To get massive arms, you have to build your biceps and triceps. The triceps, the muscles on the back of your upper arm, actually comprise a larger part of your arm than your biceps do, so working your triceps is essential to building massive arms. Side pushups alone will not give you massive arms, but they are an effective exercise for targeting your triceps.
Identification
The side pushup is a body weight, single-arm triceps exercise. Lie on your left side on the floor. Place your right hand flat in the floor in front of your chest. Relax your left arm along the floor or wrap it around your waist so your left hand rests over your right side. Stack your legs on top of each other. Push through your right hand, extending your elbow and lifting your upper body off the floor. Your hips remain in contact with the floor. Complete all the repetitions for one arm and then switch sides.
Function
The side pushup targets your triceps muscles. Other types of pushups involve your chest and front shoulders; this means your triceps are only doing part of the work. The side pushup is a unilateral exercise, which allows you to isolate one arm at a time. Other triceps pushups, such as the close grip pushup, work both arms together. If one arm is weaker than the other, the stronger arm pushes more of the load to compensate for the weaker arm. Performing unilateral exercises forces the weaker side to do its share of the work.
Limitations
During a side pushup, you are not pushing a lot of your body weight -- you are only pressing your shoulders and waist off the floor. Once you can do 15 to 20 repetitions with good form, you do not have a way to add weight to the exercise to make it more challenging. You cannot build massive arms with just the side pushup exercise. You should also include triceps exercises that allow you to progressively overload the muscle, such as triceps pressdowns or triceps extensions.
Routine
To gain muscle size, the National Strength and Conditioning Association recommends doing three to 10 sets of an exercise with a weight that fatigues the muscle in eight to 12 repetitions. If you want massive arms, you should design your arm routine around compound exercises, such as rows and chest presses that work the arm muscles in conjunction with larger muscles. However, to completely fatigue and challenge the triceps, you must also include isolation exercises, such as the side pushup. Use the side pushup as a finishing movement after you have fatigued the triceps muscle with other exercises.
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