Your arm isn’t just a Bicep.
I’m sure many of you know this, and I hate to sit here and state the obvious, but so many people train arms like there isn’t another muscle in there.
On arm day, they’ll run straight to the dumbells, or the cables, and start curling as their life depends on it.
Maybe they chuck in some other exercises here and there but concentrate everything they have on working those arm muscles they can see.
But this isn’t the be-all and end-all.
There is so much more to your arm size than that.
Yes, the bicep is essential, but so many other muscles groups need the same kind of attention if you are going to put volume onto your arms,
This comprehensive guide will give you everything I know about building muscle in your arms with just a single piece of equipment – the Kettlebell.
From the muscles you need to target, to the best workout, you can leave this page knowing the best way of getting the biggest arm pump of your life.
Let’s get into it.
What Muscles Do We Need To Train For Massive Arms?
In your arms, there are 3 main muscle groups you need to train, each with its own muscles and heads you should target for a well-rounded workout.
Biceps
This well-known muscle group is deemed as the king of your arms.
Found at the front of your upper arm, they are on show for all, and are the main feature in the world-famous double bicep bodybuilder pose.
It isn’t just perfect for making people swoon at your physique, though.
The biceps are one of the most important muscles for moving your forearm and performing everyday tasks such as lifting food to your mouth or turning a door knob.
This muscle group is formed by 2 different heads – the long head and the short head.
As you can probably guess, the long head is the more elongated of the two muscles, spanning from the shoulder joint to the elbow on the lateral side of the bicep.
The main function of this head is to turn your arm outward via abduction, as well as being the primary muscle for rotating your arm inwards.
The short head is the muscle commonly found in the middle of your bicep.
It has a little bit larger surface area, with its main function being to pull your arm into your body via adduction.
Triceps
Here we have it.
The muscle group that is so commonly missed when it comes to the conversation about the size of your arms.
But, if you’re aiming to build size, then this one is the most crucial.
Triceps make up the most muscle mass in your arm, with the 3 heads having a significantly higher volume than the heads of the bicep.
To make a perfect workout, we have to pick a couple of exercises that will target all 3 heads, these being the lateral head, the long head, and the medial head.
First, we have the lateral head. Found on the outside of your arm, just behind the long head, this muscle mainly works to extend the forearm at the elbow.
Then, we have the long head. Again, they don’t put a lot of work into these names, so you can probably guess that this muscle is the longest of the triceps.
It spans from the elbow to the shoulder on the inside of your arm, mainly working to extend your elbow and prevent your humerus from displacing during adduction.
Finally, we have the smallest of the triceps muscles, the medial head. This is found at the back of the arm, in between the lateral and long heads.
The main function of this muscle is to activate during forearm extension and provide support for the arm.
Forearms
Another hidden gem in an arm workout is the forearm.
While there isn’t a lot to say about this muscle, and it isn’t always necessary to train this muscle specifically, you can always throw in a couple of conditioning exercises.
Exercises such as a behind-the-back wrist curl, or a fingertip weight carry are great options if you have time at the end of a workout.
These are extremely helpful for providing that fuller-looking arm, rather than just a top-heavy one, while drastically increasing your grip strength.
Related Post: Bicep Vs Tricep
Why Is The Kettlebell The Perfect Tool For Building Muscle In Your Arms?
I’ve said it before and I will say it again, the versatility and convenience of a kettlebell will always trump the expensive machines you find at the gym, whilst allowing you to train your body in a different, more exciting way.
Kettlebells also have a different center of mass than the equipment you are used to working out with, providing a tool that helps condition your full body by working those muscles needed for balance, stability, and coordination.
It is also great at hitting muscles at a different angle, so you can make your workouts more efficient and enhance your agility and flexibility.
My final reason for choosing the kettlebell is the opportunity it gives you when working out.
By being able to train with a kettlebell, you can work out wherever and whenever you like.
If you want to learn more about the freedom of exercising anywhere, check out my free Ebook, “Train Wherever The F*ck You Want”.
Where Can I Pick Up A Set Of Kettlebells?
I always purchase my Kettlebells from Dmoose.
As a brand, they provide quality but an affordable variety of kettlebells, perfect for beginners and advanced gym-goers alike.
They also offer Kettlebell sets, meaning you can purchase a bulk of kettlebells at once, helping with progressive overload for a cheaper price.
Anyway, let’s get into the best way you can use these kettlebells to grow your arms into boulders.
My Ultimate Kettlebell Workout To Build Muscle In Your Arms
Incline Kettlebell Bicep Curl
For our first exercise on this list, we are going to hit the cliches.
But just because this is one of those common exercises for your arms, doesn’t mean it’s a bad one.
In fact, it is one of the best exercises for targeting the long head in your biceps.
Not only this, but by using a kettlebell and lying at an incline, we can maximize the amount of stress the muscle fibers in the bicep are under by increasing the time under tension and range of motion.
We are therefore building the muscle in our bicep more efficiently and more effectively.
Surprisingly, this exercise does have some added health benefits, even if it does isolate the biceps.
As it requires your muscle to pass through a large range of motion, we can expect our cardiovascular and fitness levels to improve.
As well as this, holding two kettlebells out by our side puts a lot of emphasis on balance, getting our core muscles involved, and improving our stability.
How To Do It
- Find an area you can sit elevated and at an incline. If this is not possible, you can stand with your back against the wall to make the curls strict.
- Place a kettlebell in each hand, with an underhand grip, and let them hang by your side.
- Engage your core and keep your torso upright and pressed against the surface.
- Keep your elbows and upper arms fixed in position, and begin to curl the kettlebells upwards, trying to bring your knuckles to your shoulder.
- Pause at the top of the movement, and tense your biceps.
- Then, slowly control the weight back to the original position.
- Repeat for 8-12 reps, aiming for 4 sets.
Kettlebell Preacher Curl
The preacher curl is a tough one.
When I tell you that you won’t need a massive amount of weight for this exercise to be effective, I mean it.
It’s best used to target the short head of the bicep, emphasizing curling the weight inward towards the body, and forcing you to concentrate on the negative movement, rather than just the curl.
Targeting your muscle this way sparks an effective amount of muscle growth, as your body has to use muscles to resist gravity.
The preacher curl also removes the ability to perform a cheat curl, which means you swing your body back to try and help with lifting the weight.
This means we keep our perfect form and send the bicep through the full range of motion under tension.
The Preacher Curl can help with other benefits, such as posture and decreasing the likelihood of injury in your shoulder and elbow joints.
However, it is primarily a bicep isolation exercise, so don’t expect all the added benefits of a compound movement.
How To Do It
- A common misconception is that you need a bench for this exercise to be effective, however, I have used an office chair that inclines backward plenty of times. Aim to only use ones without wheels!
- Place your surface at a 45-degree angle and pick up your kettlebell in one hand in an underhand grip.
- Stand shoulder-width apart, just behind the incline. Place the upper part of your working arm flat on the surface, with your arm fully extended and the kettlebell hanging below.
- Engage your core and keep your whole body still, especially your upper arm.
- By hinging at the elbows, curl the weight towards your shoulder. As you reach the top of this position, tense your bicep and hold for a second.
- Slowly lower the weight back to the original position. Make sure your arm is fully extended to avoid using any momentum.
- Repeat for 8-12 reps on that arm, then switch. Complete for 3 sets.
Skull Crushers
Moving to the triceps now, we have the best-named exercise in the business…
The Skull Crusher.
While it sounds pretty dangerous, it is the perfect exercise for targeting both the long and lateral heads in the triceps, by isolating the muscle and having it under a prolonged period of tension.
This results in the majority of your muscle fibers tearing, thus recovering bigger and stronger.
For an isolation exercise, there are a fair few added health benefits with this movement.
For example, holding the weight above your head whilst lying down requires your abdominal muscles to get involved, resulting in an improved sense of balance and stability.
As well as this, performing this exercise in this manner is a lot gentler on your shoulder joints than its standing counterpart.
How To Do It
- Find a flat surface you can lie on, preferably a bench.
- Hold a kettlebell with 2 hands in an underhand grip.
- Lying flat on the bench, extend your arms fully, with the kettlebell up toward the ceiling.
- Keep your upper arm locked in position and core engaged.
- Lower the kettlebell towards your forehead, hinging at the elbows.
- When the weight reaches an inch above your face, hold the position for a second, feeling the tension in your triceps.
- Drive the weight back upwards, extending your arm fully.
- Repeat for 8-12 reps, aiming for 4 sets.
Close-Grip Kettlebell Press
The majority of the movements in this workout have been isolation exercises.
This is very necessary, but it’s also essential that you throw in a couple of compound movements to help the strength and conditioning of your entire body.
The close-grip kettlebell press is the best option for this.
While it targets all 3 heads of the tricep, it is also the perfect upper-body exercise, helping to build muscle in your chest, shoulders, and biceps.
As it’s a compound movement, we can expect all the added benefits of balance, stability, agility, flexibility, and even improvements to our posture to come with it.
Pressing movements are also great for our heart health, reducing the likelihood of cardiovascular disease.
How To Do It
- Find a flat surface. This can be a bench or even the floor.
- Pick up a relatively heavy kettlebell, and hold it by the actual bell with your palms flat and close together. If this isn’t comfortable, you can hold it with an underhand grip by the handle.
- Lie flat on your back, with your arms extended to the ceiling.
- Engage your core and keep your back to the surface.
- Lower the weight towards your chest, slowly. This will increase the time our triceps are under tension.
- As the weight reaches your chest, pause for a second and tense your tricep muscles.
- Drive through the arms, pushing the weight back to the original position.
- Repeat for 8-12 reps, aiming for 4 sets.
Conclusion
And there we have it.
A complete arm workout to help you build muscle in all the right places, and grow in volume.
This workout is noticeably short, and you may be wondering why that is.
The thing with building muscle is that you shouldn’t overdo it.
We have hit all of the muscles in our arms that are needed for muscle growth.
We do not need to keep training the same muscle over and over with different exercises to increase in size.
Just train consistently, progressively overload, and give your body time for recovery and you will see the progress in your physique.
So, what are your favorite arm exercises?
Do you train your triceps and biceps on the same day, or separately?
Let me know in the comments below.