How Long Do Biceps Take to Get Big?

Today, you can get takeout delivered in less than an hour and most TV shows last about 20 minutes. Instant gratification is probably part of your daily routine in some way, shape, or form. But when it comes to building muscle, instant gratification isn’t part of the equation.

How long it takes for your biceps to grow and strengthen depends on a variety of factors, including your age, hormones, genetic predisposition, amount and frequency of training, levels of stress, the food you consume, and more. There’s no secret to big arms, but there are steps you can take to speed up your progress.

How Long Does It Take for Your Biceps to Grow?

Unfortunately, there’s no clear and definitive answer to this question. The rate of muscle growth varies from person to person, according to Carolina Araujo, CPT, a New York–based strength coach.

“Your muscle growth depends on countless factors, including your training routine, your nutrition, and your sleep, as well as so many others,” she says. “And two people could do the exact same workouts, eat the same foods, and get the same sleep and still see different results because of their genetics.”

It generally takes 4 to 12 weeks to see physical muscle growth and at least six months to notice significant gains, says Cleveland Clinic. Again, this timeline depends on many factors, including your exercise frequency, the details of your workouts, how much protein you consume, and your genetics and medical history.

Your starting point plays a big role too, Araujo says. Experienced weight lifters have more difficulty growing larger muscles, whereas new gym-goers may see progress pretty quickly. But you’ll get the fastest biceps growth if you take advantage of all the factors you can control.

Factors That Influence Muscle Growth

Your rate of muscle development is affected by some factors that you can control and some that you cannot. You can’t control your genetics, hormones, or age, and they affect the speed at which your muscles grow. But luckily, there are also plenty of controllable variables that can help increase muscle size. These include:

• Training load, duration, frequency, and history
• Nutrition
• Level of hydration

Genetics

Certain individuals possess a genetic predisposition to large muscles, while others do not.

Someone with a genetic predisposition along with a large percentage of fast-twitch muscle fibers — the fibers that respond most easily to muscle growth — may gain muscle at a faster rate too, as these fibers are best for power-driven movements, according to the National Academy of Sports Medicine. But over time, the rate of growth will decrease.

Muscle Memory and Strength Building

Good news for former athletes: It’s easier to rebuild old muscle than to gain new muscle. This occurs due to a phenomenon called muscle memory.

When you build muscle, the number of muscle fiber nuclei (aka myonuclei) increases, according to the National Academy of Sports Medicine. And while taking a long exercise break can cause muscle loss, you don’t necessarily lose the myonuclei you’ve built up. As a result, rebuilding that amount of muscle is easier.

Sleep and Diet

The rate at which you gain muscle is also linked to adequate rest. According to UC Health, your body is actively working to repair and grow muscles as you sleep. Sleep deprivation is linked with decreased aerobic endurance and adverse changes in hormone balance, including higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol and lower levels of human growth hormone, all of which will negatively affect your ability to gain muscle.

Research also points to the role of diet in muscle growth. Protein, carbohydrates, and fat all play a role in how quickly your muscles grow. Protein should make up 10 to 35 percent of total calories for adults, but if your goal is to build muscle with exercise, you should aim for the higher end of this range, says the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. In addition, carbohydrates and healthy fats supply energy to your muscles, so make sure you’re getting a balance of each.

How to Build Your Biceps

In order for muscles (like your biceps) to grow, you need a consistent strength-training regimen. To get the most out of your biceps workouts and gain muscle at a steady rate, let yourself rest before training the same muscle group. Also, switch up your routine every so often to give your muscles new stimuli, Araujo recommends.

From there, tailor your arm exercises to target your biceps. During your next arm workout, give these moves a try.

Biceps Exercises to Try

Alternating Biceps Curl

Activity: Dumbbell workout

Body part: Arms

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, a dumbbell in each hand.
2. With a flat back, elbows pinned to your sides, keeping the wrist straight, curl the right dumbbell up to your shoulder.
3. Lower the weight back to your sides with control, keeping the elbows locked at your ribs.
4. Curl the left dumbbell to your shoulder.
5. Lower the weight back with control.
6. Continue alternating, keeping your elbows close to your ribs.

Dumbbell Hammer Curl

Activity: Dumbbell workout

Body part: Arms

1. Stand with feet hip-width apart, core braced.
2. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your sides, holding the weights with a neutral grip, palms facing your body.
3. Keeping your elbows pinned to your sides, curl the weights up to shoulder height.
4. Then, slowly lower the weights back down with control.

Reverse Grip Curl

Activity: Dumbbell workout

Body part: Arms

1. Stand with feet hip-width apart, core braced.
2. With your arms at your sides, hold a pair of dumbbells in a reverse grip, palms facing behind you.
3. Keeping your elbows pinned to your sides and shoulders back, curl the weights up toward your shoulders. Keep the wrists straight and don’t bend them back, to avoid placing additional strain on them.
4. Lower the weights back down to the starting position with control.

The Secret to Big Arms

The secret to big arms is that there is no secret — just patience, determination, certain lifestyle choices, and a bit of genetic luck. There are factors, such as age and hormones, that are beyond your control. Likewise, you can’t control which muscles are more likely to respond to muscle memory. While all muscles will respond to muscle memory, the rate may differ depending upon the length of inactivity of that particular muscle group, compared with others.

What you can control are the number of sets and reps you do and the number of times you work out your arms per week. Practicing a strength-training regimen on a regular basis, eating enough protein, and getting adequate rest will set the foundation for stronger and bigger arms.