July 16, 2017

Arm Day Circuit Pt. 2

I think that arm day is a day when I actually see a lot of results right in the moment of working the muscles. I love seeing all the definition, veins, and toning that happens just from simple curls. You can use dumbbells, barbells, or cables making the options endless when it comes to arms!

Some things to be careful with on arm day:

Try to work on keeping your elbows tucked in toward your body when specified. No chicken arms.
You might be tempted to round your back or slouch in a lot of these exercises. Try to maintain good posture. It’s arm day, not back!
Have control when lifting weights. You shouldn’t be swinging the weights. The whole time you are doing a set, you should be working. So even when you are in the down movement of the exercise, it should still be working your muscles.

I do 4 sets of each workout. You can decide how many reps to do based on your level of intensity. Over time, you should either increase reps or weight.

In the future, I plan on putting together little workout circuit videos for you visual people. For now though, follow @khvideos on Instagram. She posts a ton of different workout clips that I get ideas from all the time.

Workout: Hammer Cross Curls
Muscle Group: Biceps
Instructions:

get a dumbbell for each hand
place the dumbbells in your hands so your palms are facing away from your body with your elbows tucked close to your sides/stomach
curl up your right forearm diagonally across your chest so that the dumbbell is near your left shoulder
curl up your left forearm so the dumbbell is near your right shoulder
continue to alternate arms

Workout: Single Arm Cable Curls
Muscle Group: Biceps
Instructions:

adjust the cable to about shoulder heigh with a handle attachment
grab the handle in your right hand, and then step far enough away from the tower so that you can easily bend and extend your arm without re-racking each time
to help with balance, place your opposite hand on your hip
curl your right hand toward your face and then extend your arm out straight
then do the same for your left side

Workout: Tricep Push Up
Muscle Group: Triceps
Instructions:

on a mat, get in a plank position (no butt in the air…think of your body like one long line from your head to your toes)
spread your fingers wide and make sure your hands are under your shoulders
as you lower to the ground for a push up, be sure your elbows stay close to your body (this works your triceps versus having them out which works more of your back)
if need be, you can do assisted push ups or take quick breaks in between

Workout: Straight Bar Cable Curl
Muscle Group: Biceps
Instructions:

lower the cable down to the ground
attach a straight bar
standing only a few inches away from the tower, grab the bar with an underhand grip
curl your hands up all the way to your chest while keeping your elbows close to your body
try not to rock your body to toss the weight up; if that’s happening, then lower the weight you use

Workout: Spider Curls
Muscle Group: Biceps
Instructions:

use a decline bench and a barbell (I would try with a lighter weight than you would use for regular curls as these are quite a challenge!)
with the barbell in your hand put your chest against the back of the bench (so you are facing opposite of the standard way)
the barbell should be held with both hands behind the bench
situate your feet so that your body is in a straight line against the bench
curl your arms up and then back down

**Here’s a video because a visual would probably help a lot more for this exercise!**