Bigger Triceps, Bigger Arms: 5 Steps for Tricep Growth

This article was originally posted on FitnessGeared.com, one of the leading fitness and bodybuilding forums on the web. 

Every guy wants big arms. It’s what separates the men from the boys. Oh and let’s not forget that chicks dig them.

Getting big arms relies on a combination of many different factors in terms of your training and nutrition. Having proper training and nutrtion is key to building your arms, and this applies to any other muscle in your body too.

But what many aspiring bodybuilders fail to realize though is that the triceps are actually the biggest muscle group in your arms. It makes up about 65% of its mass. Not your biceps. Not your shoulders. But your triceps. The sad thing is that most people work on their biceps more than their triceps for the same reason that they work on their chest more than their back: it’s the muscles you see from the front.

If you want to build big arms, you will have to start focusing more on your triceps than your biceps for the simple reason that it’s the key to developing arm size.

5 Steps to Bigger Triceps

You’ll never get big arms unless you increase your overall muscle mass. No matter how many bicep or tricep exercises you do, your arms will never grow. Here are some quick tips on how to build bigger triceps.

1. Do compound exercises. If you feel that your triceps need major work, avoid isolation exercises such as tricep kickbacks or pushdowns in the beginning. Instead, focus on doing a training program that mainly incorporates compound exercises such as bench presses, dips, and push-ups. These multi-joint movements will help you build your triceps faster than any isolation exercise can.

2. Train your triceps frequently. Do you normally work out your triceps just once a week? If so, it might be time to reevulate your routine. The best way to make muscles grow is to hit them frequently. Now we’re not talking about doing them every day, but working them twice a week as opposed to just once will do wonders for your arms. Hit them hard and hit them often. Once in the beginning of the week and another time at the end is a great way to do it.

3. Watch your form. This applies to everything you do at the gym, and we’re sure you have probably heard it hundreds of times already. But in order to build muscle you need to have near-perfect form. You want to demolish your muscles, not your joints. Have a mind-muscle connection with your triceps whenever you’re working them out; contract the muscles at the top of every movement and lower the weights down slowly on the negatives. As Dorian Yates always used to say, “SQUEEZE!!!!”

4. Lift big. Triceps can be pretty stubborn sometimes. That’s why you must stimulate them enough for them to grow because they respond very well to heavy weight and high volume. When doing compound exercises for example, the weight should be heavy enough to the point where you can only do them for 6-10 reps. Assistance exercises like rope pushdowns can be a little more for around 10-12 reps.

5. Eat big. Your training is pointless if you’re not eating. To get bigger, you need to eat big. Find a calorie counter online to figure out your maintenance calories, and make sure to eat 500-700 calories more than that in order to build size. On top of that, eat at least 1 to 1.5g of protein per pound of bodyweight. Carbs are your friend by the way. Rice, potatoes, beans, bread, whatever it may be that you like, eat a lot of it.

Wrapping Up

There’s no if’s, and’s or but’s about this guys. If you want to build bigger arms, you’ll need to build bigger triceps. End of story.

If you don’t believe us, just look at pictures of your favorite bodybuilders and look at their arms. Those guys didn’t get their guns by doing endless bicep curls. They got them by working their triceps because they know that they are the key to bigger arms. If you want guns of your own, put more focus on your triceps than you do with your biceps.

Hit them hard, hit them heavy, and hit them often.