|
|
Weight
Lifting Routine - Biceps Exercise & Triceps - Part 9
|
| |
Weight
Lifting Workout - Arms (Biceps & Triceps)
The Biceps Muscle
The biceps brachii is the front part of
your arm, and gets its name from its two heads - the short
head and the long head. The bicep muscle makes up about
1/3 of your upper arm size. Its main function is to bend
the forearm toward the shoulder, and its secondary function
is to supinate the forearm, or to turn your hand from palms
up position to a palms down position. |
|
|
The Triceps Muscle
The triceps brachii has three heads and is the back of
your arm. These 3 heads make up about 2/3 of your arm size,
and are called the lateral, medial, and long heads. The
lateral head is located outward giving you the horse shoe
shape. The medial head is located toward the middle, and
the long head is the largest of the 3 heads. The main function
of your tricep is to straighten out your arm, and the secondary
function is to bring your arm down towards the body.
Friday Bicep Workout and Tricep Exercises
For my arm workouts, I alternate a bicep exercise with
a tricep exercise, instead of doing all biceps first and
then triceps second. Now, don't confuse this with superset,
because its not. Superset is where you perform one exercise,
and immediately perform another exercise. Here, I perform
one set on the biceps, take a rest, and then do a set on
triceps.
You can't really tell from the workout charts below, but
this is how my typical arm day looks after warmup:
- Set 1: Barbell curl
- Set 2: Close grip bench press
- Set 3: Barbell curl
- Set 4: Close grip bench press
- Set 5: Barbell curl
- Set 6: Close grip bench press
And the same goes for the following exercises
for both biceps and triceps. Again, this is not a superset,
because I take a rest in between each set. One main reason
why I setup my arm workout like this is so that my biceps
and triceps get an equal amount of attention. Should you
workout one muscle completely before another, you will have
less energy to work on your 2nd muscle, be it triceps or
biceps. By alternating like this, you get an even distribution
of "energy" to work both muscles - so to speak.
Besides, you'll get a killer pump in your arms throughout
the entire workout. Week 1, 3, 5 |
| Exercise |
Week 1 |
Week 5 |
Barbell curls
|
3 X 6, 6, 5 (100lbs) |
3 X 5, 5, 4 (110) |
Close grip bench press
|
3 X 6 (185) |
3 X 5 (195) |
Dumbbell curls
|
3 X 5, 5, 4
(45's, 45, 40)) |
3 X 6, 6, 5 (45's) |
Triceps press downs
|
3 X 8 (140) |
3 X 6 (150) |
Cable curls
|
2 X 6 (100) |
2 X 6 (120) |
Rope press downs
|
2 X 6 (100) |
3 X 6 (90) |
|
Week 2, 4, 6 |
| Exercise |
Week 2 |
Week 6 |
Barbell curls
|
3 X 5 (105lbs) |
3 X 4 (115) |
Close grip bench press
|
3 X 6 (195) |
3 X 6 (195) |
Seated dumbbell curls
|
3 X 4 (40) |
3 X 5 (45's) |
Triceps press downs
|
3 X 6 (150) |
3 X 6 (150) |
Hammer curls
|
2 X 6 (40) |
3 X 6 (40) |
Kick backs
|
2 X 6 (30) |
2 X 6 (30) |
|
Bicep Exercise and workout
I start off my bicep training with barbell curls, here's
how I warmup to the regular sets:
- Perform 1 set of 12 reps of barbell curls with just
the bar (45lbs)
- Add a 10lb plate (each side), and perform 8 reps
- Add another 10lb plate, and perform 6 reps
- Remove the plates, and add a 35lb plate, and perform
3 sets (115lbs)
Keep in mind that I alternate between bicep exercise and
tricep exercise.
Biceps are then finished off with either dumbbell curls
or seated dumbbell curls, and then cable curls or hammer
curls - for a total of 3 exercises.
Tricep Exercise and workout
In between my biceps exercises, I will work in my tricep
exercises, and here's how I warmup:
- Perform 12 reps of close grip bench press with just
the bar
- Add a 25lb plate and do 8 reps
- Remove the 25lb plate, add a 45lb plate, and do 6 reps
- Add the remaining weight (to 195) and perform the regular
3 sets
So, in general, I do 3 sets of warmups with progressively
heavier weights before doing the heavy sets. Your goal for
warming up is not to exhaust your muscles, but get enough
blood pumping through that area.
After close grip bench press, triceps are then finished
off with press downs, and kick backs or rope press downs.
The two bicep and tricep exercises mentioned above (barbell
curls, and close grip bench press), are two of the best
mass builders, so do them. Besides these two, dumbbell curls,
and tricep press are also good mass builders. You may be
wondering why I don't do lying tricep extensions as part
of my workout. The main reason why I don't use lying tricep
extensions is because I have "questionable" elbows
- my guess is from poor form from my earlier days. ;-)
My elbows tend to "pop" allot, and experience
great pain when I perform lying extensions. I stopped doing
them about 2 years ago, when it got to a point where I could
no longer stand the pain even after a thorough warmup.
|
|
|
BB4U Recommends: Pete Sisco's Maximum Strength |
Pete Sisco is the developer of Power Factor Training and Static Contraction Training - over 200,000 people worldwide have trained using Pete's methods.
In just 10 weeks of Static Contraction training, trainees (hardcore bodybuilders who had been lifting "heavy" for a long time and averaged 38years old) achieved the following average gains:
- 51.3% increase static strength
- 27.6% increase in one-rep max in full range of motion! (without doing full range lifts for 10 weeks!)
|
|
- 34.3% increase in ten-rep max in full range of motion! (see above)
- gained 9.0 pounds of new muscle (one subject gained 29 pounds of muscle!)
- gained 1/2 inch on each biceps, 1.1 inches on chest, and 1.2 inches on shoulders
- lost 4.9 pounds of fat & lost 0.4 inches on waist
Have you had size and strength gains like the above in the last 10 weeks? With Pete's no-nonsense, scientific approach to bodybuilding and strength training you can achieve your goals and go beyond.
>> Click here for Pete Sisco's Maximum Strength Program << |
|
Arnold Schwarzenegger 's Encyclopedia
of Modern Bodybuilding
I thought I would just mention this fantastic book in conclusion
to this weight lilting and training guide section. If you
already have this book, then you'll know what I'm talking
about, and if you don't have this book, then I got a question
for you: "why don't you have it??"
It's absolutely a fantastic bodybuilding book - its more
than a book actually, its an Encyclopedia, like the name
suggests. I got mine awhile back as a gift, and although
I've read every page in it, I still flip back to it all
the time. It covers everything you will ever need in bodybuilding
- just a fantastic book anyone serious about bodybuilding
must have.
It's a HUGE 800 page book that covers everything from anatomy,
to weight lifting routine, to diet and nutrition and more
- not to mention the loads and loads of pictures in there
of all the greatest bodybuilders!
To give you a good idea of what this huge Encyclopedia
covers, below are just some highlights - in order of the
book:
- History of bodybuilding and then some basic introductions
to bodybuilding
- Public gyms and training at home, and making a choice
that fits for you
- Getting started in bodybuilding - various bodybuilding
accessories such as belts, gloves, straps and more is
covered
- Training programs and routines - covers things such
as progressive resistance, reps, train to failure, warmups,
resting, stretching etc...
- Body types - learn about body types and what type your
are, and also training specifics for different body types
- Arnold includes his basic and advanced training programs
- about the only thing I'm not big on in this entire book.
(I'm not sure if anyone can actually follow these programs
- especially the advanced - without grossly over training)
- just my 2 cents.
- Mind over matter, and finding your motivation
- Hundreds of specific exercises described in detail to
target each of your muscle groups (all illustrated with
photos of famous bodybuilders)
- Competition section covers areas such as posing, preparations,
and competition strategies
- In depth information on health, nutrition, and dieting
- learning about all the key essential nutrients, and
sample meal plans
- The book finishes off with weight loss and dieting strategies,
and also contest dieting strategies, and finally dealing
with injuries and preventing injuries
What I listed above is barely scratching the surface of
even the table of contents. ;-) It's just such a massive
and fantastic bodybuilding book, that everyone should have
one. And the paperback version can be bought for under $20
bucks (the one I got)! You can also get the hard cover version
for over $40, but I'd just go with the paper back.
>>
Click here for Arnold's Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding
Paper Back (under $19) (click "add to
cart' on the right)
>>
Click here for Arnold's Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding
Hard Cover (around $43) (click "add to
cart" on the right) |
|
Regular
Supplements:
>>
Click here to order 100 Whey Protein 10lb Or 5lb
Here
>> Click
here for Prolab Creatine, or Dymatize
Micronized Creatine
>>
Click here for Optimum L-Glutamine
>>
Click here for 100% Egg Protein
>>
Click here for Pro Complex
>>
Click here for 100% Natural Whey Protein
Other Supplements
>>
Click here for MRI NO2 Black
>>
Click here for Prolab N-Large 2
>>
Click here for Taurine
>>
Click here Optimum Tribulus 625
>>
Click here Optimum ZMA
>>
Click here for MuscleLink Ribose 100g
>>
Click here for Detour Bars
>>
Click here for Luna Energy Bars
>>
Click here for AST Multi vitamin
>>
Click here for Flax seed supplements
>>
Click here to shop for all these supplements online and
save.
Workout Spreadsheet Download
I had neglected to post my spreadsheet
for download to track workouts etc. and had received a email
from a reader (Avi Bhatt) who took the time to make the
excel spreadsheets for each of the weeks to track your workout
progress. It was better than what I had, so I am posting
it here for download instead of my own. I just made some
minor changes to it. Download
workout spreadsheets (Excel Files Zipped).
(Right click link and save target as). |
|
| |
Bowflex & Total Gym Home Gym |
|
Bowflex Ultimate Home Gym
The Bowflex Ultimate 2 Home Gym is a total-body solution that delivers everything you could possibly imagine for great fitness results. It offers 95 exercises and includes a lat tower, leg extension/leg curl station, preacher curl attachment, integrated squat station and more. Click here for the BowFlex Ultimate 2 |
|
Bowflex Revolution Home Gym
The Bowflex Revolution home gym comes with over 100 exercises with a built-in cardio rowing workout. It includes preacher curl attachment, 5 position foot harness, hand grips, leg press plate, instructional manual, and much more Click here for the Bowflex Revolution |
|
Total Gym Home Gym With Total Gym, you target all major fitness areas with just one workout: resistance training, cardio training and stretching. Everything your body needs on just ONE machine.
>> Click here for Total Gym - As Seen on TV with Chuck Norris & Christie Brinkley. 10% OFF with Promo Code: 11001  |
|
|
|
|
