Whether you want to build or tone your biceps and triceps, or improve muscular endurance, dumbbells can help you meet your goals. The biceps brachii is located on the front of your upper arm and helps you in a variety of lifting and sports movements. The triceps brachii is located on the back of the upper arm, and is the muscle many women look to tone during workouts. Often neglected during workouts because it's not a "show" muscle, the triceps plays an important role in straightening the arm.
Muscle-Building Workout
A muscle-building workout differs from an endurance workout because your goal is to damage the muscle in a controlled way so it grows larger in response to the repair process. To build your biceps and triceps, use heavy weights, at or near your maximum, and perform three to five slow repetitions of an exercise. Pause between the uplift and downlift, then lower the weight using muscle, rather than letting it drop. After a rest of several minutes, repeat another set of the same exercise. Do three to five sets during each workout. After you complete all of your sets of a biceps exercise, do triceps exercises for the next sets.
Muscular Endurance Workout
If your goal is to work your triceps and biceps for use during sports, rather than to increase their size for bodybuilding, use a circuit training workout with lighter weights and more reps. Use approximately 50 percent of your maximum weight, increasing or decreasing the amount of weight depending on whether you want to add some muscle-building or work mainly on endurance. Perform 10 to 12 repetitions of one exercise, then move to a new exercise after a one-minute break. Alternate triceps and biceps exercises.
Workout Format
Start each workout by warming up several minutes. This will warm and stretch your muscles and help create more efficient muscle contractions. Don't hold stretches --- this will decrease power in your muscles for 15 minutes or more. After you have finished your exercises, cool down by shaking, swinging and stretching your muscles. This will help remove waste products from your muscles and prevent soreness later.
Biceps Exercises
For biceps curls, lift the weight, hold for two seconds, then lower without completely straightening your arm. Stopping before you finish the downlift prevents you from letting gravity drop the weight and requires more muscular effort.
Vary curls by starting with your palms facing forward for one exercise and lifting straight up, and with your palms facing your body as you lift the weight across your chest.
To do flys, start with the dumbbells at your sides, shoulder height, palms facing forward. You will look as if you are forming a T. Bend your arms inward at the elbow until your knuckles meet in front of your chest.
Triceps Exercises
Perform triceps extensions by holding a dumbbell with one arm extended overhead and behind your back, so the dumbbell is between your shoulder blades. Raise the dumbbell straight up, turning your palm outward so you finish with it facing forward. Do extensions one arm at a time as well as using both arms at once.
To perform triceps kickbacks and rows, start from a kneeling position on a bench with one hand on the bench for balance. For rows, start with the dumbbell hanging straight down, then raise the weight to your chest. For kickbacks, start with the dumbbell raised and move the weight backward, completely straightening your arm.
Member Comments