The 10 Best Arm Blasters
Special Honors
Rogue Fitness More expensive than its competitors, this model is made in the USA and features thick laser-cut aluminum with either a powder-coated or anodized finish. Buyers can also choose between a nylon neck strap and a leather one. roguefitness.com
Editor's Notes
October 19, 2019:
Removed the Legendary Workout and LebBoulder Bomber due to availability concerns and replaced them with the durable Frost Giant Fitness Pro and the Body Solid Bicep Bomber, an affordable model that lets beginners try the concept out without spending too much money.
The main feature of an arm blaster is the contoured metal bar that performs a similar function to an incline bench or preacher curl station. Models like the DMoose Fitness and Rad Ultimate Strength use aluminum, which is lightweight enough to be comfortable to wear but durable enough to maintain its shape, no matter how much weight you put on your curl bar.
If you're prone to neck or back pain, make sure you get an option with adequate padding. Something like the Frost Giant Fitness Pro is a good choice if you want a layer of foam preventing the neck strap from digging into your skin during your workout.
Do You Really Need An Arm Blaster?
An arm blaster is a machine that's designed to lock your upper arms in a fixed position against your torso while you perform biceps curls.
There are seemingly millions of exercise gadgets and miracle machines out on the market today. Most of them are junk. You know this already.
So with that in mind, it's perfectly understandable that you'd be skeptical about arm blasters.
An arm blaster is a machine that's designed to lock your upper arms in a fixed position against your torso while you perform biceps curls. The idea behind this is that it will encourage proper form and prevent you from cheating on each rep, thereby speeding up your gains.
Does it really work? Actually...yes.
At least, it does what it promises to do, which is prevent you from being able to use momentum or other techniques to cheat. It's a very good tool for beginners, or anyone who's prone to taking the easy way out in the gym.
That said, do you need one? Of course not. There's nothing it does that can't be replicated in other ways, or by actually using proper form (and the correct amount of weight — you're not impressing anyone with those dumbbells that you can barely move there, Arnold).
You can use the preacher curl station or a bench to keep your upper arms locked in place, and you can do incline dumbbell curls, as these use gravity to prevent you from moving too much.
None of this means that you shouldn't get an arm blaster, however. If it encourages you to work out more, or push yourself harder, then it will be worth every penny. Also, if you know that your form tends to suffer, especially when you're tired at the end of your workout, then it might be worth it to buy one just to keep yourself honest (although you should know that there's some debate about whether cheating is all that bad to begin with).
Besides, there are plenty of workout gadgets and machines that are helpful without being essential. It all comes down to whatever makes your workout better for you — you don't have to justify yourself to anyone else.
Just be aware, however, that it can push your arms up, making your biceps look really big. It's probably worth it for that alone.
The Best Way To Get Bulging Biceps
You've spent hours in the gym, doing countless curls, and yet every time you look in the mirror, you see garden snakes where you were expecting pythons.
If that sounds familiar, it may be time to re-think your biceps routine.
You'll still need to load up on curls, of course. In addition to standing curls, use the preacher curl station, use the incline bench, and don't ignore the barbell. Think about attacking your biceps from the widest possible number of angles, as this will tax more of the muscle — as well as the surrounding muscles and tendons.
Or, failing that, have your tailor bring in your shirt sleeves a couple inches, so that it looks like your biceps are just raring to burst free.
However, there are other exercises that are just as effective for building huge arms, if not more so.
Chin-ups are one of the best things you can do to create sleeve-busting biceps. When you keep your palms facing you on the bar, it actually activates your biceps to near-maximal levels. Plus, they work a whole lot of other muscles in your upper body, helping you to look better all over.
While body weight is an excellent form of resistance, the fact is that if you want huge arms, you're going to need to lift huge weights. Doing higher reps of lighter weight is fine for toning and shaping, but bulking up requires using more muscle fibers, and challenging yourself with heavier weights recruits the highest amount of those.
Plus, putting up serious amounts of iron can boost your testosterone, which can then lead to more muscle.
You should know, though, that your triceps make up about two-thirds of your arm mass, so if you want huge arms, you should focus on them just as much, if not more. Or, failing that, have your tailor bring in your shirt sleeves a couple inches, so that it looks like your biceps are just raring to burst free.
Muscle Myths You Should Ignore
If you've spent any time in a gym, you've probably had some meathead spout a little bit of bro-science at you. Thing is, those dudes are usually pretty big — so should you believe them?
Not if they try to convince you of any of the following myths.
One of the most common is that you should do every single rep slowly in order to add mass. The fact of the matter is, moving faster allows you to put up more weight and burn more calories — but only on the way up. You should still lower the weight slowly and in a controlled manner, however.
There are plenty more falsehoods floating around most weight rooms, of course, so if you're not sure if something's true, do your own research.
You may also have had someone recommend using a Swiss ball instead of a bench for doing presses and curls. While this might be a good way to spice up your routine every now and then, it also requires you to use less weight, and as we saw above, you need heavy dumbbells to build heavy-duty biceps.
It's not just exercise that people often get wrong, either — it's also nutrition.
You've likely been told to stuff yourself with as much protein as possible in order to get big, and while increasing your intake is a good idea, there's a limit to how much you really need. Aim for about .8 grams per pound of body weight, as any more than that has virtually no benefit. That means that, if you eat lean meats and down a protein shake every now and then, you should be fine — no need to stuff yourself further.
There are plenty more falsehoods floating around most weight rooms, of course, so if you're not sure if something's true, do your own research. After all, do you really want to trust a guy who divides his wardrobe into "casual" tank tops and "work" tank tops?