Gym Machine Arm Workout To Build Bigger Bicep and Tricep

Free weights are popular for arm day, but gym machines provide unique benefits, such as guided movement and muscle isolation.

They provide stability and control and make lifting safer, especially useful for beginners or those recovering from injury.

It is an excellent way for advanced athletes to lift heavy weights and progressively overload muscles. Advanced techniques, such as drop sets and forced reps, are also easier to perform with a machine.

Here, you will learn the best machine arm exercises and tips to maximize your gains and avoid common pitfalls.

Types Of Machines Used For Arm Workout

Arm machine exercises help strengthen your biceps and triceps. They use special gym machines designed for this purpose.

You can get the most out of your workout with the least risk of getting hurt.

• Cable Machines: Versatile equipment that can be used for various arm exercises, including bicep curls, triceps pushdowns, and forearm exercises.
• Preacher Curl Bench: Often combined with a barbell or dumbbell, the preacher bench supports your arms.
• Tricep Extension Machines: These target the triceps, requiring the user to push against resistance to extend the arm.
• Lat pulldown machines: While primarily for the back, they also engage the biceps and forearms.

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Top Gym Machines For Arm Workouts

Here are 7 gym machines that you can use for a complete arm workout.

1. Cable Bicep Curls

You can do many bicep isolation exercises with Cable machines, such as bicep curls. 

Cable machines have an additional benefit: they place muscles under constant tension throughout both the concentric and eccentric phases. This is one of the biggest advantages of cable bicep training over other methods.

You’ll be able to hit all the heads of the biceps from different angles and through a range of motions.

You can do various bicep curl variations on a cable machine with different attachments, such as a straight bar, rope, or EZ bar.

• In the standard bicep curl, your palms face upward (supinated grip). This curl primarily targets the biceps brachii muscle.
• In the hammer curl, your palms face each other (neutral grip). This curl works both the long of the biceps and the brachialis muscle.
• In the reverse curl, your palms face downward (pronated grip). The primary focus of the reverse curl is on the brachialis muscle and the brachioradialis muscle (a forearm muscle)
• Single Arm Curl, Overhead Curl and Many Others.

How To Do Bicep Cable Curl

1. Attach your desired handle (e.g., straight bar) to the low pulley of a cable machine.
2. Stand facing the machine, feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. Grip the handle with an underhand grip (palms facing up).
3. Stand tall, pull your shoulders back and down slightly, and engage your core for stability.
4. Keep your elbows tucked close to your sides. There should be slight tension on the cable.
5. Slowly curl the weight up towards your shoulders. Make sure you squeeze your bicep at the top.
6. Slowly lower the handle back to the starting position with control. Resist the pull of the cable; don’t just let it drop.

2. Tricep Pushdown

Tricep pushdowns are among the top exercises for training the tricep muscle.

You can perform the tricep pushdown with different grip positions (overhead, underhand, and neutral grip) and attachments, such as a straight bar, V-bar, or rope.

It targets all three heads of the triceps and provides constant tension throughout the movement—ideal for both hypertrophy and strength development.

There are many ways to do the classic tricep pushdown, which can make your workout more interesting and work different parts of the tricep muscles.

1. Rope Pushdown
2. V-Bar Pushdown
3. Underhand Grip Pushdown
4. Single-Arm Pushdown

How To Do Tricep Pushdown

1. Attach your chosen handle (e.g., rope or straight bar) to the high pulley of a cable machine.
2. Stand facing the machine, feet about hip-width apart, knees slightly bent.
3. Grip the handle with an overhand grip (palms facing down for a bar).
4. Hold the bar at chest level with your elbows tight against your sides.
5. Keep your elbows stationary and bend your arms until they are fully extended.
6. Pause for a full arm extension, flex your triceps, and slowly return the bar to the starting position.

Know More: Cable Machine Workout: 12 Best Cable Exercises For A Full-Body Workout

3. Preacher Curl Machine

The preacher curl machine is a great way to strengthen the biceps muscles. The machine’s fixed position helps you isolate and target your biceps muscles.

The machine also lets you use heavier weights than you could with free weights, which can help you build more muscle.

With a preacher curl, you get many benefits that don’t come with regular bicep curls. When you do, preacher curls with a slightly wider grip to impart more load on short-head biceps.

There are many ways to do preacher curls, each of which has its benefits.

• Dumbbell Preacher Curls
• Reverse Grip Preacher Curls
• Machine Preacher Curl
• Cable Preacher Curls

How To Do Machine Preacher Curl

1. When seated, adjust the seat height so that your armpits are near the top edge of the angled armpad.
2. Sit down and place the backs of your upper arms firmly against the pad. Your elbows should align comfortably with the machine’s pivot point (if visible).
3. Grasp the handles with an overhand grip, palms facing forward. 
4. Your hands should be shoulder-width apart.
5. Rest your upper arms on the padded support bar.
6. Keep your elbows close to your sides and curl the weight up towards your chest. 
7. Slowly lower the weight back to the starting position. 

4. Machine Tricep Dip

Unlike bodyweight dips, which heavily involve the chest and shoulders (and can be tough on the joints for some), the machine variation allows you to focus intensely on the triceps with greater stability.

The tricep machine dip is a type of strength training equipment that is designed to work the triceps muscles. It is a variation of the traditional tricep dip that uses a machine instead of body weight.

It provides a more controlled and isolated environment than a parallel bar dip. Furthermore, it minimizes the use of the chest, shoulders, and back.

It is a great exercise for beginners who want bigger, stronger arms.

How To Do Machine Dip

1. Adjust the seat so that when you grasp the handles, your elbows are bent at approximately 90 degrees or slightly less.
2. Your upper arms should be roughly parallel to the floor or slightly above.
3. Keep your elbows close to your body and grasp the handles with a neutral grip.
4. Some machines might offer different grip variations; choose the one that’s most comfortable.
5. Focus on squeezing your triceps to get a good contraction.
6. Slowly bend your elbows until they are close to parallel to the floor.

5. Reverse Grip Lat Pulldown

Try the reverse grip Lat pulldown if you want to add a new and effective exercise to your arm workout routine. It’s a great choice.

An underhand grip is used to target muscles different from the traditional overhand grip lat pulldown.

It is beneficial for increasing strength throughout the back, biceps, and forearms. The underhand grip puts slightly more emphasis on these muscles.

How To Do Reverse Grip Lat Pulldown

1. Grip the bar with your palms facing you (underhand/supinated grip).
2. Take a deep breath and engage your core muscles.
3. Start pulling the bar downwards toward your upper chest.
4. Pull the bar down toward the upper chest, focusing on squeezing the lats
5. Drive elbows down and back as you pull the bar to fully engage the biceps
6. Hold for a count, then return up to the starting position. 

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6. Tricep Extension Machine

The tricep extension machine is a great way to improve your mind-muscle connection because it involves a very strict movement that targets the triceps very well.

As you raise and lower the weight, the machine gives you continuous resistance, so it’s harder to cheat and isolate the triceps.

It’s beginner-friendly and doesn’t need much setup or adjustment.

How To Do Tricep Extension Machine

1. Adjust the seat and handles so that your upper arms are parallel to the floor.
2. Hold the handles with a firm grip, palms facing down (overhand grip). Some machines may have vertical handles, which require a neutral (palms facing each other) grip.
3. Sit down and tuck your elbows close to your body.
4. Exhale and slowly push the handles down until your arms are fully extended.
5. Inhale and slowly return the handles to the starting position.
6. Do 8–12 reps for 3–4 sets, depending on your fitness level and goals.

7. Forearm Wrist Curl Machine

This equipment is very popular in many gyms for forearm training.

If your gym doesn’t have a machine for curling your wrists, you can use a wrist roller instead. It is a simple tool consisting of a bar or rod with a rope or cord attached to it.

You attach weights to the other end of the rope, and by rolling the device, you engage the muscles in your wrists and forearms.

Rolling motion strengthens the grip and improves joint stability and range of motion.

How To Do Wrist Rollers

1. Start by attaching the desired amount of weight to the end of the rope or cord.
2. Hold the bar or rod with both hands, palms facing down.
3. Keep your elbows slightly bent as you extend your arms in front of you.
4. Start rolling the wrist roller by moving your hands forward and letting the weight go up toward the bar.
5. Roll the weight until it reaches the bar, and then turn around and roll it back down to where you started.
6. Do 3–5 reps for 2–3 sets.

Machine Arm Workout Plans

When a certain amount of volume stops being effective and your progress stalls, you can add sets to increase volume and use that as a driver of renewed progress. 

Generally, for muscle growth, it’s recommended to do 3–5 sets of 8–12 reps for each exercise. Strength, Power, Hypertrophy, and Endurance by V. Yuri Verkhoshansky and Mell Siff’s Supertraining

Here is a general breakdown of the number of sets and reps for different fitness goals:

• Endurance: 2–3 sets of 15–20 reps
• Strength: 3–5 sets of 3–5 reps
• Muscle hypertrophy (size): 3–5 sets of 8–12 reps

Beginner Arm Workout With Machine Only

Conclusion

The gym has many machines that can help you make your arms bigger and stronger. Arm machines let you isolate muscles, use proper form, and overload them for growth.

There are different machines that work all the major muscles of the arms, such as the biceps, triceps, and forearm. The most effective arm machines include cable towers and dip machines.

Next time you go to the gym, use these helpful tools to build your arms.

Manish Kumar

Manish is a NASM-certified fitness and nutrition coach with over 10 years of experience in weight lifting and fat loss fitness coaching. He specializes in gym-based training and has a lot of knowledge about exercise, lifting technique, biomechanics, and more.

Through “Fit Life Regime,” he generously shares the insights he’s gained over a decade in the field. His goal is to equip others with the knowledge to start their own fitness journey.