The biceps come high up the list of glamour muscles for most men. It's what you flex when you want to show off your muscles. Go into any gym and you'll see rows of men curling barbells in an attempt to build bulging biceps. Yet the biceps are among the smaller muscles in the body, and they aren't even the biggest muscles in your arms.

Your triceps make up about two thirds of your upper arm muscle mass and, as the name suggests, they are made up of three different muscles or 'heads'. The long head and lateral head combine to form the horseshoe shape at the top of your arm, while the medial head runs beneath the long head down to the elbow. Their job is to straighten your elbow, so they come into play every time you push something away from your body, such as when you do bench presses.

Because the arm muscles are relatively small, many people combine arm training with bigger muscle groups. Biceps training goes well with back training because they both involve pulling movements, while triceps and chest training go well together because they both involve pressing motions.

The key to effective arms training is to focus on the muscles you are working and not allow larger muscle groups to take over by swinging your body.

What follows is the best selection of exercises for building your biceps, triceps and forearms, plus variations so that you (and your muscles) don't get bored.

Forearms: Wrist curl
Triceps: Triceps press down
Triceps: Dumb-bell kickback
Triceps: Seated one-arm overhead triceps extension
Triceps: Lying triceps extension
Triceps: Bench dip
Triceps, chest: Close-grip bench press
Triceps, chest: Dip
Biceps: Hammer curl
Biceps: EZ-bar preacher curl
Biceps: Seated dumb-bell curl
Biceps: Barbell curl
Biceps, lats: Chin-up

If you want more great arm moves, subscribe to the mag, we'll give you three issues for £1 to start you off.