“It’s not about the car, it’s about the size of the arm having out of the window.” If you ask me, why not have a Ferrari with 18-inch arms? Is that even possible naturally, though?
The truth is, it is possible to have 18-inch arms naturally – maybe not shredded – but it certainly is possible. Let me teach you how to achieve ‘em.
How Do You Grow Your Arms 100% Naturally?
When it comes to growing any muscle, we first need to identify what it is we’re growing. Once we’ve established what we’re attempting to grow, we can actually make adjustments to training and diet.
The arms consist of two muscle groups: Biceps and Triceps.
| Biceps | Triceps |
| Makes up 30 – 40% of the arm | Makes up 60 – 70% of the arm |
| It consists of the coracobrachialis, the brachialis, and the biceps brachii | Consists of the long head, medial head, and lateral head |
| Essential for flexion of the elbow (curling the arm) | Essential for extension of the arm (pressing with the arm) |
| Needed for back compound movements, like pulldowns, rows, etc | Needed for pressing movements, like bench press, overhead press, and dumbbell press |
Now that we’ve identified the different muscles, you can actually see that the triceps make up a much larger portion of the arm than the biceps do. This could help us down the line when creating a program, as getting those triceps a lot bigger could fill out your sleeves a lot easier.
But why would you even want big arms?
Well, on top of competing with some of the biggest biceps in the bodybuilding world, there are quite a few celebrities with 18-inch arms, like Dwayne Johnson, John Cena, Mark Wahlberg (at his biggest), and maybe Chris Hemsworth – and they’re all praised for their bodies.
It can also really help your compound movements. Big triceps almost always mean a big bench, and big biceps mean you probably won’t be tearing one when doing a heavy deadlift.
So, it’s not only for aesthetics…
How to Train for 18-Inch Arms
So, as you might expect, you’re going to have to train your arms pretty hard in order for them to actually grow – no surprise there. But we often hear things like, “oh, the biceps need volume” or “the triceps only grow with massive load” – what’s really true?
Muscle Growth Requires Three Things
We know that in order for muscles to grow, you need to cause some form of progressive overload (PO). PO is the term used to describe doing “more” as time passes.
Now, what does “more” mean, you might ask?
- More Load: Load is simply the weight on the bar or at the end of a cable. Studies have shown that load does play a role in hypertrophy and that higher loads (compared to lower loads) can lead to a greater increase in strength.
- More Volume: Volume refers to simply doing more sets/reps per session or per week. Doing way too much volume is not a great thing to try and do. However, some studies show that volume does play a role in actually gaining muscle.
- More STUT: Significant time under tension is actually just a combination of load and volume. Your sets should ultimately be challenging, and you should be forcing your body to adapt.
Thus, you should be combining all three aspects to get the best results possible.
The “Secrets” Behind a Good Movement
With all of that in mind, we can even look at certain movements that you’d want to progress the most on. So, what makes a good movement?
- Stable: If you aren’t stable in the movement, there’s actually a larger risk of injury – which takes us to the second point.
- Train the Target Muscle: If you’re doing a bicep curl and you feel it in your shoulder, you probably aren’t going to be growing your biceps optimally.
- Progressive: Progressing on that one machine in the gym that has plates that differ by 40lbs from one another is going to be hard. It might be better to use dumbbells because you can progress with them a lot easier.
The Best Exercises for Triceps Growth Are …
So, now what are the best exercises to actually grow your triceps:
JM Press
The JM Press is a version of the skull crusher that’s commonly used by powerlifters. This can be a fantastic movement to build some serious mass. However, just make sure your elbows are actually warmed up and ready to lift heavy.
Cable Crossover Tricep Extension
The cable crossover tricep extension is another tricep movement that’s going to train/overload the muscle in its shortened position. It’s also a very stable exercise that you can easily overload.
Double Rope Pushdown
Rope pushdowns are pretty common, but using two ropes at the same time will allow for each tricep to contract fully into its shortened position. Then, simply turn around and do overhead extensions to train the triceps in their lengthened position.
There are obviously other great tricep movements you can focus on; those are just three of the best ones, I believe.
The Best Exercises for 18-Inch Biceps Are …
To sculpt bigger-than-average biceps, you can do the following:
Elbow-Supported Preacher Curl
Shoutout to coach Paul Carter for this one.
For elbow-supported preacher curls, simply sit on the pulldown machine facing away from the machine, and use the thigh pad to brace against. You can then fully focus on only using the bicep to move the weight through an active range of motion.
Hammer Curls
Hammer curls with dumbbells are pretty amazing at targeting the brachialis muscle, whereas other curls would not do that so effectively.
Cable Curls
I would look to do these facing away from the cable. This means doing one arm at a time and then trying to extend that elbow as much as possible.
Yes, the biceps grow better in a shortened position. However, they still have the ability to grow in the lengthened position. For that, the best exercise is the cable curl facing away from the cable.
The Two Best Methods for Upper Arm Growth
Regarding sets and volume, there’s never going to be a blanket statement for everyone.
We all have different recovery abilities. We all have different stress levels, and because we will all be using different loads, using the same amount of volume is pretty silly.
For the most part, there are two routes you can take:
Low Volume, High Load, High Frequency
This is a very “old school” training style popularized in the late 80s and early 90s. You will be training with proper heavy loads, but max 6 – 7 sets per part of the arm. Because volume per session is so low, you might actually spend another session on the arms later in the week.
High Volume, Low Load, Low Frequency
Pump! This style of training is very determined on chasing the pump, and getting the greatest growth depends on the size of your pump. This means doing higher volume workouts with a bunch of sets and reps.
Which One Is Best?
You’re free to choose which one you want.
Anecdotally, for arms, I find somewhere in the middle is the best for growth. I’m not about to do a one-rep max on curls, but I’m also not going to be doing more than 10 sets on biceps or triceps in one session.
Oh, one thing to note: the younger your training age is, the less volume it seems you need to grow at max capacity. Thus, if you’re new to training, you might benefit from training with a higher load and less volume.
How Often to Train for 18-Inch Pythons
Another big factor that’s going to control growth is, “How often should you train the biceps and triceps, respectively?”
This is actually a hard question to answer because it depends on other factors, such as how old your training age is, how often you train chest/shoulders and back, and just what your other goals are.
For argument’s sake, let’s say your only goal is to get 18-inch arms. How should you split your training, and how should you build your weekly training schedule?
If I had a client with this goal, this is how I would split their workouts:
- Monday: Chest, Triceps
- Tuesday: Back, Biceps
- Wednesday: Off
- Thursday: Quads, Biceps
- Friday: Shoulders, Triceps
- Saturday: Back, Hamstrings
There are, of course, a million other schedules you can follow, and hundreds of them would actually work. The point is, that you have to find something that’s sustainable. The guy who trains consistently for 100 weeks is going to beat the guy who did 68 half-ish weeks.
You should also aim to get stronger from week to week. This might not be by much. For example, you can try to only improve by 5lbs every second week. That’ll add up to one hell of a difference at the end of a year.
Lastly, you should be aiming to use some heavy weights! This means you gotta be within that 5 – 10 rep range. While there might be some benefit in training with higher reps to some, for the most part, the 5 – 10 rep range will be ideal for most.
The Whole “Natural vs Unnatural” Debate
I saved this for last because it should be the absolute last thing on your mind.
If you’re unaware, in the bodybuilding and recreational lifting world, the use of certain PEDs (performance-enhancing drugs) is pretty common. Hell, this is even common in actors getting ready for certain roles.
The term “unnatural” isn’t defined by any authority and is loosely used everywhere else. For WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency), unnatural means almost anything, even drinking too much coffee – yes, certain levels of caffeine could get you banned.
For the general gym bros, unnatural means a person is using anabolic steroids. While steroids were originally developed to treat patients suffering from muscle wasting diseases, there’s no denying the effect these substances have on training individuals.
That alone explains why so many bodybuilders, celebrities, and even gym bros have 18-inch biceps. (But no matter how badly you want 18-inch biceps, we would never recommend taking a “shortcut” to ‘em.)
So can you really build 18-inch arms naturally? Yes, absolutely, but maybe not shredded to the bone 18-inch arms. You might not have a perfect separation between muscles, and there might be a bit of fat on them.
So, Can I Get 18-Inch Arms Naturally?
Natural guys are smaller than unnatural, professional bodybuilders. That is a fact. However, there are billions of people in the history of the earth who have gained a significant amount of muscle without being enhanced – don’t let that stop you.
You have to focus on actually training the target muscles and getting dirty strong on those. This means spending a considerable amount of time actually improving on load.
Bodybuilders are known to curl well over 100lbs per arm, and powerlifters can easily close grip bench more than 350lbs.
Strength will always bring size. So, focus on getting stronger in the 5 – 10 rep range.
Lastly, you have to eat a lot. There’s a common saying that to gain just one inch on your arms, you need to gain 15 – 20 lbs in total body mass.
Aim to eat at least 200 – 400 calories above maintenance if your goal is building some serious mass. You need at least 1g of protein per pound of body mass. From there, you can split your calories between fats and carbohydrates as you wish.
So, you have to spend a long time in a calorie surplus and train really hard. And by a long time, I do mean you have to spend at least 12 – 20 weeks doing this. Yes, there are going to be times when it’s uncomfortable, but it simply is needed for you to actually grow.
Building 18-inch arms are totally possible with a natural physique. That said, it will require a lot of effort and commitment.
