Arm curl in the trainer: powerful pumping of pectoral muscles. Technique and tips

Pumped up voluminous pectoral muscles are beautiful. Many men start exercising just because they want to pump up their chests, and there is nothing surprising about it. Today, together with a fitness trainer, we will talk about a cool exercise that, in combination with others, will help you quickly achieve your goals.

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“Horizontal shoulder drive in the trainer, “Butterfly” or “Peck Deck” is a localized exercise and it is suitable for hypertrophy of the large pectoral. Because in the machine the muscle does not relax and is under constant load”.

Let’s get acquainted with the new exercise

We should start with the fact that the horizontal shoulder adduction in the simulator is an isolation exercise. This means that only one muscle is included in the work, so it receives a very serious load. This type of exercises is very different from basic exercises. They, in turn, involve several joints, muscle groups and stabilizer muscles at once.

These are the ones that need to be properly balanced in the training plan. How to do it correctly? There is a universal rule: basic exercises come first, and at the end of training – isolation exercises. Because, as we have already said, the first ones are more general, and the second ones are reaching, they are used for specific muscles and groups. But there is an exception: if you do not have enough strength to perform basic exercises, it is possible to initially work muscles with isolation exercises to prepare the body for more serious loads.

The main advantage of this exercise is that it can be performed by athletes with any level of training. And also, performing it, you are less likely to get any injury, because there is no vertical load – there is no pressure on the elbow joint from above.

With the basics sorted out, let’s move on to the description of the exercise itself. It is performed in a simulator, which is called “Peck Deck”. It looks like a seat, from behind which there is a structure, from which two long handles depart. It is designed specifically for bringing the arms to the center. The exercise is not easy, but it can not be called very difficult. Everyone can cope with the movement, the only important thing is the weight you set, but more about this below.

How to perform arm curls in a training machine?

The necessity of performing this or that exercise is determined by the trainer. He will help you make a program, include all the elements you need, set them in the right order so that the muscles develop at the right pace. We will take care of the correct technique.

Arm curl in the simulator

Technique

• Adjust the seat so that the hands are just below the shoulder joints.
• Bend your elbows slightly.
• The back of the head, pelvis and shoulder blades should be pressed against the back of the simulator, brought and lowered.
• As you exhale, smoothly perform shoulder adduction without the handles touching each other in the center, the movement should not be sharp and percussive.
• On the inhalation return to the starting position.

Ekaterina Kravchenko: It is better to use the arm reduction in the simulator as a “supplement” to the main exercises.

You can perform the combination in two or three approaches of 10-15 repetitions. By the time you start it, your muscles should already be a little battered, so you will have to work hard. It’s important to perform your maximum to add load, but don’t overexert yourself. Pick a weight that makes the exercise difficult to perform, but don’t try to jump over your head. Firstly, you probably won’t be able to carry a heavy load at the end of the workout, and secondly, you can overload your muscles so much that they will be sore for a long time.

The most important thing is not the weight you put on, but the correctness of the exercise technique. If the movement is correct, then the muscles will be involved properly, that’s what really matters.

What muscles are being worked in this exercise?

We mentioned above that the arm curl in the machine targets the pectoral muscles, but they are not the only muscles involved in this exercise. The main working muscle is, of course, the large pectoral muscle. But there are also synergistic muscles: the small pectoral muscle, the anterior bundles of the deltoid muscle. The anterior serratus and clavicle-shoulder muscles also work during horizontal shoulder adduction in the trainer.

Variations and progression of the exercise

As for progression, here it can be only one – a gradual increase in weight. And it’s not just about strengthening muscle strength, when you can take more weight, but about adding a few kilograms after each approach, so that the last one is impactful. There are no variations of this exercise, it can be performed only this way and no other way.

But there are alternatives to the arms in the trainer, about which we will tell you now. Together with this exercise, you can do shoulder raises lying down with dumbbells, shoulder raises in a crossover or raises in front of you in TRX loops. All of them require you to be in the gym because they require certain equipment.

Additional tips for performing the exercise

Ekaterina Kravchenko: It is important that the shoulders are not raised during the movement. So, firstly, the trapezius muscles and anterior delts take away the load, and secondly, you can get an injury to the shoulder joint. Do not make sudden movements, jerks due to inertia, as this is not the main exercise, it is better to use small weights. And for beginners it is better not to withdraw your hands beyond the center line of the body.

And be sure to warm up. Warming up is our everything. Without it, we are not as flexible, not as strong, not as focused. It works like this: warming up is done to activate the central nervous system, which in turn improves our performance and reduces the risk of injury.

So we’re literally telling the body that we’re going to have to work hard. And the body sets itself up for a quality workout. More muscle fibers are put to work, your joints become more mobile, and your ligaments become more flexible.