Arguably the most popular muscle group that bodybuilders seek to improve is the biceps, with possibly the most frequent question asked of successful weight lifters from curious onlookers being "how large are your arms?" Bodybuilders will focus upon a wide range of biceps exercises in order to enhance the size of their arms, but despite such an intense focus with isolation exercises, many bodybuilders find that their upper arm mass does not reach what they would consider to be an acceptable level.

What is the missing ingredient that many bodybuilders avoid while seeking impressive upper arms? Other than wasting time with numerous exercises when only 1-2 are necessary for complete biceps development, the most frequent mistake is believing that large upper arm size is dependant solely upon biceps improvements, while in reality, there is a much more vital factor impacting upper arm mass.

Most are oblivious to the fact that the majority of upper arm size is occupied by the triceps, and since many bodybuilders in hopes of developing maximum upper arm size concentrate solely upon a wide array of biceps movements, triceps are often neglected, which amazingly, has more of a negative impact on upper arm muscle mass than if a bodybuilder were to completely avoid direct biceps training. Since biceps shape cannot change regardless of the lifting method or weight lifting exercise selection (this characteristic is genetically determined), instead of wasting time and effort on a plethora of biceps exercises, choose the most effective movements (such as preacher and barbell curls) for the biceps, and focus an equivalent amount of volume and effort on the triceps to encourage far greater overall size improvement.

Even bodybuilders who already feel as if they have nicely shaped triceps should not neglect direct triceps exercise in favor of extra biceps work, because adding 1-2 inches of triceps thickness will automatically result in an apparent biceps size increase, a fact that many bodybuilders do not realize. Many seek to reach a specific arm size, but since approximately 66 percent of the upper arm is occupied by the triceps muscle, logically, the triceps actually becomes far more critical than the biceps in achieving this goal, despite many classifying this as a "biceps" measurement (nobody seeks to learn the size of a weight lifter's triceps, when this is a more significant factor comprising upper arm mass). There is no effective way of measuring the biceps without also accounting for triceps thickness, and although this may seem obvious, there are many bodybuilders who do not consider that producing massive triceps also offers an illusion of larger, thicker, more impressive biceps muscles.

Although the triceps occupy a greater percentage of upper arm volume than the biceps, a bodybuilder need not train the triceps with more sets (volume), as the heavier weight used during triceps exercises will address the size disparity. The key is to target the biceps and triceps with an identical total number of sets, realizing that overloading both for maximum growth will produce much improved upper arm volume. Those who have reached a long term plateau in biceps size may find that by training the triceps in a more focused way, upper arm mass will begin to increase, and the added triceps thickness will at least offer the appearance of improved biceps development.

Lastly, make sure that you avoid isolation exercises for both the biceps and triceps, such as concentration curls and triceps kickbacks, as these are not geared towards maximum size gains; instead, focus on exercises that allow for heavier weight (such as standing barbell curls and close grip bench press) to encourage maximum size in the upper arm region. If you begin applying as much emphasis to triceps growth, you will see that upper arm size will experience a newfound size improvement spurt that others will mistakenly assume is a result of added biceps mass.