All About Arms

"When a goal matters enough to a person, that person will find a way to accomplish what at first seemed impossible"

-Nido Qubein

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Regardless of your final goal, it is so important to strengthen all of the major muscles groups. 2 days ago the focus was legs so to keep it even today's topic is the upper body

PUSH UP

Starting in a plank position, either on hands and knees or hands and feet, making sure that you have a straight line from the top of your head out to your contact point. Throughout the exercise, your butt and abs should be tight and your neck should be in line with your spine. Bending the elbows to a 90 degree angle lowering your body down and then straighten back up without locking out your arms.

TRICEP PUSH UP

Similar starting position as a push up, but the elbows stay into the sides. As you lower your body down, make sure you point your elbows back to work the back of your arms

BICEP CURL

Start with your hand weights directly in front of your body and lift your arms up, keeping your elbows into your sides. In order to maximize the benefit of the exercise keep the muscle contracted throughout the exercise, not resting at the top or bottom of the movement.

TRICEP DIP

Grip the hand weight above your head with your elbows facing forward. Bring your arms to a 90 degree angle behind your head by only moving your forearms and keeping your elbows stationary

MILITARY PRESS

Bring the arms to a 90 degree angle with your elbows and shoulders forming a straight line. Push your arms together above your head and coming back to the 90 degree angle

FRONT/LATERAL RAISE

For a front raise, bring the arms directly in front of your body with an upper grip on the weight. Extend the arms in front of you, keeping a slight bend in your elbow, and raise to chest level. The lateral raise is a similar movement bet lifted to the side. Start with you weights to the side of your body. Lift up to the arm, careful not to lift above your shoulder level. The more bend you have in your elbow the easier the movement will be.

UPRIGHT ROW

Start with an upper grip on your weights and your arms directly in front of your body. Throughout the duration of the movement, your arms should stay close to your body. Bend your elbows and lift your arms to shoulder level without letting your elbows come above your shoulders and then lowering back to the starting position

CHEST PRESS

Lie flat on your back and bring your arms out so that your elbows are in line with your shoulders. Lift your arms up so that they meet together right above your chest and then coming back to the starting position

CLOSE GRIP BENCH PRESS

The movement of the exercise is similar to the chest press but your elbows remain into your sides throughout the exercise. Bring your arms up over the lower part of your chest. As you lower your arms down, slide the elbows by your sides and come back to the starting position

CHEST FLY

While laying on your back, extend your arms together above your chest. Keeping a slight bend in your elbows, open your arms to the side until you feel a contraction in your chest. Again, the more bend you have in your elbows the easier this movement will be

ROTATOR CUFF

Grip your weight as if you were to do a bicep curl. Bring your arms up so that they are parallel with the ground in front of the body. Relaxing your shoulders down and keeping your elbows stationary, rotate your arms out to the side and then coming back in.

HAMMER CURLS

Hammer curls are performed in a similar movement as the bicep curl. Instead of griping the weights in front of the body, grip them to the side so that the top of the weight is pointed towards the ceiling. Lift the weights up so that the bicep contracts before bringing it back down towards your side.

TRICEP KICK BACKS

In order to prevent lower back injuries, support your weight on a bench or by putting your hand on your knee. Keep your shoulders parallel with the floor and lift the arm up so that your elbow is into your side. Your elbow should remain pressed into your body and stationary throughout the movement, push the lower part of your arm out behind your body until the tricep contracts and then coming back to the starting position

BENT OVER ROW

Start in the same position as the kick back, resting your arm on a bench or on your knee. The lower your body is to the ground, the harder this exercise will be. With the dumbell in hand and arm extended towards the floor, row your arm back by lifting your elbow directly towards the ceiling and then coming back down. This should be a contraction in your shoulder blades, and your shoulders should remain in place throughout this exercise

Keep changing it up in order to work your upper body to it's maximum potential. There are so many options for changing up these exercises or others that work similar muscles.

Megan