When looking to increase strength or muscle size in the upper body, there are three major muscle groups in the arm that you should remember to work out. You should complete your weight training workout for your arms on a consistent basis and target each of these three muscle groups. How often you work out and the number of sets and repetitions you complete depends on your goals.
Muscles
The major muscle groups in the arms include the deltoids --- or shoulders --- biceps and triceps. The deltoids are located at the very top of your shoulders and slightly run down the outside of your arm. They are recruited when you lift your arm up out to the side or in front of you. Your biceps are located at the front of your arms and are developed when your elbow bends against resistance. The triceps are at the back of your arms and are worked when you extend your elbow against resistance.
Exercises
To target your deltoids, do shoulder presses, upright rows, lateral raises, front raises and dips. To work your biceps, complete biceps curls, isolation curls and hammer curls. Your biceps are also recruited during upright rows. To develop your triceps, complete triceps extensions and kickbacks. Your triceps are also recruited during the shoulder press and dip. Those looking to improve strength can see improvements by choosing two exercises for each muscle to include in their training sessions. Those looking to build muscle should choose three or four exercises for each muscle.
Training Schedule
You can increase the strength of your deltoids, biceps and triceps by working out twice per week. Ideally, on a two workout per week routine, allow two days of rest between sessions, such as a Monday and Thursday or Tuesday and Friday schedule. If you're interested in building muscle, do your arm workouts three days per week with a single day of rest in between, such as in a Monday, Wednesday and Friday, or Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday schedule. Building muscle requires more total workout volume than building strength.
Volume
The difference in volume of training for strength versus muscle size applies to the number of sets and repetitions you need to complete as well. Those looking to increase strength should do two or three sets of four to eight repetitions. Begin with two sets for the first few weeks and then increase your volume to three sets of each exercise. Rest for three to five minutes between sets. Those looking to build muscle should complete three to five sets of six to 12 repetitions of each exercise. Rest one to three minutes in sets.
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