The Best Arm Workout: Biceps and Triceps Exercises for Bigger Arms

Here’s the truth most people ignore when they walk into the gym and head straight for the dumbbell rack: your triceps make up roughly two-thirds of your upper arm mass. Your biceps account for the other third. Yet I watch people hammer curl after curl while barely touching a tricep exercise. If you want bigger, more defined arms, you need to flip that script and train both muscle groups with intention. This arm workout guide gives you exactly that — a science-backed, structured approach to building the arms you’re actually after.

Feature	EZ Curl Bar	Straight Barbell
Wrist strain	Reduces strain	Wreck wrists during heavy work
Grip angle	25-degree angle bend	Fixed straight grip
Weight	Around 15 lbs	Lighter than EZ bar
Load adjustment needed	Drop 5–10 lbs from straight-bar weight	Baseline weight
Grip width flexibility	Fixed grip width	Allows closer/wider grip variations
Bicep tension quality	Better tension, less momentum	More momentum-dependent reps

The Best Bicep Exercises

The biceps brachii has two heads — the long head and the short head — and they respond differently depending on the angle and grip you use. The long head sits on the outer side of your arm and contributes most to that peak you see when you flex. It’s best targeted with a supinated grip and your elbow slightly behind your torso, like in an incline curl. The short head runs along the inner arm and responds better when your elbows are in front of your body, like on a preacher bench. If you’re only doing one type of curl, you’re leaving half your bicep development on the table. These are the four bicep exercises I program for most of the people I train with.

The EZ Bar That Finally Fixed My Curl Form Without Wrist Pain

Straight barbells wreck my wrists during heavy curl work, and I spent years thinking that meant my joints were just weak. Then I realized the problem wasn’t me—it was the implement. An EZ curl bar shifts the angle and takes pressure off the wrist joint while actually letting you load more weight safely on the biceps.

What works

• The 25-degree angle bend reduces wrist strain immediately—I went from barely hitting 5 sets of 8 reps to doing 6 sets without joint discomfort
• You can actually grip it harder and pull with more intention, which translates to better bicep tension and less momentum-dependent reps
• The 47″ length fits standard Olympic collars perfectly and loads/unloads faster than fumbling with dumbbell pairs when you’re doing drop sets

What doesn’t

• It’s heavier than a straight bar (usually around 15 lbs), so you’ll need to drop 5-10 lbs from what you’d normally curl—but that’s actually a feature if your form was sloppy
• The grip width is fixed, so it won’t work for every hand size or variation you might want to test (straight bar still beats it for experimenting with closer/wider grips)

The first time I loaded it, I questioned whether the lighter weight would feel like I was “cheating”—then I felt the bicep contraction and realized I’d been half-repping with a straight bar the whole time. Get the Olympic EZ Curl Barbell Bar 47”.

Frequently Asked Questions

What percentage of arm mass comes from triceps?

Triceps make up roughly two-thirds of your upper arm mass, while biceps account for the other third. Most people focus too heavily on bicep work and neglect triceps, missing significant arm-building potential.

How do I target the long head of my biceps?

The long head responds best to a supinated grip with your elbow slightly behind your torso, like in an incline curl. This position targets the outer arm and develops the peak you see when flexing.

What’s the benefit of an EZ curl bar over a straight bar?

The 25-degree angle bend on an EZ curl bar reduces wrist strain during heavy curl work, letting you complete more reps per set safely. You can grip it harder and pull with more intention, improving bicep tension and form.

How much does a 47 inch Olympic EZ curl bar weigh?

A 47-inch Olympic EZ curl bar typically weighs around 15 lbs, which is heavier than a straight bar. You’ll need to drop 5-10 lbs from your normal straight-bar curl weight when switching to it.