What muscle makes your arms wider?

Author: Tess Lemke  |  Last update: Wednesday, September 3, 2025

Triceps Training If you want your arms to become wider, the first step is to increase the size of your triceps. The upper arm itself is made up of 3 major muscles: 50% Triceps, 30% Bicep and 20% Brachialis. Since the triceps make up 2/3 of the upper arm, this will be your main focus for getting wider arms.

What makes your arms appear bigger?

Triceps. The triceps muscles are at the back of the upper arm. Big triceps make your arms look better, even with adequate biceps muscle.

What muscle gives the bicep width?

Your first priority should be to train the brachialis. This is because the brachialis is responsible for some of the mass on the outer arm, and anatomically pushes up the biceps -- which creates the illusion of wider, thicker arms.

Does the bicep or tricep for bigger arms?

If you want to build bigger arms, don't just focus on the bicep - your triceps actually make up two-thirds of your arm size. That's why it's essential to give them the attention they deserve.

What is the most important muscle for bigger arms?

Building bigger arms requires dedication and hard work, but with the right exercises, you can see impressive gains. The main arm muscles are the biceps and triceps. These are the muscles that are most prominent, and the ones that most people (especially males) want to build.

Does Your Biceps Look Like This?

How to get big arms quickly?

How To Get Bigger Biceps: The 6 Best Exercises
  1. Concentration Curls (short head)
  2. Hammer Curls (long head)
  3. EZ Bar Curls (long / short head depending on grip)
  4. Preacher Curl (short head)
  5. Single Arm High Cable Bicep Curl (short head)
  6. Chin Ups (long / short head depending on grip)

Which muscle makes your arm look the biggest?

If you are looking to build some sizable arms, the triceps are your ticket to mass. A 2007 study found the triceps accounts for about 55 percent of the muscle mass in the arm while the biceps accounts for about 30 percent.

What muscle is responsible for arm width?

The brachialis is the muscle that is most responsible for bicep width… And it's often sorely neglected in our bicep training routine! The brachialis muscle sits up on the upper arm, crosses the elbow, and its only job is to control flexion of the arm at the elbow.

Why are my arms not getting wider?

How hard you train is not the only thing that determines muscle growth, but also how often you train. Often the training frequency is simply too low. To make any given muscle group grow, you should exercise it at least twice a week. This also applies to your arms.

What is the easiest muscle to build?

What Are the Easiest Muscles To Build? Generally speaking, your body's largest muscle groups, such as those in your back, chest, and legs, are likely to respond most quickly to strength training.

What muscle makes you look wider?

Training your delts and traps will add much needed width across the top. Especially if you're a taller guy, width is going to be a major standout feature that dictates whether you're deemed “skinny” or “big.” Putting beef on your shoulders and neck is a good place to start.

What causes big arms?

Extra skin and fat in the arms can be caused by obesity, significant weight loss, or genetics. Individuals born female are at a greater risk of carrying excess weight in their arms. Hormonal imbalances and a stagnant lifestyle can also cause arm fat.

How do you build muscle width?

"You need to perform exercises that target the largest mass of muscle," he explains. "Thickness and width boil down to compound lifts: deadlifts, bench press, shoulder press, rows, squats." Squats, in particular, are one of the best exercises for developing overall size, he says.

Can you get 20 inch arms naturally?

Genetics certainly come into play, but far more people are capable of building a legitimate 20-inch arm than will ever know. In many cases, if they only did things differently, their arms would grow to their ultimate potential rather than be stalled out one to three inches shy.

What is the most important muscle for arm size?

The triceps, located at the back, actually make up about 55% of the upper arm's muscle mass, compared to the biceps' 30%. [1] This means that focusing on tricep development is essential if you're aiming for well-rounded, impressive arms.

How to get massive forearms?

Our best exercises to include in forearm workouts include:
  1. Wrist flexion/extension: Wrist curls.
  2. Elbow flexion/extension: Reverse grip cable curl & Zottman curl.
  3. Grip strengthening: Farmer's carry & Plate pinch.

Do bigger shoulders make your arms bigger?

Proportional shoulders can make our arms look even bigger by creating visual consistency all the way to our chests. In contrast, underdeveloped shoulders can make our biceps and triceps appear underdeveloped.

How to make arms wider?

Preacher curls are always a great exercise to start with and once fatigue is reached I recommend switching to an exercise such as dumbbell alternating curls or single arm curls. The preacher curling method will target the bicep head at the bottom while standing will target it at the top of the muscle.

What's the hardest arm muscle to grow?

Many people spend a lot of time training the biceps, with very little results to show. In fact, the biceps are one of the hardest muscles for beginners to build.

How to get ridiculously big arms?

With your biceps, you want to perform curls on an incline and try to get a full stretch. Performing a chin-up or high cable pulleys will hit the bicep from a higher angle. The same goes for triceps; performing an overhead tricep extension will stimulate different heads of the muscle.

How many bicep curls should I do a day?

Continue performing biceps curls until you complete your desired number of reps and sets (try three sets of 12-15 reps), aiming to hit total failure in the muscle by the end of the three sets.

Can skinny arms get big?

Getting rid of skinny arms entails training the muscles directly 3-4 times per week. The key is to train both biceps and triceps and use heavy, moderate, and light weights throughout the week to increase strength, size, and vascularity. It's also important to train the arms using a full range of motion with good form.

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