Hands are involved in almost every movement we make. The success of even the simplest, everyday actions depends on their strength. Of course, it’s not just about that. We want this area to look great. Light relief and tightened skin – the dream of many women. But how to achieve such an effect, what do you need to know about arm training?
What muscles are there on the hands and what are they responsible for?
Before you start exercises, you need to understand a little about the structure of the body. To create beautiful and relief arms, you need to have an effect on the following muscle groups:
Deltoid muscle. This large muscle helps to form the outer contour of the shoulder, it participates in its flexion and extension, as well as in the withdrawal of the arms to the side.
Biceps. It consists of two bundles, long and short, which help to bend the elbow joint and rotate the wrist. These are exactly the “peaks” on the arms, it is important to develop the muscles evenly so that both the front and back parts have the same size.
Triceps. This muscle group makes up the largest volume of the forearm and is responsible for straightening the shoulder and elbow joints. As you can understand from the name, it consists of three bundles: lateral, medial and long.
Forearm. An equally important area to train, it consists of the brachialis, the flexor muscle of the elbow joint and the brachialis, which is responsible for rotational movements.
Wrists and fingers. Special exercises for pumping the muscles of this zone are not required, as they take part in all movements during training, due to which they are worked out.
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It is worth knowing that it is impossible for a girl to pump up her arms like Arnold. Home workouts perfectly tone sagging triceps and in general help to maintain a taut appearance. Do not be afraid of dumbbells, they will not make your arms powerful, but, on the contrary, will help you lose weight.
What do you need to know before training?
An interesting feature of the female body is the tendency to pump legs more easily than arms, which is definitely not the case with men. Because of this, a girl can perform various exercises for biceps, triceps and so on, use dumbbells and barbells, but uncontrolled growth of the volume of hands will not get.
Therefore, do not be afraid that from regular training you will get man-like shoulders or large hands. In fact, the exercises will only add grace, relief and a taut look.
Benefits and harms of arm workouts
The main and most obvious benefit is weight loss in the arm area. Also, the strength of ligaments and bone tissues will increase, the work of the joints and heart will be normalized. Not the most obvious benefits will be an increase in mood and improved brain function, because during the training process blood circulation is accelerated and endorphins are released.
But do not forget about the risks that can arise if you do exercises incorrectly or ignore the recommendations and contraindications. Inattention to yourself and training can lead to overexertion, injuries to muscles, joints and ligaments. Therefore, take with all responsibility to your body.
Contraindications to exercise:
- osteoporosis;
- osteochondrosis;
- high blood pressure;
- diseases of the spine;
- pathologies of the cardiovascular or respiratory systems;
- spinal curvature;
- thyroid problems;
- pregnancy.
All of the above limits or excludes training on the arms. Therefore, before starting classes, be sure to consult with a doctor, find out the recommendations for your case.
What equipment should I buy for arm training at home?
If you have thought about what equipment you can really use, then for home exercises, rubber expanders are great: fitness rubber bands, long multicolored expanders with handles. Dumbbells of small weight from 1 to 4 kg will also be an excellent purchase. Of course, after prolonged training, you can increase the weight of the weights, but remember that the load should be increased gradually.
What exercises should be included in the warm-up?
Any training should begin with a gradual transition from a normal state to intensive work. This is necessary to increase efficiency, improve results and, of course, to avoid injuries. Therefore, before training, be sure to perform a full-body warm-up and special exercises that activate a particular muscle group. Here is an example of how to stretch your hands.
Gymnastics for wrists
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- Stand up straight, take your hands in a lock in front of you.
- Now for four counts perform a rotation along the trajectory of the number 8, first in one direction, and then in the other.
- Repeat the movement 10-15 times.
- Now press your palms together, elbows apart.
- Raise and lower the elbows, repeat the movement 10-15 times.
Forearm rotations
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- Stand up, straighten your back and keep your arms apart.
- Slowly rotate your elbows first inward and then outward.
- Repeat the movements 15 times in both directions.
Arm rotations
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- Stand up, straighten your back and extend your arms in front of you.
- Raise your arms up and lower them down through the sides.
- Repeat the exercise 10-15 times.
Extension of arms in front of you
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- Stand up straight, arms apart.
- As you exhale, bring your straight arms together in front of you and take them in a lock.
- Now tilt your head and reach the back of your head to your hands. At the same time, the body remains motionless.
- Then return to the starting position.
- Repeat the movement 10 times.
Shoulder rotation
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- Stand up straight, arms are lowered along the torso.
- Now perform a circular movement of the shoulders backwards. Repeat 10-15 times.
- Repeat the exercise in the opposite direction.
Only after these exercises, you can move on to the workout itself. This way it will definitely be safe and effective. As we wrote above, there are several major muscle groups of the arms that require attention, and we will focus on them.
Exercises for biceps
Forearm flexion
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- Stand up straight, take dumbbells from 2 to 4 kg in your hands with a normal grip.
- As you exhale, bend your arms at the elbows.
- Try to lift the dumbbells as high as possible.
- As you inhale, lower your arms down, but do not relax them completely.
- Repeat 15 times, only then relax your arms at the lowest point.
Hammer
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- Stand up, keep your back straight, arms down, palms turned to each other.
- Take dumbbells weighing from 2 to 4 kg in your hands with a neutral grip.
- As you exhale, bend both arms at the elbows, raising the dumbbell as high as possible.
- As you inhale, lower your arms down, keeping your arms in constant tension.
- Repeat 15 times, only then relax your arms at the lowest point.
Pulsating bending
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- Stand up straight, take dumbbells from 2 to 4 kg in your hands with a normal grip and turn them palms up.
- Bend your arms to a 90-degree angle.
- From this position in a small amplitude raise your arms up and then lower them down.
- Keep your back straight when performing this exercise.
- Repeat 15 such pulsing movements, and then relax your arms and slowly lower them down.
Triceps exercises
Forearm extension from behind the head with one hand
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- Stand up straight, take a dumbbell weighing from 1 to 3 kg in one hand, fix the other one on your waist.
- Put the hand with the dumbbell behind your head and bend it at the elbow.
- Keep the elbow pointing straight up.
- Make sure your spine is in the correct position, do not arch your back.
- As you exhale, straighten your arm and as you inhale, bend it back.
- Repeat for each arm 15 times.
Forearm extension from behind the head with two hands
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- Stand up straight, in both hands take one dumbbell weighing from 3 to 5 kg.
- Put your hands with the dumbbells behind your head and bend them at the elbow joint.
- Keep your elbows pointing straight up. The back is straight, without bending or rounding.
- As you exhale, straighten your arms, and as you inhale, bend them back.
- Perform the exercise 15 times.
Reverse bench push-ups
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- Stand with your back to the support, it can be a chair, sofa or bench.
- Place your hands on the support at shoulder width so that your fingers are facing your back.
- Your shoulder blades are brought in and lowered.
- Place your feet together and rest them on the floor.
- As you inhale, lower your pelvis down to a 90-degree angle at the elbow.
- On the exhale, push off the support and pull the pelvis up.
- Perform 10 repetitions.
Exercises for deltoid muscles
Sit/stand deltoid press
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- Sit or stand, keep your back straight. Take dumbbells from 2 to 4 kg in your hands.
- Arms are raised up and apart, elbow bent at an angle of 90 degrees.
- As you exhale, straighten your arms above your head.
- As you inhale, return to the starting position.
- Repeat the exercise 15 times.
Raising the arms in front of you
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- Stand up, keep your back straight. In your hands take dumbbells from 1 to 3 kg, lower them along the torso.
- Now raise your straight arms in front of you.
- Then lower them back to the starting position.
- Note that until the end of the arms do not relax, always keep them in tension.
- Repeat the movement 20 times.
Waving your arms to the sides
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- Stand up, take dumbbells weighing from 1 to 4 kg in your hands.
- Perform a simultaneous swing of your arms to the sides so that they reach a line parallel to the floor.
- Try to perform at the expense of muscle tension, not the strength of the swing.
- Then return to the starting position.
- You can perform alternately on each arm.
How to build the training process correctly?
In order to harmoniously develop any part of the body, in one training session it is necessary to comprehensively affect all muscles. It is not advisable to train only one arm, so the effect of training will be minimal. Include exercises to strengthen the shoulder girdle at the end of the workout. At first we do all the complex basic movements: squats, push-ups and so on, and at the end we include small muscle groups such as biceps, triceps and delts.
You can train your arms 2-3 times a week, depending on your goal and the condition of your body. To form a beautiful relief of the shoulders, it is necessary to choose multi repetitive exercises, which should be performed at least 15 times in one approach. To strengthen biceps and triceps, 12-15 repetitions will be enough.
Below is an example of training, repeat three approaches each exercise, the break between which is from 30 to 60 seconds. The load can be increased after some time of regular exercise, when you realize that you have become too easy.
- Biceps forearm flexion – 15 repetitions;
- forearm extension from behind the head with each hand for 15 reps;
- reverse bench push-ups – 10 reps;
- arm swings to the sides – 20 reps;
- arm raises in front of you – 20 reps.
Remember that everything is in your hands, even your arms. So don’t put off training, which will make your body more beautiful, and your life – easier and more pleasant.