

Biceps exercises

Having massive arms is one of the things that will scream “I lift”, even when you’re wearing a shirt.

Below, I’ll give you my top picks to target the Long & short head, as well as the brachialis.
Let’s have a look.

Long head exercises

Having difficulty developing those bicep peaks? Worry not – I will give you my TOP 2 long head exercises, that will squeeze the hell outta your peaks.

Here’s the secret to peaky biceps – Wrist supination and/or keeping the elbows behind your back line.

Try it out for yourself – By just rotating your wrist outwards (supinating), your biceps shortens.

In doing so and also avoiding forward elbow motion, you will massively engage the long head of the biceps.

Exercise #1 – Dumbbell waiters curl

• Sets: 3
• Repetitions: 12

I preach one thing – Activation before overload.

This simply implies engaging as many muscle fibers as possible before going extra heavy on the more intense movements.

The dumbbell waiter curl is perfect for this goal, as it keeps your wrists supinated and takes a lot of tension from the forearms.

Execution:

1. Grab a dumbbell with both hands and stand up straight
2. Keep torso straight and head looking forward
3. Place elbows closer to the body
4. Curl up in a controlled pace, contracting the biceps
5. Hold peak flexion up top
6. Go down slowly on the eccentric portion of the movement

Note that you should avoid moving your elbow forward.

Exercise #2 – Barbell drag curls

• Sets: 2
• Reps: 10
• Rest times: ~90 seconds between sets

We’ll use this next exercise, to utilize the second peak-building method – Keeping the elbows behind your torso.
Note that the drag curls are an intense movement, so don’t fear going up on the weights used after activating with the waiters curl.

Execution:

1. Grab the barbell with an underhand, shoulder-width grip
2. Stand straight with feet at shoulder width
3. Look up and avoid slouching
4. Keep elbows behind the body
5. Maintain a bar position close to the torso
6. Curl up and powerfully contract the biceps up top
7. Briefly hold peak flexion and return down slowly on the negative

Note that maintaining a static wrist position is recommended – Otherwise, flexing the wrist will cause the forearms to take a lot of the work.

Short head & brachialis exercises

Having a big biceps peak is nice, but it is nothing without a properly developed short head & brachialis, that will give you that thick look and also push the peak up.

This is exactly why I have some good stuff here for you!

Below I have my TOP 2 picks out of the 5 exercises you can see in the video above.

Let’s have a look at how we can utilize wrist position to maximize short head & brachialis activation.

Exercise #1 – Iso lean hammer curl

• Sets: 2
• Reps: 10-12 repetitions
• Rest times: ~75 seconds between sets

With this exercise, we will utilize a neutral (hammer) grip, and we will also do it unilaterally, meaning that each arm will be worked on its own, in a separate set.

Execution:

1. Grab a dumbbell and keep it by your side with a hammer grip (palm facing torso)
2. Lean with the opposite hand on a wall
3. Keep torso straight
4. Maintain a position of the upper arm closer to the torso
5. Hammer the dumbbell up, contracting the biceps
6. Hold peak flexion briefly
7. Go down slowly on the negative

Note that you can also apply a more prominent tricep contraction at the bottom to further achieve active rest.

Exercise #2 – Pronated spider curls (EZ-Bar)

• Sets: 2
• Reps: 8-10 repetitions
• Rest times: ~75 seconds between sets

Generic barbell curls are nice, but for this one, we’ll use a bench for chest support, an EZ bar and a pronated grip (Palms down).

All of this together will grant maximum arm tension.

Execution:

1. Set up an incline bench to a 45-degree angle
2. Grab an EZ-bar
3. Hold it with a pronated grip and at shoulder width
4. Set yourself up on the bench, utilizing chest support
5. Step stably
6. Curl the bar up, contracting the upper arm & forearms
7. Hold peak flexion for a second
8. Go down slowly

Feel like those exercises are not enough? Check out these 20 biceps exercises for bigger arms!

Triceps exercises

You should know by now that the triceps makes the bulk part of your upper arm.

With just a well-developed bicep, your arms will look funny to say the least.

In the video above I have 11 amazing triceps exercises, but below, I’ll give you my two favorites.

Again – 1 activation movement and 1 compound movement.

Exercise #1 – Unilateral rope pushdowns

• Sets: 3
• Reps: 10-12
• Rest: 30 seconds between sets

This is perhaps one of the best activators of the triceps, which we can utilize before moving on to the heavy, compound movement.

Don’t really try and go too heavy here, the goal is simple – Maintaining a constant pace, good time under tension and optimal contraction at the bottom.

Execution:

1. Set up a rope on the cable machine
2. Grab the rope with an overhand grip
3. Keep upper arm at a 90-degree angle and close to the torso
4. Push down, extending the elbow
5. Contract the triceps at the bottom and hold that peak flexion for a second
6. Go back up slowly
7. Once done, do the same on the opposite arm

With the relatively high number of reps and low rest times, the triceps should be well-activated and filled with blood.

Let’s look at the second movement.

Exercise #2 – Dumbbell overhead triceps press

• Sets: 4
• Reps: 8-10
• Rest times: ~75 seconds between sets

This one uses both arms and it allows you to go pretty heavy, granting that vital intense stimulus, required for growth.

What I like about this movement is that the long head of the triceps gets BLASTED.

Execution:

1. Grab a dumbbell and sit down
2. Place the dumbbell on your shoulder
3. Grab it with both hands comfortably
4. Lift the dumbbell above and behind your head
5. Keep elbows in without flaring them
6. Maintain straight torso position
7. Let the dumbbell go down and behind your head, until a straight angle is formed
8. Push up explosively
9. Apply a careful elbow lockout up top (Don’t explode into it)

Note that going down too much might do damage to the triceps’ tendons – Go down just enough to get a good range of motion.

This exercise can be done either with or without a backrest – Do as you feel it better, just maintain a straight torso position.

How to structure the workout

The numbers of sets and repetitions for each of the exercises presented is based on the nature of the exercise.

Some of the exercises are meant to activate and fill up your muscles with blood, which is why we have higher repetitions and lower rest times.

Other exercises are made for you to go full-on intensity, which is why we have lower repetitions and more rest times.

Ultimately, you should do the following:

1. Pick 1 activation movement for the biceps and 1 for triceps.
2. Choose 1 compound movement for the biceps and 1 for triceps to go heavy on.
3. Get in at least 1 long head exercise and 1 short head & brachialis exercise for the biceps exercises (Short head pronated movements grant enough brachialis work).
4. Make up for a total of 2-3 warm-up sets and ~8-10 working sets for the biceps and the same amount for the triceps.

How to apply drop sets, supersets & time under tension

On the heavy, compound movements like the drag curls & the dumbbell overhead triceps press, do a drop set on the last working set.

That would imply doing the above-mentioned number of repetitions, then reducing the weight 20-30% and doing the same number of reps.

Don’t overdo drop sets, as they will take away from intensity, which is a no-go for muscle building.

For the supersets & TUT, pick two relatively light, preferably isolating movements.
Do those one after the other with no-rest in-between the exercises, right at the end of the workout, when you are done working each muscle separately.

Pick a relatively light weight that will allow you to do 30-45 seconds time under tension.

Bottom line

Getting big arms is not that big of a deal, you just need to use the correct approach and stay consistent with it.

Here’s a summarized version of this article.

1. For the biceps, we pick 1 activation movement, 1 long head and 1 shorthead movement.
2. The triceps, we blast with 1 activation movement, 1 compound movement and one finisher movement (Check the video for an abundance of triceps exercises).
3. We aim for 2-3 warm-up sets and 8-10 working sets for both the biceps and the triceps.
4. Do a drop set (20-30% weight reduction) on the last working set of each compound, heavy movement.
5. Implement 2-3 supersets done with 30-45 seconds time under tension (on each exercise) at the end of the workout. For this, make isolated exercises a preference, as you might not have energy for compound movements.

All in all, we’re looking for the optimal ratio of intensity, mechanical tension, metabolic stress and muscle damage.

This usually occurs in the 8-12 rep range, utilizing 65~85% of our maximum strength capabilities.

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