Make sure your cheat is still a muscle-building treat with this sweet, protein-rich recipe.
"Cupcake" doesn't have to be a dirty word. Indulge in the clean version of an all-time-favorite dessert by whipping up this protein-fueled recipe. Complete with a cake-based bottom, creamy-icing top, and sprinkles of cinnamon for that extra touch, it'll leave you stunned—and it actually fits your macros.
This new muscle mag is full of workouts, research, recipes, and all you need to train body and mind!
(Also available on all major newstands, bookstores and digitally on the ipad and kindle)Go Now!
Looking to add some new moves to your body-part routines—or just get more bang for your buck with your existing exercises? Hunter Labrada has you covered!
Vital Stats
Name: Hunter Labrada Height: 5'9" Weight: 235 lbs Education: Texas A&M University Sponsor:Labrada Nutrition Athlete Location: College Station, TX
Over my last nine years of training, I have tried implementing just about every exercise imaginable into my routines. Some were disasters that ended with tweaked muscles (good mornings should be called bad mornings), while others became fixtures of my go-to rotation of exercises. Many other moves fell in between those extreme outcomes.
Before I tell you what my favorite compound and isolation movements are for each body part, I want to tell you what I've found to be, by far, the most effective technique for lifting any body part. I have made the most progress and had the most pain- and injury-free body over the last two years because I have decreased the weight I use and slightly increased my reps to 12-15 per set. What's more, I have placed paramount effort into lifting with proper form and truly feeling exercises where I should be feeling them—the muscle being trained!
I know that sounds pretty intuitive, but I, like most, had a hard time checking my ego at the door and lightening things up to the point where I could truly target the muscle being trained, instead of just moving the weight. However, extending the time under which my muscles are under tension, by lifting in a slower and more controlled manner, has made all the difference in my workouts. I truly encourage you to apply these techniques to all of the exercises I'm about to talk about!
My favorite compound chest movement is, by far, a slight-incline dumbbell bench press. I have almost exclusively replaced all flat dumbbell presses with these for a couple reasons. First, placing the bench at a slight incline removes a lot of the stress that being completely flat places on your anterior deltoids and rotator cuffs. It is no secret that flat presses place your shoulder joint at a disadvantageous position. It's crazy how much difference moving the bench up one hole makes!
In addition to removing a lot of the mechanical shortcomings of a truly flat press, being at a slight incline places even more of the stress of the pressing motion where it should be—on your chest. This is especially true if you use an extreme arch in your back when you bench. As a side note, I have no problem with an arch in your back while you bench.
Incline Dumbbell Press with Hunter Labrada Watch the video - 0:16
In fact, I encourage people to have a big enough one to be able to have their training partner stick their hand under it. This forces you to keep a "big chest" and keep the tension where it should be. It also makes your entire body as rigid and as stable as possible, minimizing risk of injury and allowing maximal exertion on the exercise being performed.
That being said, I am highly opposed to your butt coming off the bench, or your feet coming of the ground—both of which do the exact opposite of what a good arch does. They destabilize your body, open your back and neck up to injury, and take the stress off your chest.
To perform this exercise, you will need an adjustable bench that goes from completely flat, and you will set it one to two holes above the completely flat setting. Play around with it; find what setting works best for you. The goal is to relieve the stress from your shoulders and place the maximal amount of tension on your chest.
Cables are a crucial tool for chest development, in my opinion, and are definitely my favorite apparatus for doing flies. I prefer them over dumbbell flies because, even when performing dumbbell flies correctly, there is still a portion of the exercise where tension begins shifting from your chest to your shoulder joints and triceps. This portion is the top of the rep, whenever the weights are over the center mass of your body.
Also, because of gravity, you are much more likely to have some degree of a pressing motion involved with doing flies with dumbbells, since the resistance is pushing down, and not pulling out like a cable fly does. I also prefer cables over a pec deck or machine fly because most of these machines offer no adjustability when it comes to the angle in which you place the tension on the chest. Especially with a fly, there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all machine.
Cable Fly with Hunter Labrada Watch the video - 0:16
With cables, you have the ability to keep constant tension on the chest. In fact, the top portion of the rep is actually the hardest with cables, because you have to force a full contraction with the muscle fully loaded, instead of only a fraction of the weight, as you do with dumbbells. Also, cables pull out instead of down, making it much easier for you to lock a slight angle in your elbow and use a true flying motion void of any pressing component. Finally, since cables allow you to do the move standing or using a bench, you can really dial in the angle to place the maximum amount of tension where you want it.
My personal favorite variation is to set the cables pulleys 4-6 inches below your shoulder joint. While keeping a big chest, bring them from the resting position—which should be slightly below your shoulder joint—to the front of your chin, making for a slightly upward motion track.
Also, have your hands cupped slightly in once you begin the rep—you should feel the pressure from the handles mainly on the part of your palm closest to your pinky finger. Doing so will take away the ability to use your front delts, place even more of the load on your chest, and allow for maximal contraction.
My favorite compound motion for shoulders is the dumbbell shoulder press. However, I feel a lot of people do it wrong, and subsequently don't receive the full benefit of this awesome exercise.
I am a big proponent of performing these on an adjustable bench that supports your head, with the bench set one hole shy of 90 degrees. The are several reasons I prefer this to the bench that is actually made for shoulder pressing, which is a bench with a 90 degree angle and a back pad that stops at the middle of your back.
If the back support stops at the middle of your back, the tendency is for lifters to have a big arch in their back. This gets their upper pecs and anterior deltoids more involved than they should be. Using a bench with a back support that goes past the head fixes this problem.
Dumbbell Shoulder Press with Hunter Labrada Watch the video - 0:16
Second, when pressing dumbbells—or a barbell, for that matter—seated, the point of pressure that you push from should be your shoulder blades and lower traps, not the back of your head, like I see a lot of people do. By keeping the point of pressure in the correct spot, and your head slightly off the bench, you are positioning your body in a way that is optimal to use mainly your medial delts, which should be the area of focus when performing this exercise.
For the best contraction, push your back into the bench as hard as possible. Doing so will provide the most stable pressing platform and allow for the hardest contraction, while taking out the ability to overuse your upper chest and anterior deltoids.
Doing your side laterals seated offers several advantages over doing them standing. First, your ability to cheat the weight up using your legs is gone. Second, you are able to get a better range of motion, and a more natural track of motion, than when standing. That's because the weights can go slightly underneath the bench you're sitting on, instead of having to go in front of you the way they do when you're standing.
Seated Dumbbell Side Raise with Hunter Labrada Watch the video - 0:16
Finally, I find it easier to keep the back at the proper angle—that is, never higher than 90 degrees—when performing side laterals while seated. Doing them in this manner will keep the stress where it should be, on the medial delts.
This movement has been a staple of a good back routine since Arnold's heyday, and for good reason! I chose this movement because it allows you to get a good stretch and force a hard contraction, all while keeping a lot of pressure off your lower back.
I do this exercise almost exclusively with a narrow neutral-grip handle. This handle allows me to really let the lats stretch at the resting point of the rep, and I get a great contraction in my lower lats when I bring the handle into my midsection.
Seated Cable Row with Hunter Labrada Watch the video - 0:16
When performing this movement, there are two big things you want to keep in mind when it comes to form. First, from the moment you start to row the weight, keep a big chest (shoulders retracted and squeezed). This will make your back, rather than your biceps, move most of the weight. Second, concentrate on moving the weight by keeping your elbows close to your body and driving them back, so that you're pulling the handle into your belly button and waist.
Make sure not to "chicken wing" your elbows out. If you do, you'll hit higher up on your back, which is not good for your shoulders. If you are going to use the narrow neutral-grip handle like I recommend, try to rip the handle apart toward the end of the rep. Yes, you heard me right. Obviously, you won't rip it apart, but intensely pulling outward at the very end of the rep will really force the hardest contraction possible, and has made a big difference for me.
Do not confuse that with me telling you to "chicken wing" your elbows out. I already explained why that is a bad thing to do.
If your back is a lagging behind the rest of your physique, start doing straight-arm push-downs. This is by far one of my favorite exercises, and I've kicked off every back workout of mine for the last two years with them. I feel that they have been the exercise most responsible for the progress I've seen in my back in recent years.
When performing this exercise, there are a couple things that you want to keep in mind. First, use a handle that angles your hands toward a neutral position, as this will provide the most natural track of motion for your body. Start in a slight bent-at-the-waist position, with a good stretch in your lats. (You'll feel it when you're doing it right, trust me.) As you bring the bar down to your waist, concentrate on keeping your chest out and driving your elbows back.
Maintain a slight bend in your elbow, and do not allow it to change throughout the rep. Try to make all the motion occur at the shoulder joint! As you bring the weight down, go from the slightly bent-at-the-waist position to an almost-standing-straight-up one. This will maximize the contraction.
You'd be hard-pressed to find a better exercise for overall leg development than the barbell squat. This exercise has been a pillar of every leg routine I've had since I started playing football when I was 14 years old, and it remains so to this day.
Performed properly, barbell squats will place an enormous strain on your quads, as well as your hamstrings and calves. While there are a lot of really good resources out there to explore on to best perform a squat, I'll tell you how I prefer to do them, and you can take it for what it is: my personal opinion.
When I squat, I prefer to squat with the bar pretty low on my back—more of a powerlifting style. I feel more stable doing them this way, and am able to stay on my heels throughout the whole rep, so much so that I can wiggle my toes when in the bottom position of the squat.
Barbell Back Squat with Hunter Labrada Watch the video - 0:18
While on the subject of being in the hole, I am a huge proponent of squatting at least to parallel. Actually, I believe it is optimal to go just past it, to where your hip joint is 1-2 inches below your knee. Any lower than that, and I believe you're placing more of a strain on your joints and connective tissues than you're helping your muscles. As far as foot placement goes, I've always been a fan of going slightly wider than shoulder width. I'm a toes-angled-slightly-outward kind of guy, as this is the most natural track of motion for my body.
I don't have much else to say about squatting that hasn't been said by someone else, other than, if you aren't currently doing them, you should be! Barring any medical excuse, that is. But to be honest, most people who have lower-back problems from squatting just use subpar form. They aren't willing to lighten the weight up or spend the time refining the form to where they are doing the exercise correctly.
In no way am I taking a shot at those who genuinely do have spinal issues. But if you are constantly spraining your erectors or connective tissues when squatting, that is a form or too-much-weight issue—not an issue of your body not being right for squatting.
Nothing burns quite like a set of high-rep leg extensions taken all the way to failure with good form. I am a firm believer that sets done in the aforementioned way are one of the main reasons I've been able to develop my legs like I have. I regularly use leg extensions either as a warm-up or finisher for my quad workouts.
Leg Extensionswith Hunter Labrada Watch the video - 0:19
While many people think of leg extensions as an exercise with performance variables, I beg to differ. A ton of variables go into this exercise, and ignoring one or all of them can place a lot of undue stress on your knee joint and ligaments. I decided that it would be easiest to explain proper form by giving you a checklist:
Adjust the back pad set so that when you sit down and firmly pull yourself into the seat, your knee lines up with the axis of the center of the machine's pulley. This instruction will probably be on the machine itself in the form of a red target or yellow highlighted area on the part of the pulley I am talking about.
Set the pad so it goes across the lower portion of your shin, 2-3 inches above the ankle joint, when you're at the very bottom of the rep. Make sure your butt is firmly pulled into the seat.
At the start of the set, dorsal flex your foot, and hold this position for the entire set. In addition to maintaining dorsal flexion, keep your toes pointed straight up for the whole rep. Doing so will prevent going too far down—if you go too far down, you'll take the stress off your quads and place it on your knee joint and ligaments.
Raise the weight to just shy of completely locking your knee out, and then return to the starting position. Only go as far as your body allows you to while keeping good form.
Tip Put your fist, a softball, or something of around that size in between your knees, and lightly squeeze it between your knees for the whole set. Doing so will prevent you from going too low into the resting position and will increase the tension placed on your quads.
My favorite isolation exercise is one that has gotten a bad rap in recent years. Once again, it isn't so much the exercise as it is people's form or inability to check their egos that has caused this reputation.
If you follow the above checklist, and use a weight that you can perform at least 10 perfect reps with, you will be in very good territory when it comes to preventing wear and tear and pain on your knees.
By far, my favorite compound exercise for hamstrings is stiff-legged dumbbell deadlifts. I prefer doing them with dumbbells rather than a bar because you can pull your hips through a lot farther without a bar in the way. This allows for a much more intense contraction.
Stiff-Legged Dumbbell Deadlift with Hunter Labrada Watch the video - 0:18
When performing this exercise, only go as far down into the stretch position as possible while keeping your back completely flat and your spine straight. The motion should all happen at the hips.
Keep the dumbbells in front of you from the starting position, all the way down to fully stretched and until you get them to your knees. Once you get the dumbbells to your knees, allow them to move to the sides of your legs so you can really pull your hips through and maximize the contraction.
This is by far my favorite isolation movement for hamstrings. The load you are able to place on the muscle, and the contraction you are able to get, cannot be replicated by any other exercise, in my opinion.
To maximize the benefits of this exercise, take heed of a few form pointers. The first is to keep your butt down! Too many people allow their hips to come way off the bench when performing this movement. This gets the lower back and glutes involved—and takes the strain off the hamstrings. Try to drive your hips into the bench as you initiate the curl. Doing so ensures you are isolating the hamstrings as much as possible.
Lying Hamstring Curls with Hunter Labrada Watch the video - 0:18
Doing this exercise with proper form can be a humbling experience, so be ready to significantly lighten the weight if you haven't tried performing the exercise like this before. Also, don't let the weight hyperextend your knees at the bottom of the rep; doing so will take the tension off your hamstrings and place it on your tendons and knee joints.
I personally aim to lower the weight until my legs have barely any angle left in them, but there's a lot of tension felt throughout my hamstrings.
If you want to continue making strength gains, it's time to introduce some variety into your routine!
Some people catch up on the news by reading the newspaper each morning, going online, or watching TV. I prefer to get my news from scientific journals, especially the ones that relate to exercise.
One study that recently caught my eye measured hypertrophy and strength gains among groups that varied both intensity and exercise selection against a control. The study, published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, said the protocol using a constant intensity (same relative weight) but varied exercises was more efficient at producing strength gains for physically active individuals than the other groups, while gains in muscle size were similar across all groups so long as training intensity reached a minimum threshold.1
What follows is a list of six movements—some combined with advanced training techniques—you've most likely never attempted before. In the spirit of replacing movements that have long gone stale in your training with ones that provide a new stimulus, here are six of my favorites, one for each body major body part.
1
Chest 180-Degree Twisting Dumbbell Bench Press
If you're like me and have suffered a torn pec while benching, you'll agree that the barbell bench press isn't ideal. I also find that my shoulders take over when I'm doing flat and incline barbell versions, so I prefer to use the dumbbells instead.
But I don't do just any chest press. I add a twist—literally—to utilize the benefits of a supine or reverse grip. A study performed in my hometown of Toronto determined that when subjects used a supinated (reverse) grip during an isometric hold of the barbell bench press, it resulted in increased activity for the upper portion of the pectoralis major as compared to a regular pronated grip.2
In your workout: Do it first through third in your chest workout for sets of 8-12 reps. Get the form down first before using a challenging weight. The weight you normally use for the flat bench dumbbell press will likely be too heavy.
180-Degree Twisting Dumbbell Bench Press
Do it Right
Lie back on a flat bench while holding two dumbbells with a standard grip (palms forward), arms extended over your chest.
Slowly lower the weights to your outer chest, then press and rotate your hands 180 degrees as you push back up to the starting position. You should have a supine grip with your pinkies inward and palms facing your face at the top of the movement. Hold this peak contraction for two full seconds before lowering into the next rep.
Keep your shoulders back and down during the press to maximize pec involvement and minimize the contribution from your delts.
2
Shoulders Single-Joint Raises Done 21s Style
This triset links three single-joint dumbbell movements, each done for 7 reps. It's a great variation to throw into the end of your routine. Remember to keep the weight light in order to maintain proper form. A strong mind-muscle connection is necessary, to maximize every rep.
In your workout: Do it last after you've completed all shoulder presses and single-joint delt exercises for each head. This is more of a pumping exercise. Do 3 sets of 21 reps.
Remember to keep the weight light in order to maintain proper form. A strong mind-muscle connection is necessary, to maximize every rep.
Do it Right
Start in a bent-over position with your core tight and unlocked. Do not look up.
Perform the first 7 reps with an overhand grip (palms facing back). Lead with the pinkies out as you squeeze your rear delts, bringing the weights out wide—this is not a row.
For the next 7 reps, stand up, and with your palms facing in, do a lateral raise for the middle delt.
The final 7 reps are one again done in the bent-over position. Using the same hammer grip, instead perform a forward raise. Keep the shoulders down as your raise the dumbbells and slowly lower them with control.
3
Biceps and Forearms Zottman Curl
Hardly anyone does this movement, but they definitely should! Because you'll hit the biceps on the way up and the forearms on the way down, the Zottman curl is a complete biceps and forearm exercise. The positive phase (when you're lifting the weight) focuses on the biceps, while the eccentric phase emphasizes the brachioradialis.
In your routine: This movement can bridge your biceps and forearms workouts. Because it can't be done with very heavy weights, do it toward the end of your biceps routine if you don't specifically train forearms.
Zottman Curl
Do it Right
Grip the dumbbells with a supinated (underhand) grip, and curl them like you normally would. Keep your elbows tight to your sides.
Pause at the top, rotate your wrists so that your palms now face down, and lower the weights under control.
Check your ego on this exercise, drop the weight, and go for quality reps!
Muscle Building Protein! Supports The Maintenance And Growth Of Muscle!Go Now!
4
Legs One-and-a-Half-Reps Box Squat
Transform your basic squats into super squats that'll have your legs burning deep—and then growing big! This simple technique will increase your muscles' time under tension and emphasize the crucial bottom range of the squat. By including partial and full-range-of-motion reps, you'll better involve your glutes and hamstrings, which will also make you better at all other types of squats.
In your workout: If you're not training for strength, do this method first in your workout for several sets of 6-10 reps. A rep consists of both a full-range and a partial squat. If you're training for strength, do your regular straight sets of squats before trying this variation, but reduce the total number of sets.
Transform your basic squats into super squats that'll have your legs burning deep—and then growing big!
Do it Right
Set a box (or step or bench) a few feet behind your squat rack, and get into position by loading the barbell onto your traps. The height of the box should be at or slightly below knee level.
Position yourself in front of the box with your feet about shoulder-width apart.
Lower yourself all the way down to the box, and pause but remain tight.
Drive up to the halfway point, then slowly return back down to the box in a controlled fashion.
Tap the box, then finish the rep by exploding back up to the starting position.
Keep your core tight throughout each phase of the one-and-a-half rep to maintain your positioning and control during the set.
5
Back Barbell Rack Row
Start this row from a dead stop off the rack just off the floor, which breaks the concentric and eccentric phases of the exercise and forces you to recruit more muscle fibers for greater power, development, and growth. Because the bar touches the rack, all elastic energy is released, making it harder to initiate the pull because you're coming from a dead stop, just like conventional deadlifts. This technique will definitely boost your back thickness.
In your routine: Do it first for 3 sets of 6-10 reps. Make sure your lower back doesn't round; if it begins to, immediately end the set.
Barbell Rack Row
Do it Right
Set the safeties at about mid-shin height in a power rack and place a barbell atop it.
Load the bar at mid-shin and take a shoulder-width, overhand grip.
Keeping your back flat and head neutrally aligned, pull the bar up into your upper abdomen in an explosive manner. Resist the downward pull as you allow the bar to settle back onto the rack.
Pause on the rack for a 1-2 seconds to release tension, then repeat.
Variation: For an added challenge, add chains to each side of the bar, to alter the strength curve and add progressive resistance throughout the pulling phase. As you pull higher, the bar now becomes heavier. As you lower it, the load begins to diminish.
6
Triceps V-Dip
For this exercise, you're doing a traditional bodyweight dip, but you're shifting most of your weight to one side as you extend your arms, then alternating sides. This allows you a bit more overload than you'd normally get with bodyweight dips.
In your routine: If bodyweight dips are easy for you, do this toward the end of your triceps workout. If they're a challenge, do them earlier. Do 3 sets of 8-12 reps.
Do it Right
Start centered on a dip platform with your legs below you and your torso straight up and down—don't lean forward as that variation better targets the pecs.
Bend your elbows until your upper arms are parallel to the floor.
As you push up, extend so all of your weight to one side.
Lower back down and center yourself, and then push up to the opposite side, alternating sides.
Fonseca, R. M., Roschel, H., Tricoli, V., de Souza, E. O., Wilson, J. M., Laurentino, G. C., ... & Ugrinowitsch, C. (2014). Changes in exercises are more effective than in loading schemes to improve muscle strength. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 28(11), 3085-3092.
Lehman, G. J. (2005). The influence of grip width and forearm pronation/supination on upper-body myoelectric activity during the flat bench press. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 19(3), 587-591.
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Every day, we'll give you a new challenge designed to inspire you, build your knowledge, and push your body. Post your daily progress and you could win cash!
Introducing Our First Daily Challenge
$1,000
A Day
$5,000
Grand Prize
Want to stay strong while everyone else is in a holiday food coma? Want to learn how to use our awesome fitness resources? Ready to get psyched up for 2016 success? For 30 days, you’ll do all of this and more! Every day, we’ll give you a new challenge designed to inspire you, build your knowledge, and push your body. Post your daily progress and you could win cash! At the end, one hard-working challenger who has completed all 30 challenges will win $5,000!
Your information is safe with us. View our privacy policy.
Are your sleeves sagging around your arms? Boost the brawn and size of your biceps and triceps with these critical arm-day training tips!
If you take the ignorance-is-bliss approach to arm training, you'll probably never be tempted to educate yourself on ways to pump up your biceps and triceps size. You might wander around the gym forever with 14-inch guns, never realizing that with a little education and elbow grease, you could be sporting 16s, 17s, or even bigger pythons!
If that sounds good to you, it's time to kick ignorance to the curb and hit the books. Start by taking a closer look at these nine sorely underrated biceps and triceps tips. As you'll discover, knowledge is just as important as hard work when it comes to putting on quality muscle, so get started!
1
Give arms their own training day
One of the most popular ways to structure your training split is to pair a larger and smaller body part into push or pull days. It's common to train back and biceps or chest and triceps together, and for many lifters, that works just fine. Over time, however, many people find that the second muscle group worked—arms, in both examples—doesn't get as much training emphasis as the first.
One remedy is to do an arms-only workout on a dedicated arm-training day. With no heavy bench presses or rows done beforehand to sap your strength, you'll be able to approach these workouts with a full tank, and undoubtedly you'll be able to push much harder. Because you'll be able to move heavier weights, you'll get an enhanced growth stimulus.
To ensure full recovery, I suggest you leave at least a day before and after your arm workouts when scheduling your back, chest, or shoulders, to ensure some of the muscles don't get trained on consecutive days. Arranging your body-part split is a little trickier, but you'll benefit from the long-term payoff.
2
Go heavy to start your arm workout
I make this point frequently, but it's an important one: Start your arm workout with exercises you can load up with the most weight. After your warm-ups, that means you shouldn't go right to dumbbell curls or triceps push-downs when you can double or even triple the load on close-grip bench presses or dip machines.
With biceps, preacher curls and concentration curls are lousy places to start when you can push significantly heavier loads on standing EZ-bar or barbell curls. The exercise you choose to do first in your arm workout has a significant impact on your ultimate results, so give some thought to where you want to begin your training.
Once you've got the right exercise in the lead position in your routine, don't waste the opportunity by choosing a weight that's too light. If you're building mass, don't be afraid to push yourself with a load that you can complete for only 6-8 reps. You'll get a better muscle-building and strength stimulus here than if you choose a weight you could do for high reps chasing a pump.
3
Think "angles" when it comes to biceps training
The elbows-by-your-sides shoulder-width grip should be your starting place when it comes to curling exercises. But like the basic bench press or row, there are plenty of variations to explore that can increase overall arm development.
The elbows-by-your-sides shoulder-width grip should be your starting place when it comes to curling exercises.
When your arms are in front of the plane of your torso, as when doing preacher curls, the biceps long head can't fully stretch, so the focus shifts to the short head. Similarly, when your arms are behind the plane of your body, as when doing incline-bench dumbbell curls, the long head is fully stretched and can contract more strongly, making it the focus of the movement.
You can also shift the emphasis by changing where you place your hands when doing barbell curls. The biceps long head is located outside the short head, so using a grip inside shoulder width when doing barbell curls targets it more effectively. Taking a grip outside shoulder width, on the other hand, focuses primarily on the short head.
4
Go overhead to target your triceps long head
Every body part has a trick or two you need to learn for advanced development, and one of the more important ones for building horseshoe triceps is to take your training overhead. That's because the bulky long head attaches above the shoulder joint, meaning it's only fully stretched when your arms are in the overhead position. Only when a muscle is fully stretched can it contract most strongly. With your elbows by your sides, your lateral head takes on a greater portion of the load.
Arm positions in which your arms are perpendicular to your body—like when doing skullcrushers—engage the long head to a degree. As your arms move more overhead, as when doing skullcrushers on an incline bench, you'll get even greater long-head activation.
Any triceps movement in which your arms are overhead works here. Overhead barbell, dumbbell, or cable extensions focus on the long head, and there are even some machines that can do the trick. Of note, arm positions in which your arms are perpendicular to your body—like when doing skullcrushers—engage the long head to a degree. As your arms move more overhead, as when doing skullcrushers on an incline bench, you'll get even greater long-head activation.
5
Mix up your grip for max growth
A curl is as simple as contracting the biceps to raise a weight using an underhand grip. While that's certainly one way to build your arms, in no way is it a complete one. That's because the arm flexors consist of more than the biceps brachii, a two-headed muscle. The brachialis lies underneath, and boosting its size will also help increase overall arm size.
Working the brachialis means doing hammer curls in which your palms are in what's called a neutral position and your hands face each other. Hammers can be done with a rope attached to the lower cable or holding dumbbells.
The brachioradialis, which provides thickness to the thumb side of the upper forearm, also contributes when doing hammer curls. It's targeted when using an overhand grip during a reverse curl.
Premium Formula to Fuel Endurance, Hydration, and Recovery.Go Now!
6
Don't flare your elbows
Nothing seems simpler than extending your elbows to target the triceps. There is, however, one hiccup that can occur along the way: allowing your elbows to flare out. Whether you're doing push-downs, overhead extensions, dips, close-grip benches, or skullcrushers, keep your elbows in tight to place the emphasis on the triceps.
That can be hard to do—especially for bigger guys—because your elbows naturally want to flare out. When your elbows flare, the chest and shoulders can join in, reducing the effectiveness of the movement. For better isolation of the triceps, keep those elbows in tight.
7
Don't rep as high as you can with biceps movements
Without question, the single-most common error trainees make when doing biceps is raising the weight as high as possible in an effort to go through the full range of motion. While I'm all for full-ROM training, curling the weight too high in this case is often done with an assist from the front delts.
Here's why: With your elbows pinned by your sides, curling the weight strictly allows you to bring the weight to about shoulder height. But years of bad habits are hard to break, and for many lifters, those habits mean they push the elbows forward to raise the weight even higher.
When your elbows come forward, your single-joint movement now turns into a multijoint one that also involves the front delts. Not only does that bring in another muscle group, it now allows for a resting spot at the top of the rep as your hand is now stacked over your elbow—meaning tension on the biceps is highly reduced.
For better isolation, keep your single-joint biceps exercises just that. Be aware of the tendency to pull your elbows forward as you raise the weight. Keep 'em pinned back by your sides for the duration of the movement.
8
It's not all about the pump
There's a powerful and popular belief that to be successful on arm day, you've got to get a (insert adjective here: wicked, monster, incredible) muscle pump. The trouble is, the "pump" is best achieved through high-rep training in which blood is flushed into the target muscle, pushing the boundaries of the muscle fascia as it swells.
Yes, that's one mechanism for muscle growth, which goes by the name of sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. In my opinion, though, it's best saved for the end of your workout, with your heavy training out of the way.
Heavy training elicits what's called myofibrillar hypertrophy, in which the actual structures of the muscle fibers are damaged. Lighter training pushes fluids into the cell but doesn't necessarily cause fundamental damage to the cell structures.
Which begs the question: Why not go for both? If you do your heavy work at the beginning of your training session and work for the pump toward the end, you can. Bottom line: Save the wicked pump for the end of your workout.
9
Increase your arm-training frequency
Larger muscle groups like legs require demanding workouts that take many days to recover from, so they're trained just once a week. Smaller muscle groups, not so much. That's one reason many lifters do body parts like calves and abs up to three times a week. As for the biceps and triceps, they're the Goldilocks of muscle groups: somewhere in between.
If you've got the energy, time, and ambition, adding a second round of arm training that's done over the course of your training split is easy to do so long as you plan it right.
If you've got the energy, time, and ambition, adding a second round of arm training that's done over the course of your training split is easy to do so long as you plan it right. Here's one I followed a few years back (excludes abs and calves):
Day 1: Chest, triceps
Day 2: Back, biceps
Day 3: Shoulders
Day 4: Legs
Day 5: Biceps, triceps
Days 6-7: Rest
If you do train arms twice, I like the idea of making the first one of the week very different from the second, both in exercise selection and approach. One might be heavier than the other, focus on weaknesses, employ more single-arm (unilateral) exercises, or use different intensity boosters like forced reps, dropsets, blood-flow restriction, or eccentric-focused training.
Want a taste of how Jamie Eason trains? Check out her new glute-focused workout program and go from flat to "all that"!
Since having my baby, my booty has been feeling a little flat. So lately, I've been training to build it up! I've even created a whole 12-week program to hit that goal. It's called "From Flat to All That." You can find all the details on my blog!
Although these workouts are just a sample of one week, you can use them as long as you'd like. Just remember that the workouts are meant to prioritize glute training—that's why there's a whole day dedicated to the booty! But don't worry, you won't neglect the rest of your body.
Although these workouts are just a sample of one week, you can use them as long as you'd like. Just remember that the workouts are meant to prioritize glute training—that's why there's a whole day dedicated to the booty!
If you want a bootyful transformation, you're going to have to lift some heavy weight. You'll notice that that first couple of exercises each day require fewer reps. On those lifts, challenge yourself to use heavy weight, and turn that pancake into a peach!
If regular push-ups are too difficult, then do them on your knees. Remember to keep your elbows in as you do them—don't let them flare out.
What you do for high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is completely up to you. You can sprint on a treadmill, bike, or stairmill. Or, you can do battleropes or medicine ball slams. The point is to try to work at 85 percent and then rest at a 1:1 ratio. So, if you work for 30 seconds, rest for 30 seconds. After 20 minutes, you should be spent!
If you haven't been training your glutes, some of these exercises may be new to you. If they are, start with lighter weight. Make sure you feel comfortable with the movement pattern before you throw on extra weight.
I like to do my sit-ups with my legs stretched out in front of me, to hit my upper and lower abs.
If you're unable to do pull-ups, feel free to use bands or a machine to help you. Or, a great way to practice the movement is to perform deficit pull-ups. To do them, jump up to the bar and then lower yourself down as slowly as possible.
On rows and pulls, it's especially important to use your back, not your arms to perform the movement. Save your biceps training for later in the workout.
Take your time through the weighted bridges. Pause for at 3-5 seconds at the top and then lower slowly. Once you reach the bottom, explode up.
If you've never performed a single-leg squat before, try a few without weight. Sometimes, it can be difficult to find your balance and trust your butt will find the bench. Once you sit down, try not to use any momentum to stand back up.
It's important for everybody to train chest. Women need to have a strong upper body to go with their strong lower body. A balanced physique is a healthy one. Don't skip today!
By the time you get to the end of the abdominal exercises, your core will probably be pretty worn out. If you need to take a short break in the middle of the set, do it, but make sure you complete all the reps.
