Arms Program for Advanced Training #2
Arms comprise many small muscle groups as seen by the illustration below.
The main muscle groups in the arms are the Biceps and Triceps, together with the forearms and wrists that we normally try to target when doing the resistance training.
Training the arms is just as important if not more important than other muscle groups, as we rely on them for just about all our day to day tasks.
In training our arms we will be using 4 sets by 8 to 10 repetitions and trying to increase the weight where we can, lowering the reps as we increase the weight.
The tempo and rest periods are just as for the previous muscle group we trained the shoulders.
Arms– Zottman Curls
Stand tall holding a dumbbell in each hand at arm’s length by your sides, palms facing forward (underhand grip).
Keeping your elbows tucked and locked by your sides, curl the weights toward your shoulders.
Flip your grip 180 degrees (to overhand), lower the weights back down to your sides, and then flip your grip again (to underhand) to return to the starting position.
One Arm Overhead Extensions–
Brace core and begin with feet shoulder-width apart. Grab a dumbbell with one hand and position it behind head with elbow flexed to 90 degrees. The opposite hand should be placed firmly on hip.
Contract triceps and press dumbbell upwards until arm becomes fully extended. Pause and return weight back to starting position.
Tips:-
Chin should remain parallel to floor and core braced throughout duration of exercise.Â
Weight should move in a controlled manner.
One Arm Concentration Curls–Â
This curl develops arm size and strength by isolating the bicep. The arm positioning forces the muscle to contract without the assistance of other muscle groups.
Grab a dumbbell with one hand. Sit on the edge of a bench and place your feet wider than shoulder-width. Place the back of your arm with the dumbbell on the inside of your thigh and place the opposite hand on top of the opposite knee for support.
Slowly curl the dumbbell upward as far as possible. Pause at the top and slowly lower it back to the starting position.
Close Grip Bench Press–Â
Lie on the bench with your feet flat on the floor and grip the barbell with your hands around shoulder-width apart. They can be slightly closer than that, but don’t move them too close together or the set-up will become unstable and you’ll risk an injury to your wrists. Brace your core and squeeze your shoulder blades together to stabilize your body. Lower the bar slowly and press up powerfully. Then bring the bar back down towards your sternum. Keep your elbows close to your sides to emphasize your triceps and don’t arch your back.Â
This is an exercise that should be done with a spotter handy, especially if you’re new to the move, but if you are flying solo make sure you use a considerably lighter weight.
Cross Body Hammer Curls –Â
As per the animation, this exercise puts more emphasis on the forearms and the biceps lateral head.
Skull Crushers Behind Head –
This exercise is similar to the normal Skull Crusher exercise, however, it is done for safety behind the head, the important thing here is to make sure that the upper arms stay fixed and don’t mover only the upper or forearms are moving back over the head.
