You Don’t Need a Gym To Grow Your Arms!
This Arm Workout Will Challenge Your Muscles With Only Dumbbells

Building bigger arms is not rocket science. You don’t even need machines and barbells! A rock-solid arm workout can be achieved with some dumbbells and the correct execution of the right exercises.

This superset arm workout for biceps and triceps handles the “what to do part.” And the tip guide below will tell you how to do it! Then it’s just up to you to put in the effort and eat for growth. (PS: the V Shred App has a customizable calorie and macronutrient calculator that you can set for muscle growth. Download it for your Apple or Android device, and the nutrition part is done, too!)

If you are looking to put on mass all over your body to achieve a balanced physique, you’ll need this arm workout and a few others! That’s why we consider it the perfect way to end a week of Vince’s other Ultimate workouts:

Monday: Ultimate Chest & Triceps
Tuesday: Ultimate Back & Biceps
Wednesday: Rest Day or Steady State Cardio
Thursday: Ultimate Shoulders
Friday: Ultimate Legs & Glutes 
Saturday: Ultimate Arms
Sunday: Rest, play, and meal prep

Biceps & Triceps Workout for Big Arms

Superset 1
A1: Dumbbell triceps press 3-4 sets, 10 reps (no rest)
A2: Seated hammer curl 3-4 sets, 10 reps (rest 90 sec.)

Superset 2
B1: Dumbbell skull-crusher 3-4 sets, 10 reps (no rest)
B2: Supinated curl 3-4 sets, 10 reps (rest 90 sec.)

Superset 3
C1:Dumbbell Overhead Extensions 3-4 sets, 10 reps (no rest)
C2: Concentration Curls (3-4 sets, 10 reps (rest 90 sec.)

All you will need for this workout is some dumbbells, so you can do it almost any gym or even at home.

Before you get started, you may want to consider taking a quality pre-workout! Our go-to is to slam some Sculpt Nation PRE about 15-20 minutes before training. The ingredients in this one-of-a-kind pre are engineered with the best workouts in mind–that means long-lasting energy with zero crash, a crazy pump, and increased endurance so you can grind out more reps!

Bigger Arms Workout Exercises

Dumbbell Tricep Press Superset with Seated Hammer Curls

Starting laying back on a bench,  hold the dumbbells with your arms straight up and palms facing together. From there, bring the dumbbells down until your elbows are at 90 degrees. Make sure you are squeezing your elbows inside to protect your elbows target your triceps more. Do 10 reps.

Then sit up and do seated hammer curls. This means you’ll keep your palms facing in as you curl the weight up. You may do these alternating or both arms at the same time. Focus on the squeeze of the biceps rather than just lifting the weights up. Do 10 reps each arm.

Dumbbell Skull-crushers Superset with Supinated Curls

First, lay back on the bench with the dumbbells out above your head. From there, keep your elbows elevated while you bend them and lower the weight behind your head. Then, using your triceps, extend your arm back up and squeeze at the top. Repeat for 10 reps.

After that, you will go straight into supinated curls sitting on the bench, just like the seated hammer curls. But instead of having your wrists facing in, turn them forward. From there, continue to keep your wrists turned forward as you curl up. Do this for 10 reps on each arm.

Dumbbell Overhead Extensions Superset with Concentration Curls

Start by grabbing just one dumbbell. This dumbbell is going to probably be heavier than the rest because you are going to use both arms with it. From there, raise the dumbbell above your head, then lower it back behind your head while keeping your elbows elevated. Do this for 10 reps.

After that, remain seated on the bench. Grab a dumbbell with one hand and lean over your legs. Placing the back of your upper arm against the inside of your thigh, hang your arm with the dumbbell down between your legs. From here, = use your leg as a “wall” and curl the weight up. Squeeze the weight to the top and return back in a controlled manner. Repeat for 10 reps on each side.

Don’t forget proper post-workout nutrition!

What you eat after a tough workout is crucial, no matter your goal. But this is especially important if you are looking to grow! Your body needs specific nutrients to recover after working out. If not, you could experience muscle loss, fat gain, sore joints, and loss of strength.

POST WORKOUT by Sculpt Nation takes out all the guesswork. It is jam-packed with amino acids and the other essential nutrients your body needs for rapid recovery to keep your body primed to build muscle, burn fat, and get stronger after every single workout.

But you can’t only rely on supplements. If you want to grow, you have to have a nutrition plan that matches your goals!

To figure out your own unique calorie and macro needs – check out the calorie and macronutrient calculator in our V Shred App. Download it for your Apple or Android device to ensure you are eating enough to reach your muscle-building goals!

The goal is to eat enough to support your gains without gaining excess body fat. This can be tricky. To help take out all the guesswork, consider hiring a V Shred custom coach. Our team of certified nutrition and fitness coaches can create a personalized muscle-building meal plan to fit your budget that will help you reach your goals even faster!

If you are looking to add muscle mass you can also check out our BIG ARMS or CLEAN BULK programs. They are ready to download workouts that are designed to help you pack on muscle in no time.

If you enjoyed this workout make sure and send it to a friend and let us know in the comments what you want to see next! 

The post Best Arm Workouts with Dumbbells for Bigger Arms appeared first on V Shred.

Focus on the negative to get positive results….

Wait, say what?! 

Don’t all the gurus tell us we are a product of our thoughts? Aren’t we supposed to think positive thoughts? Visualize success?

Yes! But we aren’t talking about mindset! We are talking about your technique at the gym and specifically your technique on arm day! 

We are also going to tell you to do  something else that may make you scratch your head.

We are giving you permission to use bad form…. 

Wait, say what? 

Don’t you always say that good form is crucial for gains and to prevent injury? 

Aren’t we supposed to always use good form? Even if that means lowering the weight? 

Yes! But what would typically be “bad form” isn’t actually bad for the exercise we are showing you today. 

Maybe it would be better for us to say that we want you to “cheat” a little bit the next time you train your biceps.

It’s not often we would advise you to do this.

But with the exercise we are showing you today, a little bit of momentum will be required to lift the weight needed to create the kind of muscle “damage” we are going for! 

What is the exercise? It’s not anything fancy. It’s actually just a bicep curl using an EZ curl bar.

The technique and tempo you will be using make this bicep curl different from what you are probably used to. 

When it comes to the bicep curl — you’ve probably always been told to curl up without bouncing or using any momentum and then use control as you come back down.

That is correct. Unless you are only trying to focus on the negative eccentric (lowering) portion of the curl  — which is what we are doing today.

If you have spent any time on our YouTube Channel, then you’ve seen us incorporate this negative bicep curl variation into many of our workouts.

But we’ve never talked about why “negatives” are so effective or filmed a video totally dedicated to them.

This exercise is hands down our favorite bicep exercise of all time if bigger biceps are the goal! So we figured it deserves it’s own article and video! 

Speaking of building your arms…

We’re sure you already know this, but you can’t get big arms with this one exercise. Negatives need to be added to whatever current arm program you are using.

If you don’t have an arm program you love or want to try something new, we have an entire program designed around building bigger arms. 

It’s called BIG ARMS and has helped many people (including Vince) experience significant arm growth.

You can CLICK HERE to learn more! It is an instant download so you could even get started today if you want to! 

Whether you use your own program or give our BIG ARMS program a try, make sure you consistently include this negative curl variation in your routine, and we know you will see a difference in your bicep gains! 

You can read over this written description of how to perform them. Still, most people are visual learners, so we suggest you watch THIS VIDEO for step-by-step guidance!

EZ CURL BAR NEGATIVES

Equipment Needed: EZ Curl Bar (pre-loaded or regular w/ plates) 

Weight: Aim for at least 25% more than you can typically curl. We want you to go as heavy as possible, based on how much weight you can LOWER slowly with proper form. 

The weight you pick will feel like it’s too much at first because your biceps are weaker during the concentric (raising) portion. 

But remember, we are only worried about the negative (lowering) part of this exercise. Your biceps are stronger on the way down, so pick a weight that is challenging for the eccentric part of the lift. 

Sets & Reps: 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps 

When to perform it: Pending your current arm program, we suggest you throw this exercise in either at the very beginning or as your final exercise. Both have benefits. It really boils down to personal preference!

Technique Notes: Again, this weight is going to feel way too heavy on the way “up” because your biceps aren’t as strong in the concentric (raising) portion of the lift. This is why we say IT IS OKAY TO CHEAT and use a little momentum on the way up since we ONLY really care about the negative (lowering) portion  for this exercise. 

How To:  Grab an easy curl bar and add a little more weight than you would typically be able to curl. Hold the bar with your palms facing up and about shoulder-width apart.  Instead of going super strict with form on the way up (which is key with regular curls), we want you to use a little bit of momentum to get the weight up.

Essentially, you will bend forward just a little bit and “throw” hips forward so you can create a little momentum to curl up. 

Once you “cheat up”, you will lock yourself into position. Keep elbows tucked in and then  lower the bar AS SLOW AS POSSIBLE. By slow, we mean at least five full seconds!! 

Do not rest at the bottom (not even for a second) and immediately “cheat” the weight back up.

Keep doing this until failure. If you have picked the correct weight, this should be for about 6-8 reps! 

Aim for 3-4 sets! 

If you are struggling with building bigger biceps and doing the same old curls over and over and not getting you anywhere, add this one into your program, and we know you will see a difference! 

The post The Best Exercise For Stubborn Biceps appeared first on V Shred.