Are You Training Your Arms Effectively?

By Richard Daniels


Many newbie bodybuilders think that if they are doing bicep curls they are essentially doing all that has to be done for the arms. When training your arms and triceps muscles effectively, you need to train the muscle fibers in quite a range of various motions. We spoke with some top bodybuilders and assemble a choice of exercises that can actually add more thickness to your arms.

Straight bar bicep curl

You can utilize and EZ bar if you like for much better wrist ease. Grab the bar with your palms facing up and curl your arms to your chest. You can make use of a light weight for warm-up and a heavier weight for workout.

Hammer curl warm-up

A hammer curl is different to a bicep curl because the palms of your hands will be facing your body and not be facing up. Get your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a dumbbell in each hand. You can likewise do a variation which is virtually a curl by bringing your hands to the middle of your chest instead of to your shoulders.

Rope push down

This benefits warming up the elbow joints and getting blood to flow to the triceps muscles. Stand quite close to the machine. Your feet need to be a little apart and your knees slightly flexed. Keep your elbows close to you sides and your hands close together as you grab the rope. Pull the rope down, straightening your arms and at the end of the movement straighten your wrists so that your knuckles point to the floor. Do the reverse movement beginning from the wrists and bring your arms all the way up to chest level. Towards the end of the motion it is natural that your elbows will be somewhat raised. Keep the weights light for warm up and heavier later on in the routine.

Barbell overheads

These cannot be absent on any bodybuilding program. Lie on your bench and raise the barbell up so that your arms are facing straight in front of you. Flex your elbows and bring the barbell close to your chest. Bring it back up. This exercise works your arms without putting unwarranted pressure on your shoulders. An excellent variation can be had putting you bench in a decline and doing several sets in that position.

Alternate curls

For your alternating bicep curls, take a dumbbell in each hand and have your palms facing up. It is excellent to do sets at varying speeds with varying weights so that you train both your fast twitch and your slow twitch muscle fibers. Curl your arm up till the dumbbell is shoulder height, keeping your elbow tucked in to the side of your body. Bring it back down in a slow, controlled manner. Avoid swinging your whilst lifting the weight.

Preacher curl

For this exercise you will need a preacher curl bench and dumbbells or a barbell. free weights are a little easier to make use of because you can take them in your hands just before you sit at the bench. Make certain you readjust your seat so that the top pad of the preacher bench is close to your armpits. In this position do your bicep curls. A great variation of this can be to reduce your movement range with each set so that the last set just trains your muscle peak.

If you make these workouts a regular part of your training, you will get to evaluate the results in bicep thickness in just six weeks!




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Tips For Building A Fit Future For You And Your Family!

By Anna Franks


If you have always wanted to be in better shape, but aren't sure about the practical ways that you can start that process or make it a part of your daily life, then this article will give you a lot of great ideas on how to make that a reality.

To help meet your goals of exercising regularly, invest in some home exercise equipment. If the equipment is right there, you won't be tempted to skip your exercise routine due to lack of time. Your motivation will be right there staring you in the face all evening and so you'll go do it.

When working out, be sure to wear comfortable, well-fitting shoes. Wearing shoes that are too tight, too big or that put uncomfortable pressure on any area of your foot will cause interuptions in your work-out routine and could even cause injury. Many aerobic and cross-training shoes provide adequate support for a wide variety of athletic activities.

Change your fitness routine. We all get bored with things in our life, and a fitness schedule is no different. By trying a new form of exercise, you will find that you are suddenly invigorated and ready to put new effort into keeping fit. Change your routine, try a completely different exercise plan, and think of it as a new start.

Scheduling your exercise routines in the early morning can provide some additional fitness benefits beyond the immediate value of working out. When you get your exercise done first thing, you will experience increased energy levels throughout the rest of the day. You will also have the powerful psychological boost that comes from knowing you have already met the day's fitness goals.

To build the strength in your legs with an easy exercise, try doing wall sits. The first thing you must do is find a wall with enough room for you to squat against. Stand about eighteen inches from the wall facing away. Squat, bending at the knees, until you feel your back touch the wall. Keep squatting down to the point where you are in a sitting position with your thighs perfectly parallel to the floor. Hold this stance until you can't stand it anymore.

It is possible to speed up recovery time from a particularly hard workout. The day after your hard workout, lightly exercise the same muscles. Use weights which are about twenty percent of your max weight and do two sets of twenty-five repetitions. This will help to deliver nutrients and blood to muscles to help them recover at a faster rate.

Hopefully, reading this article has helped you to realize that getting in shape can actually be a fun activity. Once you begin to see it as something you do for yourself instead of an obligation you can begin to work even harder. The tips that you have read here will help you to start doing just that.




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