Today in the gym to work out was to focus on my biceps and triceps so upper body definitely got a lot of love today. I love to work the arms because it’s one of the muscle groups that for me seems to really respond to working it out harder very well and I can always see my progress very easily if I focus on my upper body for a couple of weeks. In today’s workout it was a combination of exercises to target the triceps as well as the biceps and then in the end I spent a little bit of time doing some stiff leg deadlifts as well. I also really enjoyed today’s visit to the gym because my husband joined me and I always like we get to go and work out together. Even though we don’t train and do the same exercises it’s still always great to have someone physically go with you to the gym which keeps you both accountable and invested in each other’s health and fitness goals. Arms are a great area to workout for summer but also for brides who are looking to tone up before their wedding day.
In this quick video clip I will show you a few of my favorite basic exercises to target your biceps and triceps.
When it comes to working my upper body recently I focus a lot more on higher reps and medium weight that will exhaust be by the second and third to last rep in each set. If I were looking to grow the size of my arms I would make the weights much heavier and do less reps but right now my goal is not to grow that much more in size but just to increase the strength and definition in the bicep and tricep areas. I am pretty pleased with how my results are coming along on my new workout program and I love being able to see some of the cuts in my tricep while doing some of these exercises.
These close grip bench press pushed Focus more on the arms and less on the chest like a traditional chest press would because your arms are much closer together and hands are placed very close to the middle of the bar. I did four sets of 10 reps for this particular exercise using a flat bench and the smith machine.
For today’s workout I did the following exercises:
EZ curl Bicep curls (4 sets of 10 reps)
EZ curl bar skull crushers (4 sets of 15 reps)
Smith machine close grip chest presses (4 sets of 10 reps)
Dumb bell Bicep curls (4 sets of 10 reps each arm)
Overhead dumbbell tricep presses (4 sets of 15 reps)
Cable tricep push downs (4 sets of 20 reps)
Cable rope Bicep curls (4 sets of 20 reps)
Stiff let dead lift (4 sets of 10 reps)
15 minute incline walk on treadmill
At the end of my workout since the EZ curl bar was already set up with weights I took advantage and did four sets of 10 reps of a stiff leg deadlift. In this photo I wanted to showcase the movement when doing a stiff leg deadlifts which can sometimes be done incorrectly and that is what causes some lower back pain. When doing this move the best way to keep proper form is to focus on allowing the bar to slide down the front of your leg throughout the movement as close as possible without touching it. As you lower down in the front of your quads you will pass your knee and that is your signal to push your butt back and drive down with the bar over the front of your shins. As you come back up you will cross back over the knees and that is your indication to squeeze up with your glutes to the end of the movement. Remember to keep the bar as close to your legs as possible and contract with your butt as you come up pushing through your heels.
To work my triceps I did a variety of exercises including cable push downs, overhead tricep extensions and skull crushers. for a long time I was always nervous to work out my triceps because it would appear as if my arms were bigger than they were but now that I like to work out and lift heavier I enjoy seeing the cut and definition in the back part of my arm where the tricep is.
Even though I really wasn’t feeling very well today and almost skipped a day at the gym I decided to push myself to get in there and do a workout. Once I was in the gym I had enough energy to push through and was so proud of myself that I didn’t quit or turn around and go back home to bed. I am a big believer that a lot of what it takes to get in the gym to work out is just physically getting yourself up and moving to get there. Once you are there most likely you will do a good work out because you committed yourself to being there. I am really glad that I did because I wound up feeling so much better after the workout was done. Sometimes all it takes is just some mental cheerleading to yourself to say go and do it and you’ll feel better after.
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