SMALL WORKOUTS FOR BIG ARMS

By kaizzad capadia

Arms are one of the most functional muscles of the human body involved in all kinds of pushing / pulling movements. They are also very aesthetically appealing. Because of their high aesthetic appeal (especially for men) they have become one of the most favourite body parts to be trained. Due to this over enthusiasm of training arms, fitness enthusiasts most of the time end up over doing arm workouts. The arm group of muscles apart from being small is also immensely involved in all torso movements. All chest and shoulder pressing movements, subject triceps to a huge overload. Similarly all Lattissimus dorsi movements, which constitute all pulling action, subject the biceps brachii, brachioradiallis and the brachialis to a huge overload. Also the flexors and extensors of the forearm get really punished as your grip is challenged to the maximum in trying to hold on to weights good enough to challenge the strong muscles of the Lattissimus dorsi, Trapezius & Erector Spinae. Thus we can see any kind of overdoing arm work could result in serious overtraining of arms which in turn would adversely affect their growth. As maximization of hypertrophy could only be possible in the absence of any kind of over training. Hence especially when it comes to arm training deprioritizing arm work by giving it less direct sets would work in its favor and actually lead to better development. Exercises For The Elbow Flexors: On the anterior of the arm lay the muscles responsible for elbow flexion The Biceps Brachii As the name suggests has 2 heads namely inner short head and outer long head. It is a Bi-articulate muscle in that it crosses the shoulder joint originating from the scapulae & inserts into the radius bone of the forearm by crossing the elbow joint.

Function: At the shoulder joint it assists the deltoid mildly in shoulder flexion. Lifting the arm forward like in a frontal raise. At the elbow joint it is the prime flexor & also is responsible for supination (Getting the palm to face up) of the forearm. It is capable of this supination because it inserts into the Radius & thus can twist the radius around the ulna at the radio-ulnar joint. Brachialis lies underneath the Biceps Brachii originating from the middle of the humerus (Upper arm bone) & inserting on the ulna bone of the forearm. Function: Since it inserts into the Ulna bone across the elbow joint it cannot supinate & is only responsible for flexion along with the Biceps Brachii. Every time that the biceps brachii works on flexion, the brachiallis is sure to work with it . Brachioradialis It is the muscle that is visible on the elbow as the highest prominence of the forearm on the top frontal aspect of the elbow. It actually originates on the humerus very close to the elbow & traverses all the way down the forearm & inserts at the wrist on the radius bone of the forearm. Function: Since its insertion is on the radius. It like the Biceps Brachii can flex the elbow as well as contribute to supination. All the above 3 muscles form the elbow flexors. These muscles are extremely functional as without them, pulling in upper body movements would not be possible. Selection of exercise for elbow flexors should be based on the following 1. Exercise schedule must be kinesiologically comprehensive i.e. include movements for both the functions mentioned above (Flexion & supination). 2. Since curling movements are circular in nature machines should be preferred over free weights for continuous tension. If free weights are used then try using angles to give maximum effective range in the line of gravity.

3. Exercises should give iso-lateral advantage, which is got by usage of dumbbells over barbells. Ignoring this may lead to asymmetrical development. 4. Shoulder flexion during Biceps movements should be avoided as the Biceps brahii will get slightly involved at the shoulder & be partially insufficient at the elbow. (If you did not understand this, then please refer to my blog on the Active insufficiency theory of BiArticulate muscles.) This is the reason why you will not find the Preacher curl as a preferred exercise in K11 programming. The preacher bench forces the shoulder to be in flexion & thus causing a small degree of active insufficiency at the elbow joint while curling. Considering the above points K11 recommends the following Biceps Brachii exercises. Incline Dumbbell Curl Type isolation, isolateral Joint action elbow flexion, supination Muscles involved Biceps Brachii, Brachialis and Brachioradialis This, is the best exercise for the Biceps Brachii & no other movement is needed considering the small volume of sets that are appropriate for a muscle the size of the biceps. 2 sets to failure of this one exercise in a 6-8 rep max range is enough to toast this tiny muscle.The reasons for it being the best option are: It offers resistance to both the functions of the Biceps Brachii namely flexion and supination. Being a dumbbell movement, it offers the isolateral advantage. When done on an incline bench at a 45 degree angle the line of movement stays in the line of gravity through most of the range of motion, thus providing maximum continuous tension out of all the free weight curling exercises. The incline also ensures complete absence of flexion at the shoulder, thus eliminating any possibility of the slightest of active insufficiency at the elbow. Execution

1. Sit on an incline bench set at a 45 degree angle with dumbbells in each hand held in hammer position. Shoulders slightly hyper extended. 2. Without moving at shoulders curl the weight up flexing and supinating simultaneously. 3. Lower in a similar fashion under control. 4. Exhale on the way up and inhale on the way down. Brachialis (Elbow flexion) When flexion is achieved at the elbow using a prone grip or semi prone grip (hammer) biceps brachii is deactivated to a large extent and Brachialis and Brachioradialis will get activated more. Exercise for Brachialis Prone grip cable curls / Reverse cable curls Type isolation, bilateral Joint action elbow flexion Muscles involved Brachialis and Brachioradialis Execution 1. Set pulley at bottom most position. 2. Attach a bar handle. 3. Grip the handle using a prone shoulder width grip and execute a strict curl. Exhale on the way up and inhale on the way down. Note

Exercise for Brachialis will also work Brachioradialis. But the Brachioradialis will work more towards flexion if a hammer grip is used in a curl. So Hammer curls with dumbbells will be a Brachioradialis movement & the reverse pronated curl will be a Brachialis movement. Brachialis lies beneath biceps brachii. Significant hypertrophy of brachialis could result in increase in overall height of biceps brachii known as the bicep peak. Hence if ever a movement could be called as the best peaking exercise for biceps it would be the Reverse curl. If ever one uses a bar to curl for biceps brachii, always preferably use the straight bar to an EZ bar. The EZ curl bar grip puts the hand inbetween supinated and hammer position thus reducing involvement of bicep brachii. Exercises For The Triceps Brachii The triceps are extensors at the elbow joints. They are responsible for straightening of the arm and assist in all pushing movements. As the word suggests triceps are a group of 3 heads namely; Inner long head, Middle head and lateral head. When fully developed the triceps take a horse shoe appearance. Anatomy: The inner long head is a Bi-articulate muscle that originates from the scapulae & thus crosses the shoulder joint as well as the elbow joint. The middle & lateral heads originate on the shaft of the humerus on the posterior side & all three insert on the ulna bone of the forearm just below the elbow. Function: Extension at the elbow joint. Exactly opposite of the Biceps Brachii. Again a lot of women are interested in training the triceps solely from the desire to get rid off fat from the back of their upper arms. As we know that fat is not localized and belongs to the entire body, no matter where on the body it is situated. We also know that the ability of an exercise to burn fat will depend on the surface area of damage. Hence no triceps movement will ever be

an efficient fat burner. Hence the reason to train the triceps will be due to the fact that the triceps contribute a lot to pushing strength & not as a solution to flabby arms. Men on the other hand tend to not stress the Triceps as much as the Biceps, despite the fact that it comprises 2/3rds of the arm size. This relative neglect is a big mistake in relation to aesthetics. There are specific compound as well as isolation exercises for triceps. As in other body parts you must always emphasize more of compound than isolation, due to more work load and functionality. The best exercises for triceps as recommended by K11 are as follows. Decline Close Grip Bench Press Type compound, bilateral Joint action elbow extension, shoulder flexion Muscles involved Triceps Brachii and Anterior Deltoid Execution 1. Lie on -15* decline bench. 2. Hold bar with shoulder width prone grip. Straight up 90 degrees to the floor at arms length. 3. Lower bar under control in line of gravity to your chest, forearms staying perpendicular to the floor. 4. Push the weight back up to full extension at elbow by moving simultaneously at elbow and shoulder. 5. Exhale on the way up and inhale on the way down. Note The decline angle is preferred to the flat as in the flat angle the movement is forced into a tangent. The -15* decline angle makes the bar come down in a line of action that is perpendicular to the floor.

Parallel Bar Dips Type - compound, bilateral Joint action elbow extension, shoulder flexion Muscles involved Triceps Brachii and Anterior Deltoid Execution 1. Hold yourself at arms length on parallel bars. 2. Lower yourself under control till humerus becomes parallel to floor, moving both at the elbow and shoulder simultaneously. Holding the body straight to maximize muscle fiber recruitment in triceps. 3. From bottom position simultaneously extend elbows and flex at shoulder to lift the body back up at arms length. 4. Exhale on the way up and inhale on the way down. Cable Pushdowns Type compound bilateral Joint action elbow extension, shoulder flexion Muscles involved Triceps Brachii and Anterior Deltoid Execution 1. Use top pulley 2. Attach triceps bar handle. 3. Grip bar with shoulder width grip. 4. Extend bar down. 5. Walk up closer to the stack till cable is perpendicular to the floor. 6. Give a little hip hinge so that shoulder is directly over the wrist.

7. From an extended elbow position control the weight as handle comes up cables staying perpendicular to the floor as much as possible moving both at shoulder and elbow simultaneously. Keep raising the bar under control till forearms meet the biceps. (forearms almost parallel to floor) 8. From this point push the weight down back to the starting position. 9. Inhale as you control the handle up and exhale as you push down. Note In this push down the elbow moves back during eccentric and comes back to original position during concentric as the movement occurs both at shoulder and elbow unlike cable extension where the elbow stays rigid in place and movement is circular. Think of it as a cycle tyre air pump action. Because of this movement at both joints we subject the triceps to a lot of workload than in pure extension plus the cable push down version is functional duplication of the action of pushing ones body weight over a hurdle / low wall. There are isolation exercises available for triceps as well which include 1. All forms of overhead extension using dumbbells / barbells / cables. 2. All forms of lying triceps extensions using dumbbell, cables, barbells (Skull crushers or French presses). 3. Cable and dumbbell kick backs. None of the above isolation exercises has a functional transfer. Also they are inferior to compound in terms of muscle fibre recruitment because of lesser work load. The elbow joint was not designed to handle extension in isolation. Triceps extension movements are high risk for tendonitis of the elbow, especially when triceps start strengthening and are capable of handling heavier loads in isolation.

Hence K11 recommends use of compound over isolation for triceps. Forearms Forearm Flexors (They are a group of 5 muscles) & Forearm Extensors (They are a group of 4 muscles). The flexors as the name suggests flex the wrist when they contract in isolation & extensors extend the wrist when contracting in isolation. All of these 9 muscles start out from the end of the humerus (Flexors from the medial side & extensors from the lateral side of the epicondyle.) & go through the carpus (Wrist) and insert into the various aspects of the hand (Fingers, thumb & palm.) Despite their kinesiological functions forearms are functionally used for gripping objects & in doing so the flexors & extensors always work together. Holding on to heavy weight is what produces development in forearms a lot more than isolation forearm exercises that provide resistance to the kinesiological functions of forearms. We always notice good forearm development in people involved in heavy menial labour. They do not do any specific forearm movement for their development. They just have to grapple with heavy tools while working. Forearms are strong muscles that exert their strength over a very weak joint (Wrist). The wrist cannot handle the weight needed to stimulate forearms in isolated flexion or extension. Isolation movements such as the wrist curl & the reverse wrist curl have a very high risk of developing the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. During these movements the median nerve scrapes along the carpal tunnel often getting it inflamed. CTS can be quite crippling. The extensors & flexors of the forearm are used most often in day to day life to grip things & they always work together & never in isolation. Grip a tennis racquet hard with your right hand & with your left hand feel the forearms of the right hand, you will find that both the flexors & extensors are equally contracted or if you are to lift a heavy bag it would be hard to say whether the flexors will be contracted harder or the extensors.

In day to day life wrist flexion or wrist extension is mainly done in tasks with very low resistance e.g. operating the accelerator of a bike. Forearms respond mainly with your back workout (Bent-over rows, shrugs, and deadlifts). These back movements will tax the forearms a lot more than direct isolated forearm work. One of the methods to stimulate forearm growth would be holding a heavy barbell off a power cage (the weight of which should be at least 10% more than one rep max weight on shrugs) at the end of a back workout for as long as possible challenging gripping strength of forearms. You could also try pinch holding olympic plates. The aesthetic appeal of the arm gets enhanced a lot with presence of well developed forearm. I am sure you all enjoyed Sly Stallones pic that i put up on the K11 page. Those kind of forearms do not come by doing wrist curls. Conventionally the forearms have been given the following exercises or its variants 1) Wrist Curls Type isolation Joint action wrist flexion Muscles involved Forearm Flexors 2) Reverse Wrist Curls Type isolation Joint action wrist extension Muscles involved Forearm Extensors The above exercises are not recommended by K11 as they will in no way contribute to hypertrophy or functional strength and they are injury prone, very often leading to Carpal tunnel syndrome.

In fact you could try stimulating forearm growth by the use of various grippers. The only problem with these is that you would have to find a gripper with a very strong resistance that you could continuously squeeze for only 6-8 repetitions. This would provide a great workout for the forearms. Even this should be done post a back workout. (Check Harsh Kumars post on the K11 FB page regarding grippers that provide resistance all the way upto 300 plus pounds.) So to summarise, the following would be the most effective exercises for the arms: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Incline Dumbbell curls for the Biceps Brachii Reverse cable curls for Brachiallis & Brachioradialis. Close Grip Bench presses for the Triceps Brachii Parallel Bar dips for the Triceps Brachii Cable Push-downs for the Triceps Brachii Heavy static holds & Pinch holds for the forearms Grippers for the forearms.

Do a total of 4 sets for Biceps, Brachiallis & Brachioradialis, 4 sets comprising of any 2 of the above given exercises for the Triceps brachii & 2-3 sets of 30 second static holds for the forearms. Do Biceps & forearms on back day after the back exercises, Triceps post chest & shoulders to avoid any overlap & maximize recovery. Do not exceed a 6-rep max on any of these exercises. Follow this simple & brief approach, lift heavy & intensely & you will be the proud owner of some mean looking GUNS - Kaizzad Capadia Director K11 Fitness Academy