The arms consist of three main areas – the biceps, triceps, and forearms. These arm muscles are involved in all exercises pertaining to the chest, shoulder and back. When we row, which is aimed at straightening the back; the biceps muscles are also exercised. Also when you do bench presses the triceps muscles are exercised along with the shoulder and back muscles. There are specific exercises designed for working out the biceps and triceps.
Exercises for Biceps
The biceps exercises are mostly done with barbells and dumbbells. Varying the dumbbell weights and positions will help to work out the biceps muscles. Some of the exercises designed for the biceps are :
- Standing barbell curls
- Standing dumbbell curls
- Dumbbell hammer curls
- Inclined dumbbell curls
The above exercises work out the biceps in conjunction with the forearms. Exercises that isolate and target the biceps are:
- Preacher curls
- Dumbbell concentration curls
These exercises help to effect intense workout in the biceps.
Exercises for Triceps
Triceps exercises are targeted on the chest muscles. The close grip bench press is a basic triceps exercise. Lying barbell extensions, triceps dumbbell extensions, triceps push down, triceps dumbbell kick backs and triceps bench dips are some of the exercises that target the muscles in the chest area.
You can do both biceps and triceps exercises together or separately, in case you feel that the shoulder muscles and forearms are stressed out. It is not necessary that you need equipment to work your biceps and triceps. They can be done even without weights. Using the floor and the walls, the edges and corners of your room you can easily work them out.
Home exercises to strengthen the biceps and triceps
Some of the easy to do at home exercises are: traditional pushups, close grip wall pushups, advanced bench dips and upward facing dog, which is an intensive yoga pose. A structured set of repetitive exercises will help to strengthen the arms. You need to take a break to rest your arms in between repetitions. For the exercises to be really effective, you need to step up the resistance gradually till you reach the highest intensity.
A number of exercises can be done at home, with or without weights, to help strengthen the arms. Callisthenic exercises refer to those that use your own body weight and you can do them anywhere. Common things that can be found around at home like wrist weights, resistance tubing, bands, or dumbbells can be used as resistance weights.
A good at home exercise for biceps is the biceps curls. In this exercise, the muscles are activated to pull the weights from bottom to top. Triceps extensions are the best way to work out triceps muscles at home. In this exercise, the weight is lifted over the head and rested on the lower neck. You need to hold on till the contraction. Chair dips; raising your body from the chair with the help of your arms strengthens the triceps muscles. Well toned biceps and triceps helps to have an attractive physique and make you noticeable in the crowd. Toned biceps and triceps are a necessity for those in the modeling profession.