Beast Arms & Abs - Part 3

The Workout

Before beginning any exercise routine it is vital that you warm up. Spending about 5–10 minutes doing light exercises will ensure that blood is being moved around the body and your muscles have sufficient elasticity—crucial for preventing injury.

The session starts off with the arms by working on the biceps first before moving on to the triceps muscles. After annihilating your guns, the abdominal muscles will then be hit. Cardio will finish off this crushing session.

Perform each exercise for the specified sets and repetitions (4 x 10 means 4 sets of 10 reps). Take one-minute rests between sets and a two-minute rest between exercises.

Biceps

Barbell Curls (4 x 10) –

• Stand upright and hold the barbell at shoulder-width apart. You should hold the barbell with an underhand grip and the elbows tucked in close to your sides.
• By only moving your forearms, curl the bar forwards and upwards, focusing on using the biceps to lift the weight. Ensure you are breathing out during this phase.
• Carry on the lift until your biceps have reached full contraction at the top. Give the biceps a tough squeeze and hold it there for about a second.
• Lower the bar slowly while you breathe in. This lowering phase should take about three seconds before you reach the starting position, and you should feel your biceps working throughout.
• That equals one rep—repeat nine more times to complete the set.

Hammer Curls Rope (4 x 8) –

• Stand about a foot away from the machine and use the lower rope attachment.
• Hold the rope ends with your palms facing inwards (neutral grip). While standing straight, keep your elbows to the side of your body making sure they do not move at any point of the exercise.
• Using only your forearms, pull the rope upwards while breathing out. Your biceps should be doing all the work.
• When fully contracted, squeeze your biceps and hold that position for a second.
• Lower the weight slowly as you inhale, remembering to maintain tension in your biceps until the starting position is reached. By now, you should be able to feel the importance of these slow ‘negative’ phases.
• Repeat for the set amount of repetitions.

Dumbbell Curls (3 x 8-10) –

• Stand in an upright position holding a dumbbell in each hand. Your arms should be at your sides with the elbows tucked in close to your body. The palms of your hands should be facing forwards.
• Using only your forearms for movement, curl your biceps forwards and upwards while breathing out. Squeeze the biceps on the way to a full contraction at the top.
• Hold this position and continue to squeeze for about one second.
• Slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting point as you inhale. It’s a good idea to count to three until you get familiar with the timing needed on the eccentric phase.
• Repeat for the correct amount of reps.

Triceps

Rope Pushdowns (4 x 10) –

• Using the rope attachment at the higher position, hold the rope ends with both hands and palms facing each other.
• Stand with your body straight but a slight lean towards the machine. Your upper arms should be at right angles with the floor and close to your torso.
• Keeping your upper arms still and only moving your forearms, use your triceps to pull the rope down. Fully extend your arms so that they are at your sides. Make sure you are breathing out through this phase.
• Hold your position at full extension for a second, feeling the squeeze in the triceps. Then slowly bring the rope back up while you inhale, still feeling the tension in your triceps.
• Repeat for the full rep range.

Lying Extensions (4 x 10) –

• Have a barbell rest on your thighs as you sit on a flat bench. Hold the bar about a shoulder-width apart using an overhand grip (Your palms should face down).
• Lift the bar to about your chest level and gently lay on your back. Fully extend your arms as if you’re performing a bench press. This is the starting position.
• Without moving your elbows or upper arms, slowly lower the barbell until it almost touches your forehead.
• Hold this for a second before slowly extending your arms back up. Make sure not to fully lock your elbows at the top as this will reduce the tension from the triceps, making the exercise less effective.
• Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

One Arm Pushdowns (4 x 10) –

• Stand facing the cable stack. Using one hand, grip a lone-handed attachment from the high cable position with an underhand grip.
• Pull down so that your elbow is by your side, locked in. For superior balance, place one leg in front of you and the other behind. This is where you’ll begin.
• While exhaling, extend your arm down slowly, only moving your forearm until it's straight. Pause for a second and squeeze the triceps.
• Slowly bring the handle back up to the starting point.
• Perform the correct amount of reps before swapping and repeating with the other arm.

This is part 3 of our series on Beast Arms & Abs – Looking for the full eBook?

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