Big Arms Workout: Dusty Hanshaw's Bicep and Tricep Plan for Serious Growth

Big arms come down to three things: locking in perfect execution, picking the right exercises, and training with brutal intensity. That's it. This is the exact biceps and triceps workout IFBB pro Dusty Hanshaw uses to build his arms — seven movements, a rest-pause finisher, and zero wasted reps.

Before you touch a dumbbell, answer one question: are your biceps and triceps growing at the same rate, or is one of them lagging? If they're balanced, alternate between bicep and tricep exercises throughout the workout. If one is behind — for Dusty, it was his biceps — hit every single exercise for the weak point first, then move to the stronger muscle. No exceptions.

Meet the Athlete: Dusty Hanshaw

He’s one of ours, and this workout is exactly how he trains. Dusty has been part of the MUTANT since 2015, and if you've followed MUTANT for any length of time, you know he's not just a name on a roster. He's the guy who shows up, puts in the work, and hands down exactly what worked for him. He's an IFBB pro bodybuilder who built his arms using this exact protocol, prioritizing his lagging biceps ahead of his naturally strong triceps. Every cue in this article — the tempo, the setup, the failure points — comes straight from how he actually trains, not generic advice recycled from a fitness blog. 

Biceps Workout: 3 Exercises to Build Bigger Arms

Most lifters miss two things on biceps: training through a full range of motion, and keeping the biceps as the only muscle doing the work. The second your shoulders, traps, or momentum start helping move the weight, you're stealing stimulus from the muscle you're trying to grow. The three movements below are chosen specifically because they're hard to cheat.

Movement 1: Incline Dumbbell Curls

3 sets of 12-15 reps, pyramiding up in weight, with only the final set taken to true failure.

Set an incline bench and keep your chest high — don't let your delts rock back and forth to help pull the weight out of the bottom. Start from a dead hang with your arm completely straight, then curl using only the bicep, with total control on both the lift and the lowering phase. Feeling the bicep working matters more than the number on the dumbbell.

Movement 2: Unilateral Dumbbell Preacher Curls (Rest-Pause)

One rest-pause set, 20 total reps.

This is the technique that separates this workout from a standard curl-and-go routine. Rest-pause training means taking a set past normal failure by resting just long enough to squeeze out a few more reps with the same weight, instead of ending the set and moving on.

Here's how Dusty runs it:

1. Choose a weight you can hit for 11-12 strict reps to failure — that's just over half your 20-rep target.

2. Lock your shoulder in place and curl with total control, feeling the stretch at the bottom and the contraction at the top. Push to failure — you should land around 11-12 reps.

3. Rack the dumbbell and take 8-10 deep breaths over about 30 seconds.

4. Pick the same weight back up and go again to failure — expect around 5-6 reps this time.

5. Rest another 8-10 breaths, then go one more time to failure — you'll likely only get 2-3 reps.

By the end, you've forced roughly 20 total reps out of a weight you could only strict-curl for 11-12 — without ever letting the muscle fully recover between mini-sets. That's what makes rest-pause brutal and effective.

Movement 3: Alternating Dumbbell Hammer Curls

3 sets of 12-15 reps, all sets taken to failure.

Hammer curls hit the brachialis along with the bicep. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, dumbbells at your sides in a neutral hammer grip, and alternate arms each rep. Keep your shoulders locked and squeeze for a one-count at the top of every rep before controlling the weight back down. That pause at peak contraction is what locks in the mind-muscle connection.

Once these three are done, your biceps should be finished. Move straight to triceps.

Triceps Workout: 4 Exercises for Mass and Lockout Strength

The triceps make up the majority of your upper arm size, so this block is built to hit all three heads — long, lateral, and medial — through pressing, extension, and a heavy compound finisher.

Movement 1: Rope Pressdowns

3 sets of 15 reps, pyramiding up in weight, with only the final set to complete failure.

Pressdowns aren't a mass builder on their own — Dusty uses them here to lock in the mind-muscle connection, pump blood into the triceps, and warm up the elbows before heavier work. The two things most people get wrong: not getting a full stretch at the top, and not fully extending the arms for a complete contraction at the bottom.

Movement 2: JM Press (Incline Smith Machine)

2 working sets to failure — Set 1: 8-10 reps at max weight. Set 2: 12-15 reps with slightly lighter weight.

Set the bench to a 45-degree angle under a vertical Smith machine, positioned so the bar comes down just below your nose at the bottom of the rep. Start with arms extended, overhand grip, and lower the bar like a skull crusher with your elbows pulled in as tight to your sides as your mobility allows. The number one mistake here is letting the elbows flare out, which turns the movement into a press instead of a tricep-isolation exercise. Control the negative all the way to a near-face touch, then drive back up to full extension without letting the elbows drift.

Movement 3: Weighted Dips

2 working sets to failure — Set 1: 8-10 reps heavy. Set 2: 12-15 reps with a lighter drop-back weight.

Keep your body upright, feet hanging nearly under your hips, and chest high — leaning forward shifts the work into your chest. Lower under control into a full stretch, pause briefly, then explode back up to near lockout. That combination of a controlled negative and an explosive concentric is what drives triceps growth here, not just moving the weight.

Movement 4: EZ Bar Pressdowns

2 sets of 12-15 reps — the finisher.

Overhand grip, elbows fixed just in front of a slightly leaned-forward torso. Extend straight down to full lockout, focusing on feeling the stretch at the top of the movement and the contraction at full extension. This is about emptying the tank, not adding load.

Full Workout at a Glance

How Often Should You Train Arms for Growth?

Direct arm training works best at 2-3 sessions per week for most lifters chasing hypertrophy, with 48-72 hours of recovery between sessions on the same muscle group. If biceps or triceps are lagging like Dusty's biceps were, a dedicated arm-priority day like this one — done consistently and paired with adequate recovery — is what actually moves the needle, not adding more random curls to every workout.

FAQ: Big Arms Workout

Do I need to train biceps and triceps on the same day?

No, but it works well if one arm muscle is lagging. Training the weaker muscle first while you're fresh, then finishing with the stronger one, lets you bring up a lagging body part without sacrificing intensity on either.

What is rest-pause training and why use it for arms?

Rest-pause training extends a set past normal failure by taking short 20-30 second breathing breaks and continuing with the same weight. It lets you accumulate more total reps under a heavier load than you could in one straight set, which is a strong driver of hypertrophy in smaller muscle groups like biceps.

Why do my biceps stop growing even though I curl every week?

Usually it's form breakdown — using shoulders, traps, or momentum to move the weight instead of isolating the bicep through a full range of motion. Locking your shoulder in place and slowing down the negative portion of each rep is the fix.

Are triceps or biceps more important for bigger arms?

Triceps make up the larger share of upper-arm mass, so a program that neglects triceps in favor of biceps will cap your overall arm size. This workout trains both directly in the same session for balanced growth.

How long should an arm workout like this take?

With three bicep movements and four tricep movements — including one rest-pause set — expect roughly 45-60 minutes depending on your rest periods and warm-up sets.

Can beginners use the JM press and rest-pause techniques?

Rest-pause and the JM press both require solid base strength and joint stability. Beginners are better off building foundational strength with standard sets first, then layering in techniques like these once form and mind-muscle connection are dialed in.