When it comes to training our arms, we tend to flop into the habit of doing endless isolation exercises like bicep curls, tricep extensions and the likes. In doing so, we miss out on the mass and strength gains that compound arm exercises provide.
Compound exercises are often associated with our larger muscle groups like our back, glutes and quads. But there are excellent compound exercises for your biceps and triceps and the overall strengthening and shaping of your arms too. In this article, I’m going to be going over 6 of the best compound arm exercises and how to execute them well.
Contents
Compound Exercises Vs. Isolation Exercises
Before we get into the details of the exercises, I want to highlight the difference between compound and isolation movements.
- Compound exercises are exercises that require multi-joint and multi-muscle involvement. Because multiple muscles and joints come into play when fuelling the movement, compound exercises are generally performed with a heavier load than their isolated counterparts.
- Isolation exercises refer to single-joint movements that require maximum output from a primary muscle, thus isolating the point/area of tension. As one muscle is largely responsible for moving the weight, these types of exercises are performed with lesser weight than compound exercises, comparatively.
So, which is better?
Each of these types of exercises have their place in your workout regime. However, if it’s gains that you’re ultimately looking for, compound exercises are known to lead to a more significant release of our body’s natural growth hormone. Food for thought!
Top 7 Compound Exercises for Arms
Now that you’re excited to get stuck into some compound exercises, let’s look at the best ones for hitting your arms hard!
1. Single Arm Dumbbell Row
The single arm dumbbell row is a great unilateral exercise for creating balanced strength and mass through your biceps and back on both the left and right sides of your body. In addition to this, the supported position of this exercise allows you to capitalize on heavy weight.
Equipment needed: Flat bench, dumbbell
How to:
- As this is a single-sided exercise, I recommend you start with your weaker side. For example, if you are right handed, you’d start your rows with your left arm.
- Place your right knee on a flat bench and support your upper body with your right arm, palm down on the flat bench.
- Have your other leg out wide and a dumbbell in your left hand.
- Before commencing your rows, ensure that your spine in a neutral, table top position and your shoulder blades are retracted.
- Pull the dumbbell up towards your lower rib cage, keeping your elbow close to your side.
- Hold for a second and return to starting position.
- Complete all repetitions on this side before switching sides.
Suggested repetitions: 12 to 15 each side
2. Close-Grip Chin Ups
Close-grip chin ups target your biceps a lot more than a wide grip pull up, for example. The closely positioned supinated grip helps shift some of the load from your lats onto your biceps.
Equipment needed: Chin up bar
How to:
- Grip the chin up bar with a neutral, shoulder width apart grip and your palms facing towards you.
- Allow your body to be in a dead hang position on fully extended arms, then using your biceps and lats, initiate the pull up.
- Pull yourself all the way up until your chin is at the height of the bar, hold for a second, and then lower down slowly to starting position.
- Keep your body in a straight line and if you’re bending at the knees, aim to have your feet behind you to avoid using your core for assistance in pulling up. Your core should be there for spinal stability only, in this exercise.
Suggested repetitions: 10 to 12
Pro tip: Is your body weight not challenging you enough, but you still want to work within that hypertrophy rep range? Add a weight plate on a chained belt for some extra load.
3. Diamond Push Ups
According to the American Council on Exercise, diamond push ups, also known as close-grip push ups, are one of the best exercises you can do for strengthening your triceps. As with regular push ups, you can do them on your knees instead of your toes, and go from there.
Equipment needed: None
How to:
- Place your hands together on the floor to create a diamond shape with your thumbs and index fingers.
- Go into the top of a push up position on fully extended arms with your body in a straight line and your toes on the floor.
- Bending at the elbows, lower yourself down towards the ground, sending your elbows behind you in the neutral plane of movement created by your hand positioning.
- Hold for a second just above the ground and then push back up until your arms are fully extended and your triceps fully contracted.
Suggested repetitions: 12 to 15
Pro tip: Try these with your feet on a round side down BOSU ball.
4. Close Grip Bench Press
In my opinion, this exercise is one of the tricep strengthening exercises that delivers the most bang for your buck. Not only does it build strength through your triceps, pecs and front deltoids, but it is the ultimate accessory exercise for the bench press itself.
Read more: 5 Close Grip Bench Press Benefits You Might Not Have Heard About
Equipment needed: Bench press rack and barbell
How to:
- Grip the bar slightly over shoulder-width apart.
- Unrack the barbell and pull it over to the middle of your chest. Have your arms fully extended.
- Lower the barbell down to a fist height off your chest. Your elbows should be less than 45-degrees to your sides and your wrists should be stacked in line with your elbows.
- Hold for a second and then powerfully push the barbell back up to starting position.
Suggested repetitions: 8 to 12
5. Barbell Overhand Bent Over Row
The overhand grip in this exercise will get you feeling your forearms for sure. This exercise, although primarily a back exercise, will have your arms working hard. A list of compound exercises for arms would be incomplete without this one!
Equipment needed: Barbell
How to:
- Have a barbell racked just above knee height.
- Assume a shoulder width, overhand grip on the barbell.
- Unrack the barbell and take a few steps out of the rack.
- Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and a slight bend in your knees.
- Hinge forward at your hips to 45-degrees and have the barbell hanging on extended arms.
- Retract your shoulder blades, engage your core and then pull the barbell up to touch your lower rib cage. Your elbows should skim past your sides.
- Hold for a second and then lower back to starting position over the count of 3.
Suggested repetitions: 8 to 12
6. TRX Cable Narrow Push Ups
The TRX push up provides a lot of variation/progression as you can adjust the cables to a height that is within your capacity. The more vertical your body line is, the easier it will be; the more horizontal your body line is, the harder it will be.
Equipment needed: TRX cables
How to:
- You can do these on the floor too – but why would you when you can do them on TRX cables?!
- Go into push up position with each of your hands griping an end of the TRX cable and your toes on the ground. Your body should be in a straight line, i.e. no sagging at the hips.
- Start on fully extended arms with your hands below your shoulders, in terms of hand placement/width.
- Lower your body down towards the ground by bending at the elbows. Stop when your chest is just above your hands and then push back up to starting position.
Suggested repetitions: 12 to 15
7. Ring Dips
Ring dips feature at a lot of fitness competitions, and that’s no surprise, really. They are a real challenge to perform correctly – or at all! Jokes aside, when performed correctly, ring dips provide the ultimate workout for your upper body, namely your arms and shoulders.
Equipment needed: Rings
How to:
- You can also use dip bars, but where is the fun in that?
- Have a ring in each hand and support your body weight on fully extended arms, by your sides. If you want to have your knees bent, cross your ankles and have your feet behind you.
- Bend your elbows, lowering your body towards the ground. Your elbows should skim close by your sides.
- Once you reach a 90-degree bend in the elbows, push yourself back up until your arms are fully extended again.
Suggested repetitions: 10 to 12
In Conclusion
I hope after reading this article you feel inspired to add some compound exercises into your arm training days. And if you were already inspired, hopefully, you picked up a new exercise or two to test out!
Compound bicep and tricep exercises are a great way to pack on size and give your arms some great definition. Isolation exercises have their place too, as we have discussed. But if your training goals are shape and size orientated, then your workout should consist of mostly compound arm exercises, garnished with a few isolation exercises for good measure.
So… suns out guns out!
