Arm Workouts Are Easier than You Think
Are you looking to add muscle to your arms? Are you hoping to grow your biceps and triceps so that when you put on a t-shirt, they make an obvious bulge? Are you curious about how other dudes are able to develop amazing biceps and triceps? If so, you have come to the right place.
This article will explore five arm exercises to help you grow your biceps and triceps. I’ve also thrown in a good book for you to consider if you are looking to blow up the size, girth and width of your biceps and triceps. Be sure to vote in the arm workout poll at the end.
Arm Workouts: Arm Muscles
Before we explore the five arm exercises, let’s first take a moment to examine the basic muscles of the arms so that you know which muscles you are working out when you hit the weights. This may seem like a silly point but mindfulness around muscle growth is important if you ever wish to build up those biceps and triceps.
All that is important right now is that you know the name and location of these muscles so that when you are focusing on working them out, you are aware of their location and a little about when they do. I will explain some of these functions more as we go through the specific arm exercises.
Arm Workout Information
An important thing to keep in mind when you design your workout is your body type. Here, I am talking about what is commonly referred to as a somatotype. I am mentioning this here because knowing if you are an ectomorph, endomorph or mesomorph can go a long way in creating the type of muscle building program that is customized to your size and shape.
Arm Workout: 5 Great Ones
1. Bicep Curl (Standing)
The bicep curl is perhaps the most common type of arm exercise that people do. The muscles involved included the bicep muscles, elbow flexors and brachialis. The biceps are considered a large muscle group, primarily involved with pulling and lifting.
Exercise
This exercise involves a simple, compound movement that you do standing up. Stand upright, holding a barbell in front of your thighs using an underhand type grip. Make sure your hands are shoulder width apart. Keeping your back straight with your elbows at your sides, slowly begin to curl the bar upwards until your forearms touch your biceps. Do a squeeze at the top and then pause. Now, slowly lower the bar back down to about an inch before your thighs. Repeat
Suggested Reps: 8-15
2. Reverse Curl
This particular exercise is excellent for giving your arms a well-rounded look and can help your brachial muscles really look full. Many people focus on just the biceps and triceps but the brachialis muscles are the ones that give your t-shits that round, chiseled and full appearance.
Exercise
Stand upright holding a fairly light barbell and an over-hand grip (palms down) just in front of your thighs. Gently press your elbows to your sides during the movement. Slowly curl the bar up until your forearms are just about parallel to the floor. At the top, do a light squeeze and then pause. Now slowly continue to curl that bar upwards some more until it reaches your chest. Pause again. Now slowly lower the bar until your forearms are parallel to the ground. Pause once more and then slowly lower the bar to the starting position.
Suggested Reps: 8 – 12.
3. Overhead Cable Triceps Extension
This exercise works out exactly what the name implies – the triceps. Brachialis muscle are involved too but mostly the triceps and a little of the deltoids.
Exercise
Connect a rope with handle to a high pulley cable. Grab the ends of the rope with each of your hands. Stand with your back to the weight stack. Lean forward with one fit ahead of the other and back sure you are balanced. Now, hold the rope over your head with your arms bent. Without moving the upper part of your arms, begin to straighten your arms in front of you to exercise your triceps. Pause and squeeze. Then slowly allow the weights to pull your hands back over your head. The important thing is to control the weight carefully on the way back to the starting position. No jerky motions here.
4. Twisting Rope Pull-Down
The exercise is also great for the triceps and the brachialis muscle and can help to give you more girth and definition in your arms. Like the other arm exercises listed here, this is a basic, compound exercise and therefore not complicated. The triceps are a muscle group involved with extension type movements of the arms.
Exercise
Connect a rope to a handle and then attach to a high-pulley cable. Grab an end with each hand. Try to spread your hands a good 8-10 inches apart. Now, keeping your arms tucked at your sides, slowly pull the rope down until your forearms are pretty much parallel with the floor. Consider this your starting position. Slowly pull that rope downward until your fists are at thigh level – then rotate your writs so that your palms face out (away from your body). Now squeeze the hell out of your triceps for a brief second. Now slowly move back in reverse to your starting position.
5. Cable Single Arm Curl
If you are looking to blast your biceps and add some width to your arms, this exercise can help create the look you are going for. The muscles involved are primarily the biceps and to a lesser degree, the brachial muscles and triceps.
Exercise
Stand with your back to a weight stack with an attached handle to a cable. Grab the handle with your right hand. Step forward a bit so that your right hand is a few inches behind you and your arm is straight. Now, keeping your elbow in place, curl up the handle until it reaches the side of your chest. Squeeze briefly at the top and pause. Now slowly lower your arm back to the starting position.
Arm Workout Summary
All of the arm exercises mentioned here can be considered as part of your approach to building killer arms. You should start off with light weight and over the course of time add more so that your muscles remain challenged.
If you are looking for more information on how to build impressive arms and a better upper body, consider getting a copy of the book: Strong Arms and Upper Body. There are lots of great recommendations, tips and exercises in this read that are spelled out in an easy to understand, step by step fashion.
I hope you found this post helpful. This article is taken from Guy Counseling & Life Coaching. Visit their website for more information.
