The Arm Workout That’s Perfect For You

There are few things as satisfying as a killer arm pump and knowing you’ve achieved the best biceps-and-triceps workout possible. The only thing that could possibly make your arm workout any better is if it took less time.

Look no further! We’ve got a killer arm workout that delivers muscle-building results in just 30 minutes.

Barbell Wall Curl

For this variation of the barbell curl, lean against a wall to avoid swinging or using momentum. If you have issues with your wrists or elbows, use an EZ-curl bar instead. Otherwise, load up a barbell with enough weight to reach failure between 8-10 reps.

Start with your hands wide and perform your first set of reps with as good form as possible. Immediately move your grip closer and perform an additional 8-10 reps. Rest for 45 seconds. Repeat for 3 sets.

Superset: Dip And Diamond Push-Up

Both of these exercises are killer bodyweight movements to torch the back of the arms.

Start with 10 reps of dips, maintaining an upright torso so the emphasis stays on the triceps.

As soon as you finish the last dip, hit the floor and do 10 reps of “diamonds,” a push-up variation where your hands are close together and your fingers form a diamond. Rest for 45 seconds in between each superset.

Dip/Diamond Push-Up

Superset: Incline Dumbbell Curl And Tate Press

This superset targets both the biceps and the triceps. Incline curls help isolate the biceps—exactly what you want here. Make sure you keep your arms back and squeeze the biceps hard at the top of the lift.

When you finish your last incline curl, press the weights overhead and start performing Tate presses. Keep your elbows out throughout the move and press the weights straight up. Lower the weights slowly to keep tension on the muscles, and avoid letting the dumbbells touch your chest.

Pause briefly at the bottom of each press. When you’ve completed the superset, rest 45 seconds. Repeat for 3 total supersets.

Machine Preacher Curl

Preacher curls are a fantastic biceps finisher, and in this workout, you’ll use rest/pause/drop sets (RPD) at the end to annihilate your arms. If you’ve never done RPD sets, I’m confident once you try them out you’ll love them as much as I do. Rest 45 seconds between each of the first two sets before performing your RPD set.

Complete the first two sets of preacher curls as you normally would. For the final RPD set, perform reps until you reach failure—around 8 reps or so. Rest for 5 seconds and perform more reps. Now, drop 25 percent off the weight and repeat this process. Drop weight again and repeat the rest-pause one more time. This is like doing 6 mini sets in one. Your biceps will feel it and you’ll love the pump.

Preacher Curl

Kneeling Rope Press-Down

Doing this exercise on your knees restricts your body to cut down on momentum and help isolate your triceps. This is a favorite exercise of four-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler, so you know it’s going to give you a righteous triceps pump.

You’re going to mimic the same set and rep scheme here as you did for the preacher curls. Ditto for your rest time. Perform your first two sets, then move on to the single RPD set to finish out the workout. By this time, your arms should be fried.