Arm workout plan for biceps and triceps

An arm workout plan for biceps and triceps, three short gym days of 26 to 29 minutes.

Who it is for

Each day opens with 4 sets of one curl and 4 sets of one triceps exercise, then 2 sets each of two more. It is written for people who already lift and want extra arm work next to the rest of their training; the 2 day tab has longer sessions.

• You have trained for a while and your arms lag behind your chest and back
• You want short arm sessions to add after other workouts or on their own
• Women and men who want firmer, stronger arms: the plan is the same, the weights differ
• You can only spare two days for arms: take the 2 day tab

How to lay out the week

Three days, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, each under half an hour. Day A starts with the dumbbell curl and the overhead cable triceps extension. Day B leads with the triceps, a triceps pushdown, then hammer curls for the forearm side of the upper arm. Day C opens with the incline dumbbell curl, which stretches the biceps at the bottom, and the triceps pushdown. Because the days are short, they fit after a leg session or on their own. On the 2 day tab, Monday and Thursday, each day has 14 sets instead of 12 and runs about half an hour.

How to add weight

Arm exercises use light weights, so each jump is big. Going from a 12 kg to a 14 kg dumbbell is about 17 % more. Stay at a weight until every set reaches the top of its range, 12 on the dumbbell curl and 15 on pushdowns, then take the next step and accept a few reps fewer. On cables, use the smallest plate or a half-step pin if the stack has one. Skull crushers with an EZ bar go up 2.5 kg at a time. If one exercise stalls for three sessions, keep the weight and add a one-second pause at the hardest point.

If you use Claude or ChatGPT, you can connect it to AIm later: it reads the same log.

Warm-up

1. Two minutes on a bike, then 20 arm circles forward and back.
2. Wrist circles and 15 pushdowns with a very easy weight to warm the elbows.
3. One set of 12 curls at half your working weight before the first real set.

Mistakes to avoid

• Swinging the curl with your hips. Stand with your back to a wall, or sit, if you cannot stop the lean.
• Elbows drifting forward on pushdowns, which turns them into a press. Pin them to your sides.
• Training arms every day. Biceps and triceps also work on every row and press; give them a day off between arm sessions.
• Cutting the range short on skull crushers and incline curls. The stretch at the bottom is part of the rep.

Arm workouts for women

Most women who look for an arm workout want firmer arms, and the back of the upper arm in particular. That part is the triceps, and this plan trains it on every day with pushdowns, overhead extensions or skull crushers. What changes the arm is a weight that makes 10 to 15 reps hard, not 50 easy ones. Starting with 3 to 5 kg on curls and the lightest pin on the cable is normal.

Arm day at the gym: what you need

A cable station with a straight bar and a rope, a rack of dumbbells, an adjustable bench for the incline curl, and an EZ bar for skull crushers. Nothing else. If the cable is busy, a dumbbell overhead extension replaces the cable version and a band can stand in for the pushdown, at the same reps.

Why the triceps get as many sets as the biceps

The triceps make up the larger part of the upper arm, yet most people curl far more than they push down. Here both sides get the same 18 sets a week on the 3 day tab, and the triceps are worked from three angles: arms at your sides, arms overhead and lying on a bench.