Flex Friday- Training Biceps and Triceps

People might confuse exercising with just training biceps and triceps, such is the aesthetic value of these muscle that people tend to over train them. . Though training arms is no sin but there has to be a method to the madness.

I usually keep Fridays for training arms, mostly because I can wear a nice T-shirt to the party  in the evening and partly because it fits my schedule well.

So training biceps and triceps and the forearms is why I go to the gym on Fridays, the routine is fairly simple and insane. Its very easy to get carried away while training arms but you should realize the purpose behind your training.

Its important to understand that you have to improve the functionality of the muscle so that it can work efficiently for you in your day to day activities rather than merely filling air in the balloons. We use our arms in most task and growing the muscles to be both resistant and enduring should be our main criteria.

I work on strength per inch as it helps me with calisthenics and promoting fitness. So be sure of your specific purpose of working out before you go all beast mode on those dumbbells. Here is a simple recipe which I follow to accomplish my mission:

Triceps

Tricep Dips – I usually warm with two sets of triceps dips ranging between 12-15 repetitions. At times I do weighted dips but for that you have to manage to perform the normal versions first.

Close Grip Barbell Bench Press  – I start off with a warm up set of 15 repetitions. I follow it up with 10, 8 and 6 reps of progressing weights with the last set being a drop set. Where I reduce the weight and hit the same number of repetitions(6) with the reduced weight.

dintip- Try to lift the wight close to your upper chest with the hands approx 20 cm apart.  

Cable Triceps Pushdown – I have always liked doing drop sets on this machine. I start off with 75% of my max and drop to around 25%. I do 5 reps 5 times while dropping the weight by 10% or two plates respectively. I repeat the drop set twice increasing the entire weight by 10% the second time.

dintip- Keep your back arched and dont lean over the weight too much. Keep your elbows stagnant and extend the muscle fully. 

Standing Dumbell Triceps Extension – Again two drop sets of this exercise will make your triceps burn. Start with 80 % of your max perform 5 repetitions and then drop to around 50% of your max and perform till you hit exhaustion.

dintip- Keeping the elbows close and ensuring proper range is the secret to the success of this exercise. Use some assistance in helping you lift the weight till you become self sufficient. 

Triceps Dumbbell Kickback – This exercise has to be performed in three sets of 12, 10 and 8 repetitions for each hand. Increase the weights only when you think your form is perfect.

dintip-A stagnant elbow, pausing when the arm is fully extended and not swinging the weights allow you to complete this exercise successfully. 

Biceps

Dumbbell Bicep curls – A warm up set of 12 repetitions followed by3 sets of 8, 6 and 4 repetitions does the trick for me. I try to start with 50% of my max and build up to 90% of the max.

dintip- if you can’t do both hands together try one hand at a time. Don’t swing the weights and be in control while going down,working against gravity.

Hammer Curls – I do a pyramid set with hammer curls wherein I start with a light weight and gradually build to a heavy one and then come back down to the heavy weight without any intervals in between. This non stop set has to be performed for at least 25 repetitions for each hand eg. 5 reps of 20 lbs, 5 reps of 30 lbs , 5 reps of 40 lbs ,5 reps of 30 lbs and 5 reps of 20 lbs.

dintip- you can actually perform 35 to 45 reps and end your workout right then and there. Its for one of those days where you dont have too much time. 

Preacher curls– 3 sets of 10, 8 and 6 repetitions, can be performed with dumbbells, one hand at a time, with an EZ barbell or with a normal barbell.

dintip- you can take support while coming up when lifting heavy but try to work against gravity yourself. Go down as slow as possible to maximise this exercise. 

Training biceps and triceps is important but is mostly overdone. At the end of the day you have to set a goal for your workout and not lift weights ideally.

 

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