Archive for the ‘Arms Exercise’ Category

Wrist Curls for a Muscle-Specific Workout

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

The technique of doing certain basic exercises which constitute any bodybuilder’s workout regime is very important, so that the correct muscle groups are exercised, and muscular injuries are avoided. The muscles targeted by the wrist curl are flexor carpi radialis and flexor carpi ulnaris. The wrist curl exercise is usually done while being seated in a bench. The bar is then clasped with a tight grip about 8 to 12 inches apart, and the feet and legs are positioned parallel to each other with the toes pointing straight. Then you must lean forward, placing your elbows and forearms on your thighs. You must move your wrist forward until they extend beyond the patellae. While extending your wrists, allow your hands to open so that only your fingertips can hold the bar. Then raise the bar by first flexing the fingers and then the wrists. Care should be taken to flex the wrists as far as possible without moving your forearms or elbows from your thigh. Then slowly allow your wrists and fingertips to extend back to the starting position.

Apart from barbells and dumbbells, the Hammer Strength Wrist Curl Machine is very popular because it enables you to do something that no other barbell or dumbbell can enable you to do – negative training capability. EZ workout bars are also important wrist curl equipments. The benefits of wrist curls are primarily strength building and upper body exercise. Since the forearm muscles are generally the weakest muscles in the body, working out this part of your forearm improves both the strength and stability of your grip – an important requirement for sportspersons and bodybuilders. The wrist curl is an isolation exercise and should be done in combination with supplementary forearm exercises

Barbell Curls for Perfect Arms

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

The standing barbell curl is usually performed in the following way: Hold the barbell with both hands, with your palms facing upward, about 12 inches apart. Stand upright, with your back resting against a wall, your legs slightly out frontward, and your knees locked. Start your exercise with your bar at arms’ length against your upper thighs. Now curl the bar in a semi-circular motion, until your forearms touch your biceps, your upper arms ought to be kept close to the sides. Use the same path to lower your forearms to the starting position. While keeping your upper body against the wall at all times, inhale while moving forearms upward, and exhale while moving forearms downward.

The standing barbell bicep curl works out the long and the short heads of the biceps brachii and brachialis. This bicep curl is great for adding some variation to your biceps training, and is easier on the wrists because they allow a greater range of motion. This exercise may also be carried out with your upper body resting against a wall, and the momentum gained by resting the spine against the wall is useful. The other benefit of this variation of the standing barbell curl is that it eliminates the risk of a back injury.

The wide grip standing barbell curl is good for working out the inner part of your biceps. This exercise is similar to the barbell curl, except the bar is grasped tightly with hands at shoulder-width, using an underhand grip, and feet firmly on the floor, shoulder-width apart. This exercise requires you to keep your body fixed, and you cannot rest your upper body against the wall. Also, make sure that your elbows are tucked in to your sides, and do not move away from your body during the exercise.

Ball Pull- Working on abs with stability balls

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

Number of exercises can be performed using stability balls and many of them are extremely useful in bringing desired results. The ball pull exercise is performed through some simple steps which are enlisted as follows.

  • Step No 1-

Start by keeping your body in push up position and keeping stability near to your legs.

  • Step No 2-

In this step you should keep rest of the body in push up position and place the lower shins upon the stability ball. The entire body should be balanced by your both hands.

  • Step No 3-

In this step bring the your knees close to your chest, keep the front portion of your body straight and slowly roll the ball close to you ankle. Exhale as you perform the step. At this position you must hold your body for few seconds.

  • Step No 4-

In this step return to the original position and make sure that you inhale while rolling back.
The above mentioned steps must be performed repeatedly. The exercise papers to be simple but it needs a little bit of balancing. So, it is always better to perform some of the basic exercises with stability balls before performing this exercise.

The ball pull exercise has many forms and most of them work extremely well on the lower abdominal muscles and bring in good results. The Birdcage ball cabinet pulls is one of such forms, the body posture resemble a bird cage. The other form is Ball bust grabs pulls, it is also known to bring in good result. A set of these three exercises if performed in a sequence is believed to bring good results for the lower abs. Apart from great results, it is always fun to work out with stability ball.

For those Men who Want Good Triceps

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

A triceps workout, irrespective of a man or a woman, should always start and end with triceps stretching exercises. A triceps workout for a man includes flexibility, toning and strength building exercises. You will also like to use some different equipments and positions to keep the workout fresh. Here are some of the best triceps exercises for men.

You start with two triceps stretches. The first triceps workout for a man can be an overhead triceps stretch. Now stand up, bend you arm at the elbow and hold the top of your shoulder blade with the opposite arm, reach to the top of your head and hold your elbow. Pull your arm to put tension on your triceps muscle.  Hold for stretch for about 30 seconds putting pressure and then repeat with the other arm.

The next triceps workout for a man is the traditional triceps pushup. Start prone on the ground keeping your hand close together. Now lowering your body, ensure that your elbows remains in.  Push yourself up back to the starting position.
After this proceed to the lying triceps extension. Next lie on a bench and hold a curl bar close together in an under grip. Raise the bar upwards until your arms are extended fully. Slowly lower the bar to your starting position.

These next set of exercises will help you build big triceps. Triceps pushdowns begin with facing a high pulley. The bar should be placed at the chin level and your feet almost 10 inches apart. Keep your forearms at a 90 degree angle in relation to your upper arms. Keep your elbows placed at the sides. Now hold the bar with hands, palms facing down and hands about shoulder width.  Remember not to swing your body to help lift the weight. Push the bar down hold for some time. This exercise requires a maximum number of 12-15 repeats.

Another good exercise to build bigger muscles is the bench press. Start by lying flat on a bench; bring the bar down towards the lower portion of your sternum. Next return the bar to the position you started with. Try doing 8-10 repeats in 3-4 sets to your regime.

Toning exercises include standing triceps kickback as an important component of all exercise routine.  Now begin your triceps workout for a man with dumbbell in your left hand keeping your right foot in front. You have to lean forward, bend your right knee and put your right hand on your right thigh. Your left hand faces down and your left elbow is bent and facing back. While you straighten your left arm, you’ll feel pressure on your triceps. Try doing 20 repetitions and 2 – 3 sets.

You can finally conclude your triceps workout for a man routine with a triceps stretch. In your right hand hold a towel, and raise the arm over your head and flip the towel down your back. With your left hand, grab the other end of the towel reaching behind your back. Move your left hand up the towel. This should allow your right arm to move lower too. Notice if your hands can touch. Reverse the position of your hands and repeat the process from 3 – 5 times for each arm.

Home Triceps Workout Plan

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

A home workout plan is very useful in developing and toning your Triceps. There are several exercises which require no or very less equipment. These include pushups, stretches, lying Triceps extensions, exercises with dumbbells and single arm pullovers. Nevertheless, it is difficult to build muscles without expensive exercise machines. As with any good Triceps exercises at home, you should always start with stretches.

This stretch demonstrates that many Triceps exercises can be easily performed at home. Grab a towel in your right hand and lift your arm over your head. Now toss the other end to your back.  And grab the other end with your left hand. Slowly move your left hand up the towel which will force your right arm to move lower. Make sure that your hands touch. Now repeat with the reverse hands and repeat for about 5 reps.  This is so far the best triceps exercises at home.

Your next Triceps exercises at home can be pushups.  Start with your hands placed very close and up on your toes. The closer you place your hands the greater will be the stress.  Now lower your body towards the floor, keeping your elbows in place. Get back to your starting position.

Triceps curl is an exercise that can be done easily at home as it requires only a dumbbell.  At first stand with your legs bent a little and spread them as wide as your hips. Grab a dumbbell in your left hand and use your free hand to steady the arm. This will ensure the placement of stress on only your Triceps. Now bend your elbow and lower the weight behind you. Bring your arm back to a position you started with. Include 8 – 10 repetitions before changing your arm positions.

This single-arm pullover requires a dumbbell and a bench or maybe anything where you can lie flat on. Grab the dumbbell in one hand as you lie down. Begin keeping your arm straight up and your palm facing inward. Lower the dumbbell forming an arch toward the floor and flexing your elbow. Your upper arm should be close to your ear. Pull back as much as you can without straining and then slowly lift your arm again. Repeat the Triceps exercises at home with your other arm.

Almost all lying Triceps extensions need complicated exercise machines but this can be done with dumbbells. First start your workout by lying down on the bench and holding a dumbbell on each hand. Utilize the overhand grip and extended fully over your head keeping your feet flat on the ground. Now bend your elbows in order to lower both the dumbbells until they are next to the side of your head. Use the muscles of your Triceps to lift the dumbbells back to the position you started from. These triceps exercises for women at home are best.

A well shaped body is what every person desires in this whole world and exercise is the only process of achieving this goal. But, going to a Gym might be a tough task for many people. They either lack time or they lack will. For all of them, a Triceps exercise at home is an easy solution. Exercise at home and get the perfect body you always desired.

Helpful Information about Triceps Press Downs

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

The triceps brachii muscle is said to be the largest muscle of the arm. In the world of weight lifting and body building, the triceps press down is considered as one of the most popular and useful exercises for building strength and definition to your triceps.

There are really great deals of issues which are in the field of body building and they all are equally challenging and difficult to handle. An example would be the type of exercises which are involved to create a whole success routine. Triceps press downs is considered as the most useful exercise in your regime. Doing this regularly would make the body fit and serves as a complex training which covers all the different group muscles within the body.

The triceps press down exercise is very popular and a choice for the body builders who wish to have an isolation of their triceps brachii muscles. To carry out the triceps press down correctly you can put up a small straight triceps press down bar attachment and from there it is quite to carry out the exercise successfully. There are several ways of doing an exercise and in case if you do not have enough knowledge on it, then it is good enough to give it a try with a trainer’s assistance.

Before beginning your triceps press down training, it is always a good idea to decide on your priorities. Evaluate the kind of muscles that you want to target and then from there you at least have a way to begin and proceed. The triceps brachii is generally a name used to describe the triceps muscles and is composed of three heads. The large long head is the attached strongly to the shoulder blade, and the lateral outer head normally attaches itself to the upper portion mostly the humerus bone. The inner medial head is attached strategically to the immediate lower region of the same humerus bone. In this case the humerus bone holds the upper arm together. The three heads are then attached to the bone which is present on the forearm and this makes the upper arm capable of any attempt of extension after there is a contraction of the triceps brachii muscles. So for building the triceps brachii the body builder should make sure that he does his Triceps press downs accordingly which help in the completing the movement that is caused by the attempt of extension of the forearm.

Triceps press down machines is highly advanced and this is the reason why they are available only in commercial gyms.

Keep in mind that the three heads in the triceps brachii are responsible for the extension of the forearm. Also take into account that the triceps brachii is also the most sensitive part of the body and they deserve to be taken with a lot of seriousness and they do deserve the same. Ensure that you have a perfect work out guidelines for these parts and remember to reduce any workload which may in due course lead to injuries to your muscles in the process. Again make your workouts as easy as possible and safer at all the times. Remember to make your workout be an interesting adventure to avoid your boredom.

Triceps Workout for Lovely Feminine Arms

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

Triceps are the baggage area and the bulk of flab which rests unattractively in a women’s body.  They aren’t ashamed that they are there but for most women are. There are some of the best triceps exercises for Women that can be done in between daily chores. These exercises specifically target the Triceps.

Dumbbells kickbacks are beneficial but remember that your goal is to build your muscle and not strain yourself, so manage the weights. These standing triceps exercises for Women are good. First bend over a little and put one arm on your knee. Now hold the dumbbell free hand, to the side of your hip below your upper thigh. Bending your elbow toward your body slowly raise your arm behind you in an upward movement. Once your arms are completely straight, stiff your arm, hold and then relax.

Aero cross is made to focus on the shoulders. Nevertheless, it is vital in the toning of Triceps to keep the area around the triceps fit. Get hold of a jump rope and begin skipping, just enough to make the rope swing under your feet. Pick up a rhythm then slowly stretch your arms away from the sides as far as you can. Continue for about 60 seconds.

The aero lean push-up is an effective triceps exercises for Women that works on the shoulders, chest and Triceps areas. In the push-up position keep your feet together and the hands placed a little wider than the shoulder length apart. Now bend your elbows and tilt to your right. Now return to the starting position repeat using your left elbow. If you find this exercise a little difficult you may keep your knees on the floor.

Wrist rotations work on the shoulders and lower arms. Remember position is very important in exercising. In this triceps exercises for Women your feet should be shoulder width apart. Hold a 1 to 2 pound dumbbell in each hand and stretch your arms straight to the front with your palms down. Rotate your wrists inward and again outward.  Repeat for these 60 seconds each.

The one arm Triceps dips is effective triceps exercises for Women. For these you have to sit on the floor with your feet together. Your feet should be flat on the floor with your knees bent. Place your hands at about 12 inches behind your butt almost shoulder length apart and having your fingers pointed toward your butt. Now raise your body position, you will desire it lowered till your butt is just on top of the floor. Straighten up one arm and then the other, and repeat again.

Not everyone has an access to commercial gym and advanced equipment. In such a case a set of hand weights and a jump rope are very effective. It is recommended that you begin by jumping on the rope since this will aid in making you relax your arms and every good exercise regime should include a warm up session.

These are some of the simple triceps exercises for Women can be done in order to keep flab and becoming your botheration. They are a combination of home and gym exercise regime that allows in providing a complete solution for your under arm baggage problems and firming them.

Top 5 Best Triceps Workout

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

The criteria on which these exercises are selected, is compound exercises and not isolation. Another criterion was on building the size and strength. According to experts working a couple of these triceps exercises into your weekly workout regime, you will notice a huge change in your triceps within 2 months.

1.Close grip bench press

Close grip bench is perhaps the best triceps exercise on the planet. This exercise permits you to go heavy and place utmost pressure on the muscle this can help you bench better and stronger.

You can set up like a regular bench press, but place your hands no wider than your shoulder width. On your decent keep your elbows in. Do not let your elbows move away from your body. At the bottom, you would like the bar to come to the lower part of your chest. This is the best triceps exercises for women.

2.Dips (weighted)

A classic triceps builder is Dips. Keep your body straight to put the stress on your triceps rather than on your chest.

Remember to always respect the stability and the flexibility of your shoulders. Do not lower your body so far that your shoulders have to compromise.

3.Rack lockouts or board press

This is the true power lifting best triceps exercise, these two are interchangeable but choose only one in one workout schedule.

The aim here is to shape the top part of the bench press. Nevertheless, most of the power lifters prefer the board press. This is so since the board press is similar to a regular bench press, except for that the variety of motion is much shorter. However the thickness of the board can also vary.

4.Lying French press (aka skull crushers, nose breakers)

The reason why this is considered as one of the best triceps exercise is that you can work up to a decent weight, and it targets at your triceps from a different angle than any of the other best triceps exercises for mass.

Use an EZ curl bar and position your hands shoulder width apart. Now lower the bar under control down to your nose or your hairline or maybe behind your head.

5.Close grip (diamond) pushups (with a clap)

Taking a set of 10 diamond pushups is a great work, but being able to clap after each rep is seriously tough. This is an exercise that will guide your triceps to contract with maximum force and pressure.

Again you can position your hands beneath your chest with the thumb and the index fingers touching so as to form a shape of a diamond in the space in between. As soon as you master 10 of these without the clap, then add the clap. To do the clap properly you will have to push yourself enough high to do the clap and return your hands to the proper diamond arrangement for the next rep.

Devote yourself to triceps specialty exercises for a minimum of 2 months and you will be surprised at the results. A triceps workout, irrespective of a woman or a man, always starts and ends with the triceps stretching exercises. The best triceps exercises should induce some flexibility along with toning and building of strength through exercises.

Bicep Exercise- Hammer Curl

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

The hammer curls is a variant of the dumbbell curl. The variation between the hammer curls and the dumbbell curl is that you’ve got to keep your thumbs facing towards you. The hammer curl works hard on your bicep muscles and also the forearms at the same time!

There are many reasons to do the hammer curls exercise. The hammer curls benefits from having the neutral wrist position. With a regular dumbbell curls you might feel that weakness in your wrists for the last few repeats; it is not the same with the hammer curls. The hammer curls also restricts your range of motion when your wrists becomes parallel to the floor. This keeps the pressure in your bicep muscles.

There are two main types of hammer curls: one is the standing hammer curl and the other is inclined hammer curls. Basically, both hammer curls do the same thing.

Process

Hammer curl setup: Get hold of two dumbbells and stand up straight. Place your arms by your side and facing towards your body.

Hammer curl exercise: Now squeeze the dumbbells tightly and raise your arms. Keep rising unless your forearm becomes parallel with the floor. At the top of the Hammer Curls remember to pause and press your muscles hard. Finally lower down your arms to the starting position.

Tips for the hammer curls

Throughout the whole hammer curls exercise is to keep your elbows locked to your sides. Incase through the course of your exercise if you find your elbows are moving forward consider lowering your weight.

Do not lean back! The hammer curl is no different when compared with all other exercise. Use the muscles of your biceps to move the weight and not your bodyweight!

You can choose from doing the hammer curl with one arm or two arms at a time. In fact all experts advise on using one arm hammer curl at a time. That way you get to focus your energy!

It is not true that the hammer curls are only for biceps, this exercise in a strange way helps your whole body. The biceps are so designed that when the hand is held with the palm facing up (supine) it automatically puts all the muscles fibers in the strongest of their most natural pulling position, thus allowing employment of the maximal fiber. More the fibers are involved means more development of the muscles is going to take place.

A lot in the same way as with the reverse barbell curl or reverse dumbbell curl is chosen by the bodybuilders the Hammer curls works as an alternative way to work on your biceps. The hammer curl is repetitively chosen for this very purpose also.
Nevertheless, as with the reverse curl, the hammer curls involves the biceps a little less than the regular bicep curls and is more an exercise for the brachialis of the forearm.

If you are firm on making the most out of your exercise for your biceps, then a hammer curls is a  must recommend. The main reason being, that the involvement of the biceps is limited. This keeps the biceps under a lot of tension and pressure working all the times, rather than the alternative methods which makes some time for rest available in between repetitions.

Get Foreman-like Forearms!

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

Everything on this earth is achievable if you want it. Do you lust for amazing and bulging forearms? Getting them will be no miracle with some proper Forearm training. Put in some exercise everyday and see the magic begin to happen. There are ways and means of doing it and also the proper equipment which you will need. Once you have them, it should be a ball game. Here is how.

Firstly, you need to know what muscles make up your forearms and what you will need to focus on:

  • forearm flexors
  • wrist flexor
  • extensor muscle
  • brachii muscles

Next time do not be confused if you come across these technical terms while training.

Developing the forearms:

You can’t go wrong if you follow all the rules at the right time. Here is how you should go about it:

  • Using barbells or dumbbells- The barbells are for focussing on the wrist flexor muscles along with the forearm flexor too. You can either use the dumbbells or the barbells.
  • Bars- These are used for the forearms. These are specially made for forearm centric exercises too. Not only the forearms but the wrists as well.
  • Rollers- These are also wrist roller equipment and are needed for the forearm flexors. You basically roll up a heavy weighted rope.
  • Grip devices- These are also an important part of forearm training equipment. Using these helps to develop your grip and strengthen your wrists.

Using these equipment under proper guidance should be really helpful.
For some ideal forearm training, you can do any exercise whatsoever. These include preacher curls, chin, the dip and also the dead lifts. These really jazz up the forearms.

Turn your wrists and contract them as much as you can. Hang down when you are doing those chin ups and so on.
How do you ensure that you concentrate on the forearm while doing all those exercises? You can do different thing while forearm weight training. Flex your wrists, extend them and so on. For these you can use equipment like cables with handles or bars, barbells, Olympic bars, ez curl bars and so on. The equipment might be different but the exercises that you do with their help is the same.

Some forearm exercises:

Here are some really good exercises which will help you develop those dream forearms. There is the reverse curl which involves the wrists. To do this, you must keep your upper forearm side resting on the leg. Your hand should hold the weight and hang loosely from the side. Now try curling your hand up and see how far it can go. Then lower your arm and let it rest.

With such strength training forearms, you will surely become muscle man very soon!