How to Get 20-Inch Biceps Naturally: Top Exercises

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ACE-certified personal trainer Monica Morris shares the best exercises for massive, 20-inch arms

Co-authored by Monica Morris and Dan Hickey

Last Updated: June 12, 2026 Fact Checked

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• Best Exercises
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• More Tips
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• Can you do it naturally?
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• How to Measure
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• Average Size
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• Video

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Big biceps are a common goal, but 20-inch biceps are a truly elite feat! If you’re ready to start training for bulging, eye-catching arms, look no further. We consulted professional personal trainers to bring you the best arm exercises (biceps, triceps, and brachialis) to add to your lifting routine, plus more helpful tips about form, training schedules, and diet for steady progress. Keep scrolling for everything you need to know!

How do you get 20-inch biceps?

ACE-certified personal trainer Monica Morris says you need to train your biceps hard, including about 7 exercises each day to target your biceps. She recommends rope curls, short bar curls, reverse short bar curls, scarecrows, preacher curls, wide grip barbell curls, and isolated dumbbell curls for the best results.

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Section 1 of 5:

Best Exercises for 20-Inch Arms

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   For biceps To hit 20 inches, Morris advises to “Train biceps hard, including 7 bicep exercises for every bicep day” you do. She recommends the following exercises to specifically target your biceps:

   • Rope curls (3-4 sets, 8-15 reps): Attach a Y-handle rope to a cable lowered to the floor. Curl your arms upward from the bottom of your range of motion with palms facing in and thumbs up.
   • Short bar curls (3-4 sets, 8-12 reps): Attach a short bar to a cable lowered to the floor (or use an EZ bar) with an underhand grip and curl upward.
   • Reverse short bar curls (3-4 sets, 10-15 reps): This is performed the same as a short bar curl, but with a reversed (overhand) grip.
   • Scarecrows (3-4 sets, 10-15 reps): With a pair of light dumbbells, raise your elbows to shoulder height with your weights hanging down toward the floor. Rotate your shoulders to lift the dumbbells above your elbows. (This move targets your shoulders and will help define your biceps.)
   • Preacher curls (3-4 sets, 8-12 reps): Sit or stand at a preacher bench and perform bicep curls with an EZ bar or dumbbells and an underhand grip.
   • Wide grip barbell curls (3-4 sets, 8-12 reps): Grab a barbell with a wide, underhand grip and curl it upward toward your shoulders to target the short head of your biceps.
   • Isolated dumbbell curls (3-4 sets, 10-15 reps): Sit on a bench and lean forward, resting your elbow against the inside of your leg. Curl a dumbbell up slowly, squeezing the bicep at the top of the movement.

   Meet the wikiHow Experts

   Monica Morris is an ACE-certified personal trainer with over 15 years of professional training experience.

   Ian Heydecke is a fitness and culinary expert who shares workout routines with over 12K subscribers on YouTube and 15K followers on Instagram.

   Pete Cerqua is a certified personal trainer and nutritionist with over 20 years of training and coaching experience.
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   For triceps Morris adds, “Don’t forget you’ll need to also develop your triceps with just as much force, since they are the antagonist of the bicep muscle.” Fitness expert Ian Heydecke agrees, explaining that “If [you] want bigger arms, you actually need bigger triceps than biceps, because it's three muscles compared to two. Your triceps make your arms look bigger.” Training your tris is crucial to achieving that 20-inch circumference, so here are some exercises to add to your routine:

   • Skullcrushers (3-4 reps, 8-12 reps): On a flat or decline bench, hold dumbbells, an EZ-bar, or a barbell above your chest, then hinge only at your elbows to move the weights over or behind your head.
   • Close grip bench press (3-4 sets, 8-10 reps): On a bench or Smith machine, keep your hands only 8-10 inches (20.3-25.4 cm) apart and press the bar upward (working both your chest and triceps).
   • Tricep dips (3-4 sets, 8-12 reps): On a dip machine or the edge of a bench, place your hands about shoulder-width apart and lower your body until your elbows are at a 90-degree angle. Push yourself back to the starting position. (For progressive overload, use a tricep dips machine.)
   • Dumbbell overhead triceps extension (3 sets, 8-10 reps): Sit upright on a bench and grip a dumbbell with both hands, pressing it directly overhead and keeping your elbows tucked.
   • Cable push-downs (3 sets, 10-12 reps): Set the cable pulley to the highest position and attach a straight bar and press downward using only your forearms, keeping your upper arms and elbows stationary.
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   For the brachialis The what now? The brachialis is a thick, powerful muscle located underneath your bicep. It’s the primary flexor for your elbow and is even stronger than your bicep! Exercising this muscle is vital for your overall arm strength and size (especially the thickness of your bicep area). Here are some moves to grow this important muscle:

   • Pullups (3-4 sets, 6-12 reps): Grab a pullup bar with an overhand grip and your hands slightly wider than your shoulders. Pull your chest to the bar by driving your elbows down and back, then slowly lower yourself to finish 1 rep.
   • Zottman curls (3-4 sets, 8-15 reps): Curl dumbbells up while rotating your wrists into an underhand grip. At the top of the movement, rotate into an overhand grip, then lower the dumbbells.
   • Hammer curls (3-4 sets, 8-12 reps): Curl dumbbells or a Y-handle rope on a cable with a hammer grip (palms facing each other). Keep your elbows tucked through the full range of motion.
   • Cable reverse curls with straight bar (3-4 sets, 8-12 reps): Attach a straight bar to the low pulley on a cable machine and use an overhand grip. Curl the bar upward by flexing your elbows, then slowly lower.
   • Cross-body dumbbell curls (3-4 sets, 8-15 reps): Curl one dumbbell diagonally across your body toward the opposite shoulder, keeping your palm facing your body through the entire movement. Alternate arms and repeat.
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Section 2 of 5:

More Tips for Big Arms

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1. 
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   Train your biceps and triceps twice a week, including one dedicated arm day. You’ll need to do a lot of sets to get your arms up to 20 inches. “Go with higher volume,” explains certified personal trainer Pete Cerqua. “I’d be looking to get up to 30 to 32 sets per week on each of the muscles, biceps and triceps.” Exactly how you divvy up your workouts is up to your preference and schedule, but you might try a schedule like:

   • Day 1: “Push” exercises (chest, shoulders, triceps)
   • Day 2: “Pull” exercises (back and biceps)
   • Day 3: Legs (quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves)
   • Day 4: Arms (triceps and biceps)
   • Day 5: Rest (then repeat the cycle)
   • Every day that you work biceps and triceps, pick 3-4 exercises and do 3-4 sets to increase your weekly volume.
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   Lift heavy when you work your chest and back to keep your arms engaged. Isolated bicep and tricep exercises are great for muscle gains, but they’re not the only moves that work these muscles. Chest exercises like pushups or the bench press also recruit your triceps for support (especially as you near failure); similarly, back exercises like pulldowns or rows use your biceps for help. Train with heavy weights on chest and back days to increase the total time your arms spend working out.

   • Tip: Do your moves like the bench press or pulldowns first. This will warm up your triceps or biceps for isolated exercises afterward.
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   Do a mix of heavy weights with low reps and lighter weights with high reps. Lifting very heavy weight for fewer reps (fewer than 8) helps build raw strength, while higher reps with lighter weights are great for endurance. Both can contribute to hypertrophy (muscle growth), so if you notice your progress stalling, try changing up your approach for a few weeks.

   • Both methods are essentially equal for muscle gains if your overall volume is high and you’re pushing yourself near failure.
   • Switching things up can also prevent both physical and psychological fatigue. It’s important to keep things fresh in the gym for your mind as well as your body!
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   Give your arms adequate recovery time to avoid overtraining. Give each muscle (biceps and triceps) at least 1 day of rest before you work them again. Growth happens as your muscle tissue repairs itself after each workout, but if you never give your arms time to recover, these growth will slow or even plateau. If several weeks have gone by and you’ve stopped seeing progress, you may want to skip arms for a week (or even longer!) to allow them to fully heal.

   • Speaking of rest, aim to get 7-9 hours of sleep per night. When you’re in REM sleep, your body releases growth hormones that help your muscle tissue repair itself. The longer you sleep, the more time your muscles have to heal and gain mass!
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   Train with lighter weights and better form (no cheating!) Using proper form doesn’t just prevent injury—it also boosts your progress and muscle gains. This means you may have to check your ego and try working with a slightly lighter weight to make sure you’re doing each exercise correctly. Make sure you’re moving through your entire range of motion, using slow and controlled movements, and aren’t “cheating” by using other muscles for assistance (for example, using your legs to help push you back up at the bottom of a tricep dip).

   • When you can max out your sets with good form, then you can increase your weight.
   • Tip: To improve your form, think about your mind-body connection as you lift. Feel each muscle contracting and stretching as you raise and lower the weight.
   • If something hurts or feels “off,” stop, assess your form, try a lighter weight, and/or let your muscles rest for a few days before exercising them again.
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   Eat a diet high in lean protein and healthy fats. For most people, eating 1.8-3.2 grams of protein per pound of body weight (1.6 and 2.2 g/kg) per day is best for gaining muscle. High-protein foods to add to your regular diet include lean meat and poultry, low-fat dairy, fish and seafood, eggs, legumes, soy products, nuts, and seeds. Carbs are also essential for maintaining energy and growing muscle. Try to get about 1.8-3.2 grams per pound (4-7 g/kg) of body weight per day from unprocessed (or minimally processed) sources like whole grain breads and pastas, potatoes, brown rice, legumes, and fruits.

   • Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (like omega-3 fatty acids) are also vital for lowering cholesterol, controlling your risk for heart disease, and balancing your diet.
   • 20-35% of the calories in your diet should come from healthy fat sources like avocados, nuts, seeds, fish, and oils like olive, peanut, canola, sunflower, corn, soybean, and flaxseed.
   • How many calories should you eat? For most people, maintaining a calorie surplus of 350-500 calories per day is best for adding muscle without also adding fat.
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Section 3 of 5:

Can you get 20-inch biceps naturally?

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1. 
   It’s difficult—but not impossible—to get natural 20-inch biceps. Training your arms to reach 20 inches requires dedicated time and effort, and this will be more achievable for some guys than others. For example, a man who’s 6’6” or taller and naturally large-boned will have an easier time bulking up his arms than someone shorter and more petite. Your body fat percentage matters here, too. If you’re around 20% or above, you could add up to an extra inch on your arms; if you lean down, though, you’ll lose size.

   • Aesthetically, if you’re looking to have 20-inch arms and be fairly lean, your goal may be a tad unrealistic (some of the most famous bodybuilders of all time only had 18-inch arms, which is about what most lifters consider to be the ceiling for natural biceps).
   • If it’s the big-armed and shredded look you’re going for, it may be more attainable to aim for 16- or 17-inch biceps. On most guys’ frames, they’ll look absolutely massive!
   • However, everyone’s genetics and dedication are different. With focused and consistent training over several years, 20-inch biceps could be a reality for you.

Section 4 of 5:

How to Measure Your Bicep

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1. 
   Measure your bicep around the peak while flexed with a measuring tape. “Close your fist and contract (squeeze) your bicep while moving your forearm towards your shoulder,” Morris says. “Measure at the largest part of your bicep while flexed.” It may be hard to wrap the measuring tape around your arm by yourself, so you might ask a friend to help you.

   • Take measurements before and after a workout to track your progress. “For a true read, you would do both,” Morris explains.
   • Morris advises measuring every other week to track your progress. “If you really want to gain in size, measure again every 2 weeks to see if they’ve enlarged at both your pre-workout and pump size.”
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Section 5 of 5:

Average Bicep Size

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1. 
   The average man’s bicep in the US is about 14.6 inches (37.1 cm). This average takes men of all ages, heights, weights, body compositions, and fitness levels into account, so it isn’t just a measurement of men who work out and train for big arms. But, it can give you a good idea of how your biceps measure up compared to the average guy! For most men, bicep size peaks in your 20s and 30s, then gradually declines in your 40s and beyond. Here’s a more detailed breakdown of average bicep size by age:

   • 20-29: 13.4 in (34.1 cm) unflexed; 14.4 in (36.6 cm) flexed
   • 30-39: 14.1 in (35.9 cm) unflexed; 15.2 in (38.6 cm) flexed
   • 40-49: 14.0 in (35.6 cm) unflexed; 15.1 in (38.4 cm) flexed
   • 50-59: 13.7 in (34.8 cm) unflexed; 14.7 in (37.3 cm) flexed
   • 60-69: 13.5 in (34.4 cm) unflexed; 14.6 in (37.1 cm) flexed
   • 70-79: 13.1 in (33.2 cm) unflexed; 14.1 in (35.8 cm) flexed
   • 80+: 12.1 in (30.8 cm) unflexed); 13 in (33 cm) flexed
   • What about women? The average US woman’s bicep is 13.4 in (34 cm), with most women’s bicep size peaking in their 40s and declining afterward.

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