WGBJ 3 - Workout 58

Workout 58: Biceps & Triceps

Bicep Exercises

1. Alternating Dumbbell Curl

Grab a dumbbell in each hand.
Curl the dumbbell with one hand while keeping your elbow completely still and by your side.
At the peak of the movement, when your hand is next to your shoulder, squeeze, and then slowly allow your arm to return.
Do it with the other arm.
Repeat!

2. Spider Barbell Curl

To begin this exercise; position the bench in an incline degree. Similar to if you were performing an incline bench press movement. Also, place the barbell so that you are going to use just in front of the bench.
Place yourself on top of the bench with your stomach and front torso pressing against. As you grip the barbell in front, ensure that both feet are firmly positioned against the floor allowing your body full stabilization and a firm base.
Hold the bar with your palms facing the ceiling, and curl the bar upwards, making sure to keep your elbows still throughout the movement.
Slowly release the bar back down.

3. Zottman Curl

Stand upright with a dumbbell in each of your hands at arm's length. Your elbows should be tucked in close to your torso. Make sure your palms are facing your body before beginning the movement.
Contract your biceps as you curl the dumbbells upward; only your forearms should be moving. As you curl up, rotate your wrists so that your palms are facing upward, like in an underhand grip. Continue this movement until the dumbbells are at your shoulder-level.
Try to hold the contracted position for a second while sweeping your biceps. Then, in the contracted position, rotate your wrists again until you your palms are facing down, like in an overhand grip.
With this overhand grip, slowly lower the dumbbells back down.
As the dumbbells approach your thighs, rotate your wrists to return to your original grip with your palms facing inward towards your body.

4. Overhead Cable Curl

To begin, set a weight that is comfortable on each side of the pulley machine. Make sure the weight selected is equal on each side.
Adjust the height of the pulleys on each side so that they’re positioned higher than shoulder height.
Stand in the middle of both sides and use an underhand grip to grab each handle. Your arms should be fully extended to each side and parallel to the ground. Your palms should be facing upward and your feet positioned shoulder-width apart.
Keep your elbows in a fixed position as you slowly squeeze your biceps and curl your hands toward your shoulders. You should be squeezing in your biceps until your forearms and biceps touch.
Lower your forearms back to the starting position while keeping your entire body stationary.

Tricep Exercises

This is just like doing a normal ‘skull crusher’, only you’re using dumbbells rather than an EZ bar or straight bar. With dumbbells, you sacrifice the amount of weight you can use because there’s less stability, but anytime there’s less stability, there’s more core strength involved, and the pressure on the muscle should be a little bit more dramatic.

Get either a flat or incline bench ready, and lie on the bench holding two dumbbells. Raise your arms so they’re perpendicular to your body.
Make sure your wrists are straight and your hand isn’t bending over your wrist towards your body. Using your triceps, only extend your elbows up towards the ceiling. Avoid allowing your upper arms to move back and forth from their position as you raise and lower the weight.
As you power the weight back up, stop just short of full extension so that you're unable to rest in the top position, which keeps tension on the muscle throughout the range of motion.
Keep your elbows in tight as much as possible and avoid elbow flare to ensure the triceps do the bulk of the work. Allowing your elbows to flare out reduces the triceps' workload.

2. Tricep Kickback

Start with a dumbbell in each hand and your palms facing your torso.
Keep your back straight, with a slight bend in the knees, and bend forward at the waist. Your torso should be almost parallel to the floor. Make sure to keep your head up. Your upper arms should be close to your torso and parallel to the floor. Your forearms should be pointed towards the floor as you hold the weights. There should be a 90-degree angle formed between your forearm and upper arm. This is your starting position.
Now, while keeping your upper arms stationary, exhale and use your triceps to lift the weights until the arm is fully extended. Focus on moving the forearm.
After a brief pause at the top contraction, inhale and slowly lower the dumbbells back down to the starting position.
Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.

*You can also do this exercise one arm at a time.

3. Tricep Rope Pulldown

Secure a rope attachment to the high pulley at its highest position. Stand in front of the pulley, hinge at your hips, and grab the rope with your palms facing each other.
Keep your elbows close to your torso, while using your triceps to pull the rope downwards toward the outside of your thighs. At the most contracted point of the motion, your arms should be fully extended and perpendicular to the ground. Your forearms should be the only part moving.
After reaching the contracted position, slowly bring the rope up to the starting point.

4. Overhead Dumbbell Extension

Stand upright with a single dumbbell held by both hands. Your feet should be positioned about shoulder-width apart. Use both hands to lift the dumbbell over your head until both arms are fully extended.
To start, your palms are supporting the weight of the dumbbell with your thumbs wrapping around it. Your palms should be facing upward, maintaining an overlapped grip.
Keep your upper arms close to your head and perpendicular to the ground with your elbows by your ears. Lower the dumbbell in a semicircular motion behind your head so that your forearms touch (or almost touch) your biceps. Your forearms should be the only part moving.
Use your triceps to lower the dumbbell back to the starting position.