Five tips for awesome arms

By Thomas Breathnach

You want to have the biceps of Rafael Nadal but no matter how many dumbbell curls you do, your arms can’t even match up to Venus Williams’. Follow these steps to bigger arms and you’ll turn those mole hills into mountains.

Variety: Biceps are called biceps for a reason; there’s two of them (per arm!): the long head and the short head. So as much as you like your dumbbell curls, add more hammer curls into your rountines to work more both muscles. Varied routines will not only increase peak size but also extend your flexed bicep down to the crook of your elbow.

Form: Keep your elbows tucked into your waiste to maintain good form. If it’s not working, go lighter. Lying against a wall while doing barbell curls is a great way to eliminate your arms jerking to lift. Whatever the arm exercise you are doing, always ensure you extend the muscle slowly and fully. It hurts, but a wise man once said something about pain and gain.

Chin up! Gymnasts have some of the most envied arms of all athletes. They’re proof that exercises using your own body weight like chin-ups can be an excellent means to promote muscle growth. Add chin-ups using various grips into your workouts to work your arms hard. Your lats will thank you for it too.

Triceps: Your triceps actually make up two thirds of your arm so train them as hard as your biceps if you want to increase overall size. Bigger triceps will add thickness to your upper arm and as a result will make your biceps appear more prominent. Try adding some weighted dips to the end of your triceps routine to feel a great burn effect.

Train legs! As legs are the biggest muscle group in your body, the more you work them the more testosterone your body will create to stimulate growth throughout your body. Doing squats is a great overall body exercise as it activates your body’s natural growth hormones which build your arms – so don’t ignore your lower body or it may come back to bite you on the gluteus maximus.

www.mh.co.za Dec ‘09