Weight Training Tips and Articles

Target The Brachialis Muscle For Thicker Arms

Administrator — Sat, 10 May 2008 02:12:47 +0000

If you’re trying to build bigger arms through weight training you obviously need to do biceps and triceps workouts. However, there is a small muscle called the brachialis that lies between the bis and tris that you also need to train for optimal arm muscle size. Targeting the brachialis with a few sets during your biceps training will help give your arms a thicker look.

While most biceps exercises will hit the brachialis indirectly, there are some exercises that you can do that will target it more specifically. Hammer curls are the best exercise for building the brachialis. To do them you take a dumbbell in each hand with the palms facing you and your thumbs forward like you were going to do normal dumbbell curls, but instead of rotating your wrists on the way up you keep your hands in a fixed position as you do the reps. At the end of a repitition your hands should be in a position like if you were using a hammer. Some gyms have curls bars with grips that allow you to do hammer curls with both arms at the same time. Do some sets of hammer curls during your biceps workout to target the brachialis.

Another exercise that will hit the brachialis is the reverse grip barbell curl. You basically do a normal barbell curl but with an overhand grip rather than an underhand one. You won’t be able to use near as much weight while doing reverse curls as you would for normal ones. This exercise will also hit the back of the forearms.

Make sure to do some exercises targeting the brachialis as part of your weight training routine and you will gain a thicker look in your upper arms.

Try Reverse Grip Bench Presses For The Triceps

Administrator — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 05:29:18 +0000

One of the most popular triceps exercises is the close grip bench press. With your hands close together it forces you to use the triceps more than the pecs on the bench press. However, if you bring the bar all the way down to your chest you may eventually feel pain in the insides of your wrists. To combat this you can stop the weight short of the chest or you can try reverse grip bench presses.

To do reverse grip bench presses for the triceps you simply lay on the bench and grip the bar with an underhand, rather than overhand, grip. To get more focus on the triceps you should grip the bar a bit wider than you do for normal bench presses. Then you do reps just like you would if you were bench pressing, lowering the weight to the chest and lifting it to arms length. You’ll definitely feel it in the triceps when you do this.

Reverse grip bench presses are an underused exercise. You’ll hardly ever see anybody doing them at the gym. This is probably because they do take some getting used to. Don’t expect to be able to do near as much weight as you do when you’re bench pressing. In fact, you should start very light and get used to doing reverse grip benches during your tricep workouts before you start going heavier. Once you get used to them, you may find that the reverse grip bench presses are a better triceps exercise for you than close grip benches.

Triceps Weight Training Workouts

Administrator — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 06:16:46 +0000

Many weight trainers tend to focus primarily on their biceps when they’re trying to build bigger arms. However, the triceps do make up more of the upper arms muscle size, so you need to do at least as much, or more, exercises and sets for them than you do for biceps. Strengthening your triceps through weight training will also help you get stronger on chest and shoulder exercises.

The most popular triceps weight training exercise is the tricep extension. You can do triceps extensions many different ways - standing or seated (also known as french presses), lying (also known as skull crushers), or with cables and weight training machines. The variety of ways you can perform tricep extensions allows you to constantly change your triceps weight training routine and hit the muscle from many different angles.

Close-grip bench presses are another great exercise for the triceps if you perform them correctly. You’re better off not lowering the weight all the way to your chest when you do close-grip bench presses because you could hurt your wrists. Stopping the weight a few inches above your chest will still hit the triceps hard.

One great triceps exercise that is rarely performed is the reverse-grip bench press. Reverse-grip bench presses are basically bench presses done with an underhand grip on the bar. This exercise does take some time to get used to the movement, but is very effective for adding size to the triceps through bench pressing (you really don’t feel reverse benches as much in your chest muscles if you do them right). The secret to targeting the triceps with reverse-grip benches is to use a wider grip and lower the weight to about the point where your chest and abdomen meet. Be very careful when you first try this exercise in your triceps weight training routine - it will take a few weeks to get used to.

Cable pressdowns with a bar or a rope are great exercises to do towards the end of your triceps workouts. Don’t go too heavy, and make sure to get a nice muscle contraction at the bottom of each rep.

To finish your triceps routine off you should do a couple of drop sets with tricep extensions or cable pressdowns. Another great triceps workout finisher are supersets of lying tricep extensions followed immediately by close-grip bench presses with the same weight.

Sample Triceps Routine:

Triceps Extensions (however you want to do them): 2-3 sets

Close or Reverse Grip Benches: 2-3 sets

Different kind of Triceps Extensions: 2-3 sets

Triceps Pushdowns: 2-3 sets

Drop sets or Lying Triceps Extensions/Close-grip Bench superset: 2 sets