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May 25, 2023

Arnold Schwarzenegger Shares His Recent Killer Arm and Shoulder Workout 

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Schwarzenegger clearly still has a lot of fitness knowledge to share.

It’s been decades since Arnold Schwarzenegger stood on top of the fitness world as a dynastic Mr. Olympia. In the time since, he’s earned a Hollywood reputation as the famed “Terminator,” become the governor of the state of California, and generally morphed into a larger-than-life personality. However, even at the age of 75, he still knows what it takes to rip your body up in the gym.

On May 24, 2023, Schwarzenegger appeared in a video partnering with Men’s Health. The clip features the fitness legend dispensing a short arm workout, shoulder workout, and some of his favorite training secrets.

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While working out at the famous Gold’s Gym in Venice Beach, CA, Schwarzenegger broke down an arms and shoulders routine typical of what he does every day.

“This is what I do every morning. I come in here [Gold’s Gym] and do 25 to 30 sets in a half an hour,” Schwarzenegger said. “In the old days we did 30 sets for shoulders. Now I do 15 sets.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger | Arm and Shoulder Workout May 2023

Here is an overview of both of Schwarzenegger’s arm and shoulder workouts:

Arm Workout

  • Machine Preacher Curl: One set of 30 reps, four sets of 10-12 reps
  • Machine Dip: One set of 30 reps, four sets of 10-12 reps

Shoulder Workout

Schwarzenegger explained he ends every set with a five-second hold on the last rep.

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As for Schwarzenegger’s advice on a proper approach to training, he maintained it’s about consistent dedication and all the benefits that it can provide. Provided an athlete stays committed to their routine, Schwarzenegger says they’ll eventually see results. He told an anecdote about his peak fitness days to use as proof.

“When you train it is not just that your body gets pumped up and gets stimulated with blood but it’s also your mind and you have a much more positive kind of outlook on the day and on life when you’ve had a pump behind you,” Schwarzenegger started. “I was in good shape [in the 1980s]. I worked out two hours a day. Because after having had several heart surgeries and then having had surgeries on my shoulders and knees and all those kind of things, it’s important to protect my body and do therapy training at the same time. 

In other words, Schwarzenegger said not to overthink it and keep chugging along in the gym, no matter your adversity.

“If you want to go to the gym every day and do your bike ride, train every day, then you roll out of bed and you don’t think,” Schwarzenegger said. “The important thing is don’t think, just do.”

Featured image: Men’s Health on YouTube

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March 24, 2023

The Best Bodybuilding Workout for Each Body Part

Simple bodybuilding programs are a little too easy to find. You could pull them from fitness magazines — those ghost-written workouts that your favorite bodybuilders supposedly follow. You could roll the dice and ask an artificial intelligence chatbot to generate one for you. Or, you could attempt to develop one for yourself.

Just a few problems there. The high intensity, high volume programs used by the pros do not tend to be sustainable for the rest of us due to some physiological (and often pharmaceutical) reasons. Most people also aren’t ready to trust their potential gains to an algorithm-fueled robot, so that leaves you creating a program for yourself.

Consider a time-tested axiom before diving in: It’s not hard to create a good bodybuilding workout program, but it’s also not hard to create a bad one. Fortunately, we’ve got your back. And your chest, shoulders, arms, and legs.

Long-haired person sweating in gym holding barbell

Credit: Jacob Lund / Shutterstock

Here you will find evidence-based workouts to build every major area of an aesthetic physique. These workouts assume you’re a relatively healthy lifter with at least some experience in the gym (i.e. not a true beginner who could benefit from a more generalized approach). These plans work best with a body part split across the week.

Bookmark these workouts for your next hypertrophy training block and support the workouts with enough food to fuel performance, recovery, and growth so you can get started adding size. 

Best Bodybuilding Workouts for Each Body Part

Best Bodybuilding Workout for Chest

The chest muscles play a prominent role in our physique. They are most often trained by multi-joint, upper body pushing exercises. The angle the “push” can be used to bias certain portions of the chest, allowing us to fully develop this region. In addition to pushing exercises, single joint exercises can also be used to target the chest. Single-joint exercise serves as “icing on the cake,” providing a touch of additional training stimulus. 

The Complete Chest Workout

Just about any repetition range can build muscle. (1)(2) This engaging workout begins with the heaviest exercise. As the workout progresses, moderate repetition, moderate weight exercises are introduced as compound sets — a time-efficient superset technique that pairs movements targeting the same muscles back-to-back without rest. The workout ends with high repetition “pump work,” leaning into the metabolic mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy. (3) This general format is repeated for workouts for all body parts. 

This chest workout is designed to be performed once per week. Select weights that allow completion of repetitions is near the lower end of the repetition range. Sets need not be taken to failure but should flirt with it. Meaning, sets must reach a high level of effort. (4)(5) When you end the set, you should feel like you have three or fewer repetitions remaining “in the tank.”

When you’re able to complete sets at the top end of the repetition range, add five to 10 pounds. This progression method “resets” your sets back toward the lower bound of the repetition range, allowing your to progress repetition volume once again in subsequent weeks. 

Barbell Bench Press

  • How to Do it: Lie on a bench with your back arched and shoulder blades pulled down and together (“in your back pockets”). Unrack the bar and lower it to your chest. Press the bar upward until your elbows are straight but not locked.
  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 6-8
  • Rest time: Rest three minutes seconds between sets.

Dip

  • How to Do it: Support your body from a dip bar and lean slightly forward. Lower yourself until you feel a stretch across the front of your chest and shoulders or until your upper arms break parallel. Add weight or assistance as needed to achieve the target repetition range.
  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 8-12
  • Rest time: Move immediately to the next exercise without rest.

Incline Dumbbell Flye Press

  • How to Do it: Lie on a 30- to-45-degree incline bench and begin with the dumbbells pressed locked out above your chest. Face your palms together and lower the weights in a flye, keeping a slight bend in your arms. From the bottom position, pull the weights in toward your shoulders and press the weights up to lockout.
  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 12-16
  • Rest time: Rest two minutes before repeating the previous exercise.

Machine Incline Press

  • How to Do it: Sit with your back and buttocks supported on an incline press machine. Push the handles along the arc of the machine’s path until your elbows are straight but not locked. Control back to the start position.
  • Sets and Reps: 2 x 16-20
  • Rest time: Rest 90 seconds between sets.

Muscles Trained on Chest Day

Chest day often draws added attention because the pecs are featured so prominently when you check the mirror, even more so once you get an awesome pump going mid-session. The majority of chest movements will also recruit “the pressing muscles” — your shoulders and triceps — for assistance.

Pectorals

When viewed from the front, the upper bodies of modern bodybuilders are dominated by well-developed chest muscles. The pectoralis major is the largest and most superficial chest muscle. All parts of the pectoralis major act to draw the arms toward the body, pull the arms together in front of the body, and internally rotate the arms. The upper portion of the pectoralis major also raises the arm. Therefore, a wide variety of exercises target the pecs. 

Anterior Deltoids

The anterior deltoids, or “front delts,” share the same actions as the pectoralis major. Conveniently, this means that anterior deltoids are trained during chest workouts, such as the one above, and during direct shoulder workouts. 

Triceps

The triceps brachii primarily serve to extend your elbows (straighten your arms). Because of this, compound movements such as pressing and dips can be counted toward total triceps training volume. This aesthetic “three-headed” muscle fills t-shirt sleeves more readily than any other arm muscle.

How to Warm-Up Your Chest

A traditional warm-up has two components: 1) the “general warm-up” and 2) the “specific warm-up.” The general warm-up elevates body temperature, improves oxygen delivery to muscle and other body tissues, and improves joint freedom of motion. It typically consists of short duration, low-to-moderate intensity cardiovascular exercise (e.g. air bike, rowing, jogging, or jumping rope).  

The specific warm-up primes areas of the body and movement patterns to be used in the subsequent workout for improved technique and performance. It is also a good time for dedicated mobility exercises and/or exercises intended to reduce risk of injury.

A specific warm-up for the chest may consist of exercises to prepare the upper body and spine for proper positions during pressing, stimulate muscle contractions of the muscles to be trained, and reinforce shoulder stability. It is wise to include lower intensity sets of the workout’s first exercise at the tail end of the specific warm-up.  

Chest Warm-Up

  • Cardio: Five minutes, low-to-moderate intensity effort
  • Band Pull-Apart: 2 x 15 
  • Foam Roller Thoracic (Upper Back) Extensions: 2 x 10
  • Push-Up: 2 x 10
  • Bench Press: 3 x 6–10, work-up sets at light to moderate weight (e.g. approximately 40%, 60%, and 80% of the weight to be used for the first set of the workout’s first exercise).

Best Bodybuilding Workout for Back

A muscular back supports a confident posture, adds width to your upper body, and provides visual interest for those who happen to be walking behind your statuesque physique. That visual interest will come from the various muscles of the back, which converge on the shoulder blades and shoulders.

To create desirable definition and size, training the back from multiple angles using a variety of exercises may be useful. each exercise variation biases certain areas of the back and may result in distinct patterns of muscular development. (6)(7)

Back Width and Thickness Workout

Complete this full back workout once per week. Select weights that allow you to complete repetitions on the lower end of the repetition range. Sets to failure are not necessary to build muscle. (8) However, each set should reach a high level of effort. (4) When you’re able to complete all sets at the top end of the repetition range, add five to 10 pounds. 

Three-Point Dumbbell Row

  • How to Do it: Perform the three-point dumbbell row with the knee and hand of your non-working side on a flat bench. Initiate the movement by pulling your shoulder blade toward your spine, and row toward the outside of your hip. Lower to a full stretch without rotating or sinking your hips
  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 6-8
  • Rest time: No rest between sides. Rest three minutes between sets.

Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown

  • How to Do it: As the name implies, the neutral-grip lat pulldown is performing using a handles attachment that faces your palms toward each other. Begin in a full overhead position and pull your elbows down to the midline of your ribcage — don’t force the bar to reach your chin or chest.
  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 8-12
  • Rest time: Rest two and a half minutes between sets.

Machine Wide Row

  • How to Do it: Set up on a machine with a chest support, grasping the handles with a wide, overhand grip. Initiate movement with your shoulder blades and pull toward your chest. Return to a fully stretched position.
  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 12-16
  • Rest time: Move immediately to the next exercise without rest.

Cable Flexion Row

  • How to Do it: Perform this seated row variation on a low cable machine. Allow resistance to pull your trunk and shoulder blades toward the machine — your spine should round forward, promoting a massive stretch through your back muscles. Begin by pulling the shoulder blades together and down. As you row the bar toward your torso, extend your spine but do not use momentum from the trunk to drive the movement. Reverse the movement and repeat.
  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 16-20
  • Rest time: Rest two minutes before repeating the previous exercise.

Muscles Trained on Back Day

Your back is one of the largest muscle groups on your body because a number of various individual muscles coordinate during each movement. This comprehensive workout will address and train a large number of muscles on your posterior torso including the lats, rear shoulders, and upper and mid-back. Your biceps and gripping muscles are also recruited during most exercises.

Mid-Back and Lats

Mid-back muscles, which act on the shoulder blades, create the appearance of a raised, central diamond-shape. Your latissimus dorsi (lats) sweep from the small of the back toward the outsides of your armpits and enhances the appearance of a “V-shaped” torso. These muscles comprise the bulk of the back musculature and are trained by upper-body pulling exercises

Rear Deltoids

While your rear deltoids are traditionally trained via shoulder-specific exercises (e.g. reverse flyes and cable external rotations), wide and narrow-grip pulling movements also hit the rear deltoids. When considering total weekly training volume for the rear deltoids, it is appropriate to include pulldowns, pullovers, and rows

Biceps and Other Elbow Flexors

Drawing a resistance toward your body, as performed during pulldowns, trains your elbow flexors. As the most visible elbow flexor, the biceps brachii gets all the glory; however, the brachialis is a deep elbow flexor that boosts the appearance of the biceps by pushing it up — kind of like the supportive parent or friend whom you should probably call and thank (after your workout, of course). 

How to Warm-Up Your Back

Once again, it’s a good policy to raise the body’s temperature with some general movement and prime the areas of the body to be trained before jumping into the workout. On top of that, “back day” is a great time to incorporate some direct exercise for the midsection, as many workout splits don’t allocate ab training to one specific day. 

Back Warm-Up

  • Cardio: Five minutes, low-to-moderate intensity effort
  • Abdominal Crunches: 3 x 15-20 
  • Medicine Ball or Landmine Rotations: 3 x 10-12
  • Band Over and Backs: 2 x 10-12
  • Three-Point Dumbbell Row: 3 x 6–10, work-up sets at light to moderate weight (e.g. approximately 40%, 60%, and 80% of the weight to be used for the first set of the workout’s first exercise).

Best Bodybuilding Workout for Shoulders

The deltoids are the muscles that envelop your shoulders. Well-developed deltoids appear full and rounded, “capping” the shoulders. The deltoid has three functional parts — anterior, middle, and posterior.

The anterior deltoid is primarily responsible for raising the arms in front of the body (e.g. pressing), pulling the raised arms in toward your midline, and internally rotating the arms. The middle deltoid raises the arms out the sides (e.g. lateral raises and overhead presses) and assists with pulling the raised arms away from your midline (e.g. reverse flye). The posterior deltoid assists with the reverse flye movement in addition to external rotation and driving your arms behind your body (e.g. rows).

While your shoulders clearly get some work on chest day and back day, a dedicated shoulder workout helps to ensure each part receives adequate training. The diverse actions of the deltoids open the door for efficient use of supersets on shoulder day. 

The 3D Delt Workout

Perform once per week using weights that allow repetitions at or near the lower boundary of the stated repetition range. Once again, the majority of working sets should be high level of effort with three or fewer repetitions remaining before failure. Machine-based overhead pressing is included to allow lifters to safely approach or achieve failure without a spotter.

Once you reach the top of any repetition range, add five to 10 pounds to the exercise. Be vigilant for stagnating progress or drops in performance, as these features might indicate that it’s time for a deload

Seated Dumbbell Overhead Press

  • How to Do it: Sit on a bench with a vertical back support. Rest a dumbbell on each thigh before “kicking” each weight into position at shoulder-level with your palms facing forward or angled slightly in. Press both weights overhead to full lockout before returning to shoulder-level.
  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 6-8
  • Rest time: Move immediately to the next exercise without rest.

Dumbbell Reverse Flye

  • How to Do it: Stand with a dumbbell in each hand at arm’s length by your sides. Hinge forward at the waist and slightly bend your legs. Slightly bend your elbows and maintain the arm angle throughout the set. Draw your upper arms toward the ceiling, stopping the your elbows are roughly in line with your shoulders. Lower under control — don’t allow the weights to build momentum in the bottom position.
  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 12-16
  • Rest time: Rest three minutes before repeating the previous exercise.

Machine Shoulder Press

  • How to Do it: Sit in an shoulder press machine and adjust the seat height to allow you hands to reach shoulder-height in the bottom position. Take a palms-forward grip and drive the weight up to near-lockout before lowering with control. Aim to move at a steady pace and maintain continuous tension through each repetition.
  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 12-16
  • Rest time: Rest two minutes between sets.

Face Pull

  • How to Do it: Set a resistance band or cable pulley at roughly eye-level. Take a palm-down grip and step back to create tension in the stretched position. Begin the face pull by driving your elbows back in line with your shoulders while pulling your hands in line with your eyes or ears. From the contracted position, reach forward until full lockout.
  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 12-16
  • Rest time: Move immediately to the next exercise without rest.

Lateral Raise

  • How to Do it: Stand with a dumbbell in each hand at arm’s length, resting the weights on the front of your thighs. Keep a slight bend in your arms and raise the weights “up and out” until your hands are slightly above shoulder-height. Maintain a tight core and stable torso — don’t allow your hips or back to swing. Lower to the starting position with your hands in front of your thighs.
  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 20-24
  • Rest time: Rest two minutes before repeating the previous exercise.

Dumbbell Shrug

  • How to Do it: Stand with a pair of dumbbells at arm’s length by your sides. Drive your shoulders toward the ceiling as high as possible — move vertically without “rolling” your shoulders or pulling your shoulder blades together. Lower to a full stretch.
  • Sets and Reps: 2 x 20-24
  • Rest time: Rest 90 seconds between sets.

Muscles Trained on Shoulder Day

The shoulder joint is arguably one of the most precarious joints in the body, responsible for a long range of motion in a variety of directions. The deltoids may be your primary “shoulder muscle,” but several muscle groups play a role in completing most shoulder-focused movements.

Shoulders

The middle deltoids widen the appearance of the shoulders, so they are an important target for physique-focused bodybuilding training. Your middle and anterior deltoids are trained by the presses in this workout. Middle deltoids get direct, high-repetition work during the lateral raises.

As previously discussed, it is fair to consider rows, pulldowns, and pullovers as rear deltoid exercises; however, these exercises alone may not result in adequate stimulation of this relatively small part of the shoulder — reverse flyes can be superior in that regard. (9) As a bonus for shoulder health, face pulls hit the rear deltoids, middle deltoids, rotator cuff, and some of the muscles acting on the scapula. 

Trapezius

The traps are a diamond-shaped muscle of your mid- and upper back. The upper and lower fibers of trapezius (e.g. the top and bottom portions of the “diamond”) are trained during presses, as they act to upwardly rotate your shoulder blades. Shrugs are included in the shoulder workout to further develop the upper trapezius. 

Triceps

Your triceps brachii receive additional training volume during the shoulder workout, owing to the muscle’s role as an elbow extensor. These extra sets are beneficial, especially if you’re reasonably well-trained. Recent research suggests the triceps brachii are among the muscles that grow more rapidly with higher training volumes. (10)

How to Warm-Up Your Shoulders

Prepare your shoulders for peak performance by increasing your body temperature with a small dose of rhythmic cardiovascular exercise, such as rowing, jumping rope (ideally with a heavy rope to further activate your upper body), or riding an air bike. Then, perform exercises to mobilize your shoulder joints, shoulder blades, and spine through essential ranges of motion. Wrap up the warm-up with light sets of the first exercise of the workout.

Shoulder Warm-Up

  • Cardio: Five minutes, low-to-moderate intensity effort
  • Band Pull-Apart: 2 x 15 
  • Foam Roller Thoracic (Upper Back) Extensions: 2 x 10
  • Band Over and Backs: 2 x 10-12
  • Seated Dumbbell Overhead Press: 3 x 6–10, work-up sets at light to moderate weight (e.g. approximately 40%, 60%, and 80% of the weight to be used for the first set of the workout’s first exercise).

Best Bodybuilding Workout for Arms

Although your arms undoubtedly receive training during chest, back, and shoulder workouts, a dedicated arm day may help to accelerate muscle gain. But arm day need not be exclusively single-joint (isolation) exercises. In this workout, a pull-up variation is used as the first exercise, because it targets your biceps with the bonus of additional training volume for your lats and rear deltoids. (11)

Single-joint exercises for your biceps and triceps come next in the workout. These are performed back-to-back on the same incline bench to promote a searing stretch and enhanced growth. (12)(13) The workout concludes with training for lesser-appreciated muscles for arm thickness.

Gun Day Isn’t Only Sunday

Complete the arm workout once per week. Use weights that allow you to complete of repetitions on the lower end of the repetition range. When you’re able to complete all sets with repetitions at or exceeding the repetition range, add five pounds.

Neutral-Grip Pull-Up

  • How to Do it: Hang from a neutral-grip pull-up bar or freely moving handles with palms facing each other. Pull your chest toward the bar by driving your shoulders back and flexing your elbows. Lower with control.  
  • Sets and Reps: 2 x 6-8
  • Rest time: Rest three minutes between sets.

Incline Dumbbell Curls

  • How to Do it: Perform incline dumbbell curls on a bench set at an approximately 45-degree angle. With underhanded grips on the dumbbells, allow your arms to hang vertically beneath your shoulders. Without swinging your upper arms forward, curl the dumbbells. 
  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 12-16
  • Rest time: Move immediately to the next exercise without rest.

Incline Skull Crusher

  • How to Do it: Take a palms-down grip on the inner handles of an EZ-bar and lie on a 45-degree incline bench. Point your elbows toward the ceiling and allow the bar to lower just behind your head without moving your upper arms. Feel your triceps stretch and then straighten your arms to return to the start position.
  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 16-20
  • Rest time: Rest two minutes before repeating the previous exercise.

Reverse Biceps Curl

  • How to Do it: Perform the standing reverse biceps curl with an overhand grip on an EZ-bar or straight bar. Keeping your arms at your sides, curl the weight by bringing your knuckles toward your shoulders. Return to the start position. 
  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 12-16
  • Rest time: Move immediately to the next exercise without rest.

Gripper

  • How to Do it: Hold grip trainers, or the handles of a grip machine, using a power grip with the fingers and thumb of each hand wrapped fully around each handle. Close your hands against the resistance, then slowly control the opening of the grip trainers or machine as far as possible without losing control of the implements.
  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 20-24
  • Rest time: Rest 90 second before repeating the previous exercise.

Muscles Trained on Arm Day

Arm training has a misconception of being only for vanity and appearance, but well-developed biceps and triceps can contribute to overall strength as well as shoulder and elbow joint health.

Biceps and Elbow Flexors

Your biceps brachii and brachialis add upper arm size, while the brachioradialis adds dimension to the forearm. All three of these muscles are trained via elbow flexion (bending your arms against resistance), whether in single-joint fashion as in the curl variations, or within compound pulling movements like the neutral-grip pull-up. 

Triceps

The three heads of your triceps brachii can be trained via resisted elbow extension (arm straightening). Since the long head of the triceps crosses behind the shoulder, triceps exercises that place the shoulder in flexion (e.g. overhead movements including incline skull crushers) may expose the triceps to more mechanical tension. Ultimately, this can result in enhanced growth. (12)(13)

Forearms

When you train your grip, forearm muscles that flex the fingers contract forcefully. These muscles tend to bend your wrists as well. To counteract wrist flexion, the muscles on the opposite side of the forearm (i.e. wrist extensors along the top of your forearm) contract. The result is a robust forearm-training stimulus. 

How to Warm-Up Your Arms

Your arm day warm-up can be straightforward: Simply get your body moving. Special attention is given to the wrists, forearms, and elbows. The exercises should be non-fatiguing. 

Arm Warm-Up

  • Cardio: Five minutes, low-to-moderate intensity effort
  • Push-Up: 2 x 8-12
  • Zottman Curl: 2 x 8-12
  • Dumbbell Wrist Flexion (Wrist Curl): 1 x 8-12
  • Dumbbell Wrist Extension (Reverse Wrist Curl): 1 x 8-12
  • Neutral-Grip Pull-Up: 2 x 6–10, work-up sets at light to moderate difficulty (e.g. on an assisted pull-up machine if necessary, using a greater amount of assistance than you’d use for your working sets).

Best Bodybuilding Workout for Legs

Leg day is a longer, often more grueling workout compared to other body parts, and rightfully so. If you’re only going to train lower body once per week, you’d better make it count.

While there is debate regarding whether deadlifts belong with back day or leg day, the hamstring-dominant Romanian deadlift (RDL) is programmed in this leg workout, as this variation reduces the overall load required by reducing leg drive without sacrificing training stimulus to the target muscles. Supersets and compound sets are used extensively during this 24-set workout to save time. 

The Ultimate Leg Day

Complete once per week. Select weights that allow you to complete repetitions on the lower end of the repetition range. Each set should reach a high level of effort. If you are accustomed to high-volume leg training (e.g. 25+ sets), you may consider adding a set or two to front squats, the squat machine exercise, or leg extensions, as the quadriceps have been shown to respond favorably to higher training volume among well-trained lifters. (10) When you’re able to complete all sets at the top end of the repetition range, add 10 to 20 pounds. 

Front Squat

  • How to Do it: Support a barbell across the front of your shoulders with a palms-up or cross-arm grip. Keep your trunk as upright as possible as you squat to a comfortable depth. 
  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 6-8
  • Rest time: Move immediately to the next exercise without rest.

Prone Hamstring Curl

  • How to Do it: Lie on a prone hamstring machine with the roller pad contacting just above your heels. Flex your knees through the longest range of motion you can achieve, then control back to the stretched starting position.
  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 8-12
  • Rest time: Rest three minutes before repeating the previous exercise.

Romanian Deadlift

  • How to Do it: Hold a barbell in front of your thighs. Begin by lowering from the hips, keeping your knees slightly bent throughout the exercise. Aim to feel a strong stretch in your hamstrings before returning to standing upright.
  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 8-12
  • Rest time: Move immediately to the next exercise without rest.

Leg Extension

  • How to Do it: Sit in a leg extension machine with your knee joint aligned with the pivot point of the moving part of the machine. Straighten your knees, pause very briefly at lockout and then lower slowly with control. Keeping your feet pulled up toward your shins (ankle dorsiflexion) may help you feel a stronger quadriceps contraction. 
  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 12-16
  • Rest time: Rest two and a half minutes before repeating the previous exercise.

Machine Squat

  • How to Do it: Pendulum or lever-style squat machines are becoming more popular in gyms; however, if your gym does not have one, a hack squat or leg press machine is an acceptable substitute. Set up under the padded “yoke” of the squat machine, keep your feet flat as you lower into a deep squat. Use a controlled motion at your hips, knees, and ankles. Push back to a nearly locked out position. 
  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 12-16
  • Rest time: Move immediately to the next exercise without rest.

Calf Machine

  • How to Do it: Locate a calf machine that allows a relatively straight knee position during operation (e.g. standing calf machine or leg press). Lower slowly through your entire ankle range of motion. Without bouncing out of the bottom position, push through the ball of your foot and big toe until you’ve reached the top of your available ankle range of motion. Pause briefly in both the fully stretched and fully contracted positions.
  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 16–20
  • Rest time: Rest two and a half minutes before repeating the previous exercise.

Back Extension

  • How to Do it: Hit your lower back, hamstrings, and glutes by setting up in a glute-ham developer (GHD), as shown, or in a 45-degree Roman chair (back extension) with the top of the pad set just below your hip joints. Lower and raise your trunk primarily from the hips; however, it is acceptable to permit some low back movement as well. 
  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 12-16
  • Rest time: Move immediately to the next exercise.

Seated Calf Machine

  • How to Do it: Set the pads atop your thighs with your knees bent approximately 90-degrees. Lower to the bottom position by allowing your ankles to full dorsiflex. Without bouncing out of the bottom position, raise to the top position of full plantar flexion (rising onto the ball of your foot).
  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 20-24
  • Rest time: Rest 90 seconds before repeating the previous exercise.

Muscles Trained on Leg Day

Working entire lower body, leg day involves a significant number of separate body parts working in unison for many movements. Targeted isolation exercises will emphasize your quadriceps, hamstrings, or calves for further muscle-building stimulus.

Quadriceps

The quadriceps femoris, or “quads,” refers to the four muscles on the front of your thigh. All four act to extend your knee, and the centermost quadriceps muscle also contributes to hip flexion. You can train these muscles with squats, squat-type movements, and isolated knee extension exercises. For safety and confidence, machine-based exercises may be helpful, especially toward the end of the workout as fatigue sets in.

Glutes

Few muscle groups enhance the image of athleticism like the glutes. Therefore, the glutes are a common target for physique-based training. Although the glutes have various actions at the hip, all three “glutes” — gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus — act to extend your hips.  

Hamstrings

While your quadriceps are prominent when the legs are viewed from the front, well-developed hamstrings steal the show when the legs are viewed from the side. Composed of four muscles, the hamstrings act to flex the knee, and three of them act to extend the hip. Leg curls train the hamstrings as knee flexors, while the Romanian deadlift and back extension are the primary exercises in the workout for training hamstrings as hip extensors.  

Calves

Even if you favor baggy cargo shorts as your go-to warm weather attire, your calves are likely to be the most readily visible lower body muscle group. Although they may receive a modest training stimulus during squats and other squat-like movements, direct calf exercises are typically needed to stimulate meaningful growth.  

How to Warm-Up Your Legs

Prepare your lower body for this leg workout with a warm-up that mobilizes stiff hips and lengthens tight muscles. Use front squat warm-up sets to hone technique and dial-in a strong squat stance. 

Leg Warm-Up

  • Cardio: Five minutes, low-to-moderate intensity effort
  • Walking Lunge: 2 x 10 per leg 
  • Hamstring Sweep: 2 x 10 per leg
  • Deep Squat plus Trunk Rotations: 2 x 10
  • Front Squat: 3 x 6–10, work-up sets at light to moderate weight (e.g. approximately 40%, 60%, and 80% of the weight to be used for the first set of the workout’s first exercise).

On the Road to Ripped

You’ve probably heard of the “Stairway to Heaven” and the “Highway to Hell,” but the roadmap provided here gets you on the Road to Ripped. When all five workouts are performed once per week, total training per major muscle group is consistent with current best practice recommendations for building muscle. (1)(14) Those accustomed to lengthy or convoluted training sessions will find this program to be refreshingly simple. Simple, but not easy.

References

  1. Schoenfeld, B., et al. (2021). Resistance training recommendations to maximize muscle hypertrophy in an athletic population: Position stand of the IUSCA. International Journal of Strength and Conditioning1(1).
  2. Lacio, M., et al. (2021). Effects of resistance training performed with different loads in untrained and trained male adult individuals on maximal strength and muscle hypertrophy: a systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health18(21), 11237.
  3. Schoenfeld, B. J. (2013). Potential mechanisms for a role of metabolic stress in hypertrophic adaptations to resistance training. Sports Medicine43, 179-194.
  4. Helms, E. R., et al. (2016). Application of the repetitions in reserve-based rating of perceived exertion scale for resistance training. Strength and Conditioning Journal38(4), 42-49.
  5. Refalo, M. C., et al. (2022). Influence of resistance training proximity-to-failure on skeletal muscle hypertrophy: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 1-17.
  6. Lehman, G. J., et al. (2004). Variations in muscle activation levels during traditional latissimus dorsi weight training exercises: An experimental study. Dynamic Medicine3, 1-5.
  7. Wakahara, T., et al. (2012). Association between regional differences in muscle activation in one session of resistance exercise and in muscle hypertrophy after resistance training. European Journal of Applied Physiology112, 1569-1576.
  8. Grgic, J., et al. (2022). Effects of resistance training performed to repetition failure or non-failure on muscular strength and hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Sport and Health Science11(2), 202-211.
  9. Franke, A. R., et al. (2015). Analysis of anterior, middle and posterior deltoid activation during single and multijoint exercises. J Sports Med Phys Fitness55, 714-721.
  10. Brigatto, F. A., et al. (2022). High resistance-training volume enhances muscle thickness in resistance-trained men. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research36(1), 22-30.
  11. Youdas, J. W., et al. (2010). Surface electromyographic activation patterns and elbow joint motion during a pull-up, chin-up, or perfect-pullup™ rotational exercise. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research24(12), 3404-3414.
  12. Wackerhage, H., et al. (2019). Stimuli and sensors that initiate skeletal muscle hypertrophy following resistance exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology, 126(1):30-43.
  13. Maeo, S., et al. (2022). Triceps brachii hypertrophy is substantially greater after elbow extension training performed in the overhead versus neutral arm position. European Journal of Sport Science, 1-11.
  14. Schoenfeld, B. J., et al. (2019). Calculating set-volume for the limb muscles with the performance of multi-joint exercises: implications for resistance training prescription. Sports7(7), 177.

Featured Image: Prostock-studio / Shutterstock

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January 15, 2023

Try These Biceps Workouts Without Weights for Muscle, Strength, and Fat Loss

Filed under: Fitness — Tags: , , , — admin @ 1:00 pm

Ask 1,000 random lifters if they desire more muscular arms and very few (honest) souls will tell you “no.” The biceps are among the most visible body parts, and an impressive set of guns will usually make heads spin.

But there are other benefits to biceps training beyond adding slabs of meat under your sleeves — improved strength, shoulder stability, and joint health. (1) Heck, you could even use it to shed some fat and preserve lean muscle while cutting calories.

A person looking at their arms.

Credit: Ruslan Shugushev / Shutterstock

People usually envision biceps training either as an afterthought after training a larger body part like their back or check, or they approach it as part of a pure arms-only gym session consisting primarily of single-joint (isolation) exercises.

But if you’re smart and creative, or if you’re in a situation with next to no equipment, you can bypass the weights and provide your body with a refreshing and effective workout yielding loads of benefits. Whether you don’t go to a gym, are traveling abroad, or want to spice things up, try one of these weight-free workouts to get your biceps training to the next level.

Best Biceps Workouts

Best Bodyweight-Only Biceps Workout

Training without weights is getting back to the roots of training — being able to master your own body. If you’re tired of lifting iron and want to get back in touch with your primal self, try this routine. It would be a shame to reduce yourself to exclusively single-joint (isolation) exercises, because the biceps are involved in a lot of movements other than simple arm flexion.

A person doing a pull up.

Credit: Blanscape / Shutterstock

This workout uses a combination of multi-joint exercises tweaked to focus more on the biceps, as well as isolation movements. This will cover all of this muscle’s functions while providing the best stimulus for strength, muscle growth, and fat loss for your body. Indeed, multi-joint exercises are generally better for strength adaptations and calories spent, while single-joint work is great to improve the mind-muscle connection or to bring up a specific weak point.

The No-Weight Workout

Perform this workout once per week for optimal results, after a warm-up. Since you can’t increase the weight to progress, you’ll have to use other methods. When you can comfortably perform the desired numbers of repetitions per set, increase it to the upper bracket of the upper range. For instance, if an exercise calls for 12 to 15 reps, once you can do all your sets of 12, try to bump them up to 15. Then, you can try to add another set. Finally, you can also reduce rest periods progressively.

Commando Chin-Up

Position yourself under a pull-up bar and grab it with your thumbs facing you and you hands touching each other. Hang dead from the bar and brace your core to stabilize yourself. Pull your shoulder blades down to initiate the movement and bend your elbows to elevate yourself towards the barbell, and aim your head toward the left side of the bar.

Aim to touch the bar with your right shoulder. Lower yourself down with control back to the starting position and repeat, this time with your head toward the right side of the bar and aiming to touch it with your left shoulder. Repeat for the desired amount of reps. The next set, switch hands so that the one that was the closest to you on the pull-up bar is now the farthest.

  • Sets and Reps: 4 x 4-8
  • Rest time: Three minutes between sets.

Headbanger Chin-Up

Position yourself under a pull-up bar and grab it using a nearly shoulder-width supinated grip (palms facing towards you). Brace your core, pack your shoulder blades together and down, and pull yourself up until your arms are approximately at a 90-degree angle.

Hold that position and start moving your body towards and away from the bar by extending and flexing the arms. No other body part should move and it should look like you were trying to headbutt the bar — don’t do it, though. Repeat this movement for the target amount of time. Because this can be a challenging exercise, begin with a shorter range of motion (extending your arms only partially) and gradually work toward full extension.

  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 30-60 seconds
  • Rest time: Two minutes between sets.

Towel Curl

Grab a sturdy towel with both hands and twist it until it forms a noodle or spiral. Sit on a chair or a bench, with your back flat and your chest high. Place the center of the towel under one foot and hold an end in each hand.

Pin your elbows to your side and start flexing your arms towards your face against resistance applied by your foot. When you’re at the top and your hands are near your shoulders, reverse the motion and slowly extend your arms, still providing tension through your foot.

  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 10-15
  • Rest time: 90 seconds between sets.

Lateral Plank Walk

Get in a plank position with hands on the floor, both arms extended, and your legs straight. Brace your core, pack your shoulders, and keep your body in a straight line. Take one step to the side with your right arm and right foot. Follow in the same direction with your left hand and foot.

Repeat for a few steps in the same direction, then reverse to the move in the opposite direction. Continue for the desired duration.

  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 60 seconds
  • Rest time: 60 seconds between sets.

Inverted Row

Position yourself under a doorway pull-up bar set low, a dip bar, under a table, or a sturdy broom positioned between a pair of chairs. Grab the bar using a shoulder-width, pronated grip (palms facing away from you). Brace your core and flex your legs so your body forms a straight line.

Bend your elbows and pull your chest towards the bar, aiming to touch it the bar with your chest. Lower yourself with control until your arms are extended and repeat for as many reps as you can. Try to beat your score each session.

  • Sets and Reps: 2 x maximum reps until muscular failure.
  • Rest time: Two minutes.

Best Resistance Band Biceps Workout

Bands are a very interesting lifting tool because they provide accommodating resistance — tension and force increases as the band is stretched farther. This type of resistance allows for a unique feeling and more training possibilities. It’s also an effective way to complement bodyweight training because bands allow for a wider exercise election and better focus on some muscles. Band training is also invaluable for joint and tendon health. (2)

With such a strong case in favor of resistance band training, it’s time to try this biceps workout to gain some strength, build muscle, and help to shed fat.

One-Band Biceps Workout

Perform this workout once per week for optimal results, after a warm-up. To progress, you can use a heavier band, or a combination of several smaller bands to provide enough resistance. You can also play with volume. For instance, if an exercise calls for 12 to 15 reps, when you can do all your sets of 12, try to bump it up to 15. Then, you can try to add another set. Finally, you can also reduce rest periods each week.

Band-Assisted Chin-Up

Loop a band around a pull-up bar. Hang from the bar using a supinated grip (palms facing you) with your hands close to shoulder-width. Place your feet on the band, keeping your legs straight. Brace your core, puff your chest, pull your shoulder blades down, and pull yourself towards the bar by bending your elbows until you touch the bar with your chest.

Lower yourself with control until your arms are straight. Repeat for the desired amount of repetitions. The band will make the exercise easier at the start of the movement, allowing you to perform more repetitions and slightly favor your arms in the movement.

  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 8-12
  • Rest time: Two minutes.

Single-Arm Band Hammer Curl

Stand tall and place one end of the band under your foot. Grab the other end with your working hand. Keep your elbows at your sides. Bend your elbow and flex your arm toward your face. Only your forearm should move, not your shoulder.

Contract for a second at the top, then lower with control to the starting position. Perform all repetitions on one side before switching hands. To increase the resistance, hold both ends of the band in one hand.

  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 12-15
  • Rest time: 60 seconds between sets.

Band Concentration Curl

Attach a band to a sturdy object around ground-level. Sit on a chair near the band and grab the band with your closest arm, placing your elbow on the inside of your thigh, just above your knee. Widen your stance to make room for your arm. Bend your elbow and flex your arm toward your face, squeezing for a second at the top.

Slowly extend your arm afterwards until it is straight again. Repeat for the desired amount of reps before switching arms. Make sure that no body part other than your forearms are moving during the exercise — don’t squeeze with your knee to assist your arm. To increase the difficulty, sit farther from the band’s attachment.

  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 10-12
  • Rest time: 60 seconds between sets.

Band Reverse Curl

Step in the center of a band and grab the ends with both hands using a pronated (palms facing down), shoulder-width grip. Stand tall, brace your core, and pack your shoulder blades down. Bend your elbows by flexing your biceps to pull the band toward your face. Only move your forearms, don’t allow your elbows to move forward. Keep your palms facing down during the exercise.

Lower your hands with control until your arms are straight, and repeat for the desired amount of repetitions. For a more intense exercise and a serious burn, you can immediately add several partial range repetitions, coming up only halfway to fully finish off your arms.

  • Sets and Reps: 3 x 15-20
  • Rest time: 90 seconds between sets.

The Biceps Muscles

The biceps are probably the most known and most frequently flexed muscles. Developed biceps are mostly coveted for an aesthetic purpose, but they also cover an array of functions for health and performance.

Biceps Brachii

The biceps brachii is the biggest arm flexor, the ball of meat on your upper arm. Composed of two heads — hence its prefix, “bi” — the biceps is attached from the ulna (forearm bone) to the scapula (shoulder blade) going through the shoulder complex.

A person looking at their biceps brachii.

Credit: Jasminko Ibrakovic / Shutterstock

It is mostly known as an arm flexor and supinator (rotating the palm towards your face), but also contributes to raising your arms and stabilizing your shoulder and humerus (upper arm bone). Having healthy and strong biceps is a prerequisite for having upper-body strength and health.

Brachialis

This muscle is a part of the upper arm complex, and is located directly under the biceps. It goes from the elbow to the upper humerus, and is only involved in elbow flexion (bending the arm). It’s actually the strongest arm flexor, not the biceps.

A person looking at their biceps.

Credit: ArtFamily / Shutterstock

Developing this muscle will also help if you’re only interested in looks. Making it bigger can actually increase the “peak” of your biceps, by pushing it higher. When you’re lean enough, you can also see it for a truly impressive set of guns. To emphasize this muscle, assume a neutral (hammer) grip during curls.

Brachioradialis

The biceps’ other friend, the brachioradialis, is also attached from the ulna to the humerus. It’s the biggest and strongest forearm muscle. It works synergistically with the biceps and the brachialis, assisting in forearm flexion, supination, and pronation (rotating the palms away from you).

A person's a forearm.

Credit: Ruslan Shugushev / Shutterstock

Having big and strong forearms is useful for many exercises, but can also serve as a visual illusion to compensate for shorter biceps by making them look bigger. You emphasize this muscle with a pronated (palm down) grip.

Biceps Warm-up

Warming up before a workout can improve your performance while minimizing connective tissue strain and risk of injuries. (3) It’s especially true before doing biceps, as the elbow is a notoriously sensitive joint, and some biceps exercises involve the shoulder complex — the most unstable joint in the entire body. 

A good biceps warm-up should at least mobilize your biceps and triceps, but if the exercises require other body parts, make sure to include them as well. Here’s a complete resistance band warm-up to prime your body before a biceps workout.

Biceps Band Warm-up

  • Band Over-and-Back: Grab a band with both hands, using a very wide and pronated (palms down) grip. Stand tall, then hinge at the hips to slightly bend forward while keeping your back flat, and hold this position. While keeping your arms straight, raise the band over your head, then back down to your lower back. Return to the starting position by rotating your arms, still keeping them straight and under tension. Perform 15 reps before moving to the next exercise.
  • Band Pull-Apart: Stand with a resistance band in your hands, palm downs. Raise your arms to shoulder level, in front of your chest. Pull the band with your hands, bringing them to your sides until it touches your chest. Keep your arms straight the whole time. Return to the starting position. Perform 15 reps before moving to the next exercise.
  • Band Row: Anchor the band to a sturdy item, just under chest-height. Stand tall with your chest high and grab it using a neutral grip (palms facing each other). Pull with your elbows and squeeze your back as hard as you can until your hands are at your sides. Revert the motion with control. Perform 15 reps before moving to the next exercise. 
  • Band Curl: Step into the band, hold it with your palms upwards, arms extended. While keeping your body braced, curl the band toward your face and squeeze your biceps. Extend your arms with control and perform 15 reps before moving to the next exercise.
  • Band Pressdown: Attach the band high, at least to eye-level. Hold the ends with a pronated grip. Slightly bend forward at your waist and glue your elbows to your ribs. Completely extend your arms down, only moving your forearms, and squeeze your triceps. Bring your hands back to your chest for a total of 15 repetitions, and perform the entire circuit one more time for a thorough warm-up.

Arm Yourself With Bigger Guns

No weights? No problems. You don’t need them to fill your sleeves. Performing these no-weight biceps workouts can increase your arm size, as well as your strength, and contribute to shedding some fat in the process. This body part might be eye-catching, but there’s more to biceps training than meets the eyes.

References

  1. Rodosky MW, Harner CD, Fu FH. The role of the long head of the biceps muscle and superior glenoid labrum in anterior stability of the shoulder. Am J Sports Med. 1994 Jan-Feb;22(1):121-30. doi: 10.1177/036354659402200119. PMID: 8129095.
  2. Kim GJ, Oh H, Lee S, Lee K, Kim K. Effects of resistance exercise using the elastic band on the pain and function of patients with degenerative knee arthritis. J Phys Ther Sci. 2020 Jan;32(1):52-54. doi: 10.1589/jpts.32.52. Epub 2020 Jan 22. PMID: 32082029; PMCID: PMC7008024.
  3. Fradkin AJ, Zazryn TR, Smoliga JM. Effects of warming-up on physical performance: a systematic review with meta-analysis. J Strength Cond Res. 2010 Jan;24(1):140-8. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181c643a0. PMID: 19996770.

Featured Image: YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV / Shutterstock

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November 24, 2022

Hammer Curls vs. Biceps Curls: The Battle for Bigger Arms

Filed under: Fitness,Training — Tags: , , , — admin @ 9:10 am

It doesn’t take much to convince most people in the gym to curl. If you want an impressive physique, an intense pump, and more strength in the gym, you’ll find time to do some curls.

out of focus person performing barbell curl with weights in focus

Credit: Kzenon / Shutterstock

But with so many curl variations, which movement do you pick? And how often should you do them? How do you fit curls into an already packed training program? These are the questions you need to tackle, so you can make a more informed decision and win a one way ticket to Armsville. 

To get to the bottom of it, let’s look at two classic biceps-building staples: the hammer curl, which is performed with a neutral (thumbs-up) grip and the standard dumbbell biceps curl performed with a supinated, or palms-up, grip. By starting from square one, you’ll learn enough to begin building your arms efficiently and effectively. 

Hammer Curl and Biceps Curl

Hammer Curl and Biceps Curl Differences

These two exercises may appear nearly identical, but the relatively subtle difference in grip is responsible for a big difference in results.

Muscle Recruitment

The function of the biceps muscle is to create flexion (bending) at the elbow and supination (rotation) at the wrist. The thumbs-up position of the hammer curl avoids supination and more specifically targets the brachialis and brachioradialis, while a fully supinated grip (palms up) emphasizes the biceps brachii. (1)

The brachialis is a strong elbow flexor, separate from the “main” biceps brachii on the front of the upper arm. The brachialis sits underneath the biceps, closer to the bone. It’s believed that targeting the brachialis will have the effect of “pushing up” the biceps to make it appear larger, not unlike wearing shoe lifts to appear taller.

This anatomical trickery may not yield significant results, because the biceps brachii is still stimulated to grow regardless of the grip used, but it’s worth a try. Hammer curls also recruit the brachioradialis, which is a relatively larger muscle running along the top of the forearm and over the elbow joint, near the lower portion of the biceps.

Woman at home performing dumbbell curl

Credit: antoniodiaz / Shutterstock

The hammer grip also slightly emphasizes the short head of the biceps, while a supinated grip activates the long head of the biceps muscle more strongly. (2) Due to this, you will usually feel a difference in your arm tension when performing either movement. Both variations do work both heads of the biceps, but the emphasis is shifted slightly from one to the other. 

Muscular Tension

The supinated grip puts the biceps into a slightly longer stretched position. This is why you usually feel tightness when your arm is fully straightened in the bottom position. The neutral-grip position of the hammer curl puts the muscles into a slightly “rested” position, rather than a long stretched position.

To create more tension in the bottom position of a hammer curl, you can perform the exercise seated for an incline hammer curl, which brings your arms behind your body. You can create even more tension using a supinated-grip curl by bringing your arms in front of the body by performing a preacher curl or spider curl.

Exercise Similarities

These two dumbbell curls are, fundamentally, similar. They require you to move a weight with strict elbow flexion, which brings the weight from your hip-level to near-shoulder height.

Targeted Biceps Training

The biceps curl and hammer curl are both isolation exercises, which creates motion at one single joint (the elbow, in this case). This type of movement is different from a compound exercise, which creates motion at two or more joints — the chin-up, for example, involves both the shoulder and elbow joints.

By restricting movement to a single joint, muscular stress is focused on the target muscle and isn’t distributed significantly across multiple muscles. This is why it’s important to use strict form and keep your elbow near your ribs when you curl.

long-haired person in gym doing dumbbell curl

Credit: YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV / Shutterstock

If you swing the weight and let your elbow get away from your torso when you curl, you create movement at the shoulder joint which can take activation away from the biceps muscle.

Technique Differences

When watching a lifter performing a hammer curl and comparing them to a lifter performing a standard biceps curl, one key difference will stand above anything else.

Hand Position

A change as seemingly simple as turning your hand one way or the other might not look like a big deal, but it’s responsible for determining which arm muscles are recruited and how hard they’re worked.

With a thumbs-up hand position, your brachioradialis is put into a mechanically stronger position to move the weight. The biceps brachii, while still recruited, is moved into a less strong pulling position due to the structure of the muscle, tendons, and surrounding structures. (3)

This subtle, yet highly effective, change in grip isn’t unlike performing pull-ups (with a palm-down grip) compared to performing chin-ups (using a supinated or palm-up grip). In this case, again, a simple change in hand position shifts the muscular emphasis from your back (with pull-ups) to your biceps (with chin-ups). (4)

Because the brachialis is only responsible for elbow flexion, and not supination, it’s a relatively stronger arm muscle. (5) This is why many lifters can perform hammer curls using heavier weights than they use with biceps curls. This also makes the two exercises very effective for supersetting together, performing a set of biceps curls until muscular fatigue and then immediately performing additional repetitions with hammer curls.

How to Do the Hammer Curl

Stand up holding a pair of dumbbells at arms-length, with your hands facing in to your center. Pull your shoulders back and flex your abs. Pin your elbows to your sides.

Curl the weight by driving your thumbs up to the fronts of your shoulders. Pause briefly in the top position before straightening your arms back to the starting position.

Form Tip: The brachialis, which is targeted by the hammer curl, responds very well to slow lifting speeds. (6) Instead of performing hammer curls with a powerful, explosive movement, slow down to keep that muscle under more consistent tension. Take three seconds to curl the weights to the top position, pause for one second, lower the weights in three seconds, and pause at the bottom for one second.

Benefits

  • The hammer curl allows you to use relatively heavier weights, which can help strength gains.
  • This exercise targets muscles not typically emphasized with other curl variations, particularly the brachialis and brachioradialis.

Hammer Curl Variations

The hammer curl is primarily defined by using a neutral grip or thumbs-up curling position. You can hit your arms with some variety by using the same hand position with a variety of movements.

Kettlebell Curl

This is the most common way to add biceps training to a kettlebell workout. By grabbing the kettlebell by the “horns,” your hands are put in a primarily thumbs-up position and you get the benefits of a hammer curl using a single kettlebell.

The kettlebell curl can be easily added as a type of transition exercise between larger movements, like squats or rows, or it can be used as a finisher for extra arm training after a high intensity workout.

Cross-body Curl

This single-arm hammer curl variation, sometimes called a pinwheel curl, moves the weight across your body instead of moving directly forward. This movement reduces the range of motion, which lets you use a slightly heavier weight.

The crossbody curl is often done alternating arms with each repetition, but can be performed with one arm at a time for even more time under tension.

How to Do the Biceps Curl

Stand up holding a pair of dumbbells at arms-length, with your palms facing forward. Pull your shoulders back and flex your abs. Pin your elbows to your sides.

Keep your hands level with your palms facing up as you curl the weights toward your shoulders. Don’t allow your elbows to come forward in the top position. Lower to a full extension.

Form Tip: Use a slow eccentric (lowering phase), taking up to three seconds to extend your arms, but drive up powerfully and raise the weight in one second. This will place the biceps under tension during the lowering phase and allow strong force production when lifting the weight.

Benefits

  • The biceps curl emphasizes the biceps brachii on its own, with limited involvement from other muscles.
  • This staple exercise is relatively simple to learn and program, making it an efficient exercise for any biceps-training program.

Biceps Curl Variations

The classic supinated biceps curl can be adapted to many different movements, adjusting range of motion, muscular tension, and other variables to provide a different muscle-building stimulus.

Dumbbell Preacher Curl

The preacher curl offers stability from the pad and prevents cheating by removing the ability to swing the weight. That makes this one of the most strict and most biceps-intensive exercises around.

The stretch in the bottom position can be extreme, depending on your flexibility. Reduce the risk of injury by working within your own effective range of motion and, if necessary, avoiding full lockout with this exercise to reduce strain on the biceps tendons.

Cable Curl

The cable curl is a high-tension variation that uses a cable pulley instead of free weights. This constant tension creates a greater trigger for muscle growth compared to dumbbells, which rely on leverage and gravity to produce resistance.

The cable curl can be performed with a variety of handles, as well as single-arm, for even more variety and growth stimulus.

Knowing the Best Curl for Your Goal

The great thing about this decision is that you almost can’t get it wrong. It’s not like choosing between a back squat or a front squat, which are performed very differently and yield very different results. It’s more like deciding if you’re going to put the cereal or the milk in the bowl first. The end result is basically the same, but you get to pick the order you prefer. However, there are just a few things to consider.

For Strength

If you are training primarily for strength, include more hammer curls in your program. Being able to get more training volume to the brachialis is going to give you more assistance in exercises like pull-ups, rows, and even deadlifts. Because the brachialis is a stronger arm muscle, you can use heavier weights for an even greater strength stimulus.

For Muscle Size

If your goal is physique-focused, work more on supinated-grip biceps curls. This will take the muscles through a greater range of movement, which is a major key for hypertrophy. (7) Pairing this type of training with some hammer curls using slower tempos will trigger major arm gains, while also making sure you have trouble lifting your toothbrush the next day.

Better Curls for Better Arms

Biceps training definitely doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does have to be well-planned for maximum results. Now that you know why and when to use each exercise, you’re in a better position to design a routine that takes your arm workouts to the next level.

References

  1. Naito, A., Yajima, M., Fukamachi, H., Ushikoshi, K., Sun, Y. J., & Shimizu, Y. (1995). Electromyographic (EMG) study of the elbow flexors during supination and pronation of the forearm. The Tohoku journal of experimental medicine175(4), 285–288. https://doi.org/10.1620/tjem.175.285
  2. Jarrett, C. D., Weir, D. M., Stuffmann, E. S., Jain, S., Miller, M. C., & Schmidt, C. C. (2012). Anatomic and biomechanical analysis of the short and long head components of the distal biceps tendon. Journal of shoulder and elbow surgery21(7), 942–948. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jse.2011.04.030
  3. Kleiber, T., Kunz, L., & Disselhorst-Klug, C. (2015). Muscular coordination of biceps brachii and brachioradialis in elbow flexion with respect to hand position. Frontiers in physiology6, 215. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2015.00215
  4. Youdas, J. W., Amundson, C. L., Cicero, K. S., Hahn, J. J., Harezlak, D. T., & Hollman, J. H. (2010). Surface electromyographic activation patterns and elbow joint motion during a pull-up, chin-up, or perfect-pullup™ rotational exercise. Journal of strength and conditioning research24(12), 3404–3414. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181f1598c
  5. Plantz MA, Bordoni B. Anatomy, Shoulder and Upper Limb, Brachialis Muscle. [Updated 2022 Feb 22]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK551630/
  6. Kulig, K., Powers, C. M., Shellock, F. G., & Terk, M. (2001). The effects of eccentric velocity on activation of elbow flexors: evaluation by magnetic resonance imaging. Medicine and science in sports and exercise33(2), 196–200. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005768-200102000-00004
  7. Baroni, B. M., Pompermayer, M. G., Cini, A., Peruzzolo, A. S., Radaelli, R., Brusco, C. M., & Pinto, R. S. (2017). Full Range of Motion Induces Greater Muscle Damage Than Partial Range of Motion in Elbow Flexion Exercise With Free Weights. Journal of strength and conditioning research31(8), 2223–2230. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000001562

Featured Image: MDV Edwards / Shutterstock

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May 11, 2022

How to Do the Hammer Curl for Bigger Biceps and Forearms

Filed under: Fitness,Training — Tags: , , , , , — admin @ 4:48 pm

Bigger, stronger arms are usually high on the list of priorities for some lifters, even if they half-whisper it for fear of being labeled “a bodybuilder,” as if there’s anything wrong with training specifically to add muscle.

While there are countless varieties of curls to work the biceps with different angles or equipment, most lifters overlook how simply holding a dumbbell differently can affect muscle recruitment and overall growth.

The hammer curl uses a simple thumbs-up position to more directly work the forearm muscles and emphasize a different part of the biceps, leading to more growth, bigger arms, and a stronger grip. Here’s why this fundamental dumbbell curl shouldn’t be overlooked.

How to Do the Hammer Curl

There’s a good chance that anyone who’s picked up a pair of dumbbells has performed a hammer curl, or something that was supposed to be a hammer curl. It’s an instinctive movement that can be made even more effective when following some simple technique guidelines.

Step 1 — Grab Dumbbells Correctly

Woman in home gym standing holding dumbbells

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Begin standing with a pair of dumbbells at your sides with your palms facing your body and your thumbs pointing forward. Rather than gripping directly in the center of the handle, slightly offset your grip to have your pinky near the lower weight plate. This requires greater grip and forearm recruitment during the exercise. (You can center your hand on the handle if you prefer.) Flex your triceps to ensure a straight arm and fully locked out starting position.

Form Tip: The offset grip slightly shifts the dumbbell’s center of gravity forward and requires you to squeeze harder during each rep to maintain control of the weight. Gripping with a standard, perfectly centered grip requires less gripping strength. Offsetting your grip to have your thumb touching the top weight requires even less grip strength. Experiment with each slight variation as a way of adjusting the exercise’s intensity.

Step 2 — Curl the Dumbbells to Your Shoulders

Woman at home performing dumbbell curl

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Bend your knees slightly, pull your shoulder blades back, and flex your abs to ensure an upright posture. Flex your biceps to curl the weight to your front deltoids.

The “hammer curl” gets its name from the visual cue of hammering a nail, so keep your wrists neutral, your palms facing each other, and your fingers in a vertical line throughout the exercise. As the weights approach your shoulders, allow your elbows to come forward slightly, letting the dumbbells touch the front of your shoulders.

Form Tip: With most curls, the elbows should remain pinned to your ribs for optimal tension. However, the hammer curl significantly recruits the long head of the biceps, which also plays a role in moving the upper arm at the shoulder. Allowing the elbows to come forward, slightly, by moving at the shoulder lets the long head contract even more strongly. (1) Don’t allow the shoulder movement to become a wild swing. Use a controlled motion.

Step 3 — Lower to Full Extension

Muscular woman in gym performing dumbbell curl

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Once the weights touch your shoulders, reverse direction. Keep your hands pointed in the same direction, with your palms facing each other and your fingers stacked vertically. Lower the weights under control until your arms are fully extended in the starting position.

Form Tip: Resetting at the bottom of each rep and achieving a full stretch by contracting the triceps may seem like “resting” the biceps, but it allows a maximum range of motion which contributes to overall growth. It also helps to prevent cheating by making it more difficult to swing the weights into a curled position.

Hammer Curl Mistakes to Avoid

The hammer curl may seem like a simple movement, which it certainly is, but that means there’s even less reason to cheat and less room for error. Here are the most common technique errors.

Rotating Your Hands

A “hammer curl” with your hands positioned any way other than thumbs-up is no longer a hammer curl. Changing your hand and wrist position isn’t necessarily wrong, it’s just a different exercise emphasizing different muscles.

Man in gym performing dumbbell curl in mirror

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It’s like performing a barbell flat bench press, but gripping the bar with your hands nearly touching instead of being slightly outside shoulder-width. It’s still a valid exercise, but it’s now a close-grip bench press which emphasizes the triceps, not a barbell flat bench press which emphasizes the chest.

The same principle applies to hammer curls; it’s meant to be done with your hands vertical and your palms facing each other. A different grip creates a different exercise.

Avoid It: Make sure you’re doing hammer curls, not pronated (palms down) curls, supinated (palms up) curls, or an angled grip in-between. Keep the “hammering a nail” visualization on your mind. You wouldn’t, couldn’t, and shouldn’t hammer a nail with an angled swing, so be sure to keep your thumbs up.

Swinging Your Body

One of the most common mistakes with hammer curls is swinging your torso to bring the weights up from the bottom. Not only does this increase strain on the lower back, but it reduces biceps activation by starting the exercise with momentum rather than muscular strength.

Muscular shirtless man performing dumbbell curl

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Upper body swinging can sometimes be caused by trying to lift too heavy, but many lifters instinctively swing their body for every rep of every set regardless of the weight, as if it’s the way the exercise “should” be done.

This unconscious movement is an indicator that they’re not treating the hammer curl with the same deliberate intention as they likely do for squats, deadlifts, or other more involved exercises.

Avoid it: Begin each rep from a strict upright posture with your arms at your sides, your abs tense, and your shoulders pulled back. Bracing and contracting your abs while curling can make upper body swinging more noticeable and more preventable. Raising the weights at a slightly slower speed will also discourage swinging.

Benefits of the Hammer Curl

The hammer curl recruits the muscles of the upper arm as well as the lower arm, delivering more overall results than many other curl variations.

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The increased muscle activation and potential for relatively heavier weights make the hammer curl suitable for a wide variety of goals.

Bigger Biceps

Because the biceps are responsible for elbow flexion (curling and bending), the biceps are directly activated during hammer curls. This makes them a key player to adding size to your upper arms.

Bigger Forearms

Few lifters do direct forearm work, but hammer curls are a simple and effective way to build the muscles below the elbow as well as above it. The neutral (thumbs up) hand position increases stress on several muscles of the forearm compared to supinated (palms up) curls.

Increased Grip Strength

Building a stronger grip can not only carryover to improvement in other exercises, it has also been associated with improved overall health. (2) Hammer curls are an efficient way to improve grip strength without needing to add specific grip-building exercises into your general workout program.

Muscles Worked by Hammer Curl

Curls are to bigger biceps what coffee is to mornings — simply necessary. The hammer curl, however, works more than just the biceps.

Muscular arm in shadows holding dumbbell

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The specific hand position recruits a variety of muscles in the upper and lower arm, making it an important addition to an arm workout.

Biceps Brachii

The biceps brachii is “the biceps muscle” on the front of the upper arm. It’s composed of two separate heads, the long head on the outer part of the biceps and the short head found running along the inner part of the biceps.

Both heads are connected to the elbow, with the short head attaching to the upper arm bone and the long head attaching to the shoulder blade just behind the shoulder joint. Because of this, both parts of the biceps are involved in flexing or bending the elbow, and the long head is also activated when raising the arm at the shoulder. Both heads are also strongly activated when rotating the wrist palm up and palm down (supination and pronation).

Brachialis

The brachialis is considered a “hidden” muscle because it’s not often visible and is located beneath biceps brachii, near the elbow. When the brachialis increases in size, it can essentially “push” the biceps higher, contributing to a larger arm size overall.

Its primary function is to flex and bend the elbow and it is not involved in supination or pronation. For this reason, a neutral-grip (palms facing each other) puts the brachialis in a strong mechanical position. (3) This is also why you can typically use more weight with any neutral-grip curling, rowing, or pulling compared to a pronated or supinated grip.

Brachioradialis

The brachioradialis runs along the thumb-side of the forearm, contributing significant muscle size particularly near the elbow. It stabilizes the forearm during arm movement and directly acts as an elbow flexor.

Forearms

The wrist flexors make up the bulk of the lower arm on the palm-side of the forearm, while the wrist extensors are found on the top side of the forearm. Both muscles are heavily involved in any grip-intensive exercise, like the hammer curl. The wrist flexors work actively to hold the weight in place while the wrist flexors provide stability.

Who Should Do the Hammer Curl

The hammer curl isn’t just used for increasing arm size. It certainly does play a big role in arm training, but it also carries over to help other lifts, making it useful for strength-focused lifters as well as those prioritizing muscle size.

Lifters Training for More Muscle

The hammer curl will help to pack size onto your arms, including the often neglected forearms. While some lifters may be reluctant to include direct arm training in their workout due to time or efficiency concerns, the hammer curl is an excellent choice to reap maximum size benefits from just one exercise.

Lifters Training for Strength

Stronger arms and a stronger grip can carry over to any exercise that puts weight in your hands. Having a more secure grip on the bar, regardless of the specific exercise, can help to improve bar control and stability. A stronger grip also directly benefits all types of pulling exercises, from deadlifts and pull-ups to barbell or dumbbell rows.

How to Program the Hammer Curl

Just because it’s an “arm curl” doesn’t mean the hammer curl should be treated with light weights and high reps. Here’s how to fit hammer curls into your plan for better results.

Heavy Weight, Low to Moderate Reps

Because the hammer curl uses a neutral-grip, the arms are put into a significantly stronger pulling position than if the hands were palm-up. This lets you move heavier weights without sacrificing technique. Four to five sets of six to eight reps turns the hammer curl into a serious strength-builder without needing to swing the weights around.

Moderate Weight, Moderate Reps

Training hammer curls with a classic bodybuilding-style approach using three to four sets of 8 to 12 reps is a reliable way to build arm size with this fundamental exercise. This type of workout should deliver an excellent pump in the forearms and biceps.

Hammer Curl Variations

The hammer curl is primarily unique for its specifically neutral hand position. There are several simple and effective variations of the basic hammer curl to fine-tune the results to your specific needs.

Single-Arm Hammer Curl

Training unilaterally (one side at a time) allows you to use a slightly heavier weight in either hand compared to lifting both sides together. (4) Training each side separately also allows you to more specifically address natural strength discrepancies, since one side of the body is typically stronger than the other.

Another significant benefit of the single-arm hammer curl is stricter technique. Specifically, by bracing the non-working arm on the back of a bench, upright post, or stable object, you can create more stability and ensure that you don’t use any upper-body momentum.

Cable Rope Hammer Curl

Curling using a cable provides constant tension and increases the overall muscle-building stimulus. The rope attachment allows you to use a neutral-grip, compared to straight-bar attachments.

Cable hammer curls also make it more difficult to cheat with your torso because the cable disperses much of the momentum that would be moving the weight and keeps stress on the target muscles.

Pinwheel Curl

The pinwheel curl, sometimes called the cross-body curl, changes the range of motion by sliding the weight across the body rather than remaining extended in front. This slightly shortened range of motion changes the stress on the muscles, recruiting the brachialis and further emphasizing the long head of the biceps.

Because the weight is closer to your body’s center of gravity, a heavier weight can be used compared to standard hammer curls. Pinwheel curls are typically done one arm at a time or alternating arms with each repetition.

Hammer Curl Alternatives

Most lifters can be overwhelmed with curling options. Here are a handful of options to incorporate in addition to, or instead of, the hammer curl.

Supinating Curl

The classic supinating curl involves rotation during the exercise, beginning with the weights facing the body in the bottom and the palms facing up in the top position. This recruits both heads of the biceps brachii more significantly because they work to rotate the forearm.

By focusing on “twisting the pinky up” at the top of the curl, the biceps contract fully. Most lifters are surprised by the intense muscle activation from this simple technique adjustment.

Reverse Dumbbell Curl

Reverse dumbbell curls use a palms-down grip throughout the exercise. This de-emphasizes the biceps brachii and puts increased muscular stress on the brachioradialis, brachialis, and wrist extensors.

This overlooked exercise is an excellent choice for prioritizing lower arm size and strength, because the biceps are not significantly activated.

Incline Curl

The incline curl is a bodybuilding staple. Using a high-angle incline bench allows the arms to stretch behind the torso in the bottom position, which significantly activates the long head of the biceps.

Incline curls also encourage strict form, due to the stretch in the bottom position as well as the fully supported seat back which helps to prevent swinging. Be sure not to lean forward, which reduces the incline and defeats the purpose of the exercise. Keep your head and shoulders in contact with the pad.

FAQs

How many different curls should I do in each workout?

Programming direct arm training, like curls, into a workout plan means walking a fine line between efficiency and effectiveness. Few lifters need to dedicate a huge chunk of time (multiple exercises on multiple days per week) to training arms. However, the other extreme (zero direct arm training) can compromise results and eventually lead to arms that do require a significant amount of attention.

Generally speaking, if your goal is to build larger arms, incorporating one or two different exercises two to three days per week should be sufficient, depending on your overall training split and the specific sets and reps. If your goal is primarily strength, not size, directly training biceps with one or two exercises once or twice per week can be an effective and efficient plan.

Why does my elbow hurt during the exercise?

If hammer curls aggravate pre-existing elbow pain, you’re likely not keeping your wrists in a neutral position during the curl. By rotating the wrist palm up or palm down, you may be increasing strain on the tendons and supportive tissues of the elbow.

Reduce the weight and focus on maintaining a vertically stacked hand when raising and lowering the weight. Lifting with a slower tempo can also help to dial in perfect technique.

Pick Up The Hammer Curls

To paraphrase an old saying, “Whosoever performs hammer curls, if they be consistent, shall possess bigger and stronger arms.” It’s a useful lift for physique-focused lifters as well as performance-based lifters, and is an ideal choice for blending size and strength into a single arm exercise.

References

  1. Chalmers PN, Cip J, Trombley R, et al. Glenohumeral Function of the Long Head of the Biceps Muscle: An Electromyographic Analysis. Orthop J Sports Med. 2014;2(2):2325967114523902. Published 2014 Feb 26. doi:10.1177/2325967114523902
  2. Bohannon RW. Grip Strength: An Indispensable Biomarker For Older Adults. Clin Interv Aging. 2019;14:1681-1691. Published 2019 Oct 1. doi:10.2147/CIA.S194543
  3. Plantz MA, Bordoni B. Anatomy, Shoulder and Upper Limb, Brachialis Muscle. [Updated 2022 Feb 22]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK551630/
  4. Costa E, Moreira A, Cavalcanti B, Krinski K, Aoki M. Effect of unilateral and bilateral resistance exercise on maximal voluntary strength, total volume of load lifted, and perceptual and metabolic responses. Biol Sport. 2015;32(1):35-40. doi:10.5604/20831862.1126326

Featured Image: MDV Edwards

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